The cross-regional Overwatch Atlantic Showdown tournament kicked off earlier today after a grueling series of qualifiers. Missed what happened? Don't worry we've got you covered.
Following the main qualifying tournament for each region, four teams from NA and EU made it to Gamescom in Cologne and were placed in two groups. Earlier today the groups each played a mini bo3 double elimination tournament to determine who would make it into the playoffs of the Overwatch Atlantic Showdown.
The Overwatch Atlantic Showdown at Gamescom is the biggest Overwatch LAN event yet, featuring a massive prize pool of $100 000 USD. The twitch stream for the event on the first day drew around 60 000 viewers had its peak, with NA and EU fans very eager to see how the top teams from each region would fare against each other without factors such as unfavorable ping coming into play.
Much was made about the stress and pressure of performing under the bright lights and cheers of the live audience, but to the surprise of no one Team EnVyUS qualified from group A with two straight wins against Dignitas and Fnatic, beating them both 2-0. Despite the anticipation, it is almost an unspoken rule that everyone coming to Gamescom was here to compete for second place, such is the dominance that EnVy has established in the competitive Overwatch scene.
Dignitas however found themselves on their way home after losing their first two matches against EnVy and Misfits and had to endure the ignominy of being the first team to drop out of the finals at Gamescom. Despite putting a strong performance, they were simply not the better team today in either of their matches and will undoubtedly look back on their long journey to Cologne with a mixture of pride and regret.
Misfits and Fnatic will square up once again for the final spot in the playoffs from group A tomorrow, despite Fnatic beating Misfits 2-1 in an earlier group stage match. The teams have never played each other before Gamescom and look very evenly matched, however only one of them will be able to reach the semifinals and everyone is geared up for what looks to be an entertaining series.
In group B REUNITED once again staked their claim for being the top EU Overwatch team at the moment, handing out a demoralizing defeat to complexity gaming, setting the blazingly fast time of 3:03 on Kings row and a sub four-minute time on Watchpoint: Gibraltar in the process. They would go on to edge out Rogue 2-1 after a heart-stopping series, with both teams unable to break the deadlock after an interesting match on Hanamura featuring a prodigious use of Mei. REUNITED would win the King of the Hill tiebreaker on Ilios 2-0.
The real shocker in group B was 2nd seed Cloud 9 going home after losing two straight matches, becoming the first NA team to be knocked out of Gamescom. While Cloud9 have been a little wobbly as of late, they are widely considered to be the number 2 team in the world and a step ahead of any team not named EnVyUS, however a loss to a resurgent Rogue and bogey team coL put an end to their tournament dreams in Germany for now.
The NA EU rivalry continues to heat up in the decider for tomorrow’s final place in group B, with either one of Rogue or compLexity gaming looking to book a spot in the playoffs against EnVyUs. Both teams have been criticized in the past for being a step off the top tier, and their losses to REUNITED perhaps underlines that. However, both teams displayed considerable skill and grit to get where they are right now. With the gunslinging prowess of Akm and the unorthodox but effective gameplay of Harbleu in the mix, all signs point to a thrilling fight for glory tomorrow.
Map/Hero stats
The most common map played were Payload/Hybrid defense maps which made up about 74% of playtime. King of the Hill maps made up about 19% of playtime, and 2CP maps were the least popular picks in the tournament and only made up 7% of the total gametime.
The most popular heroes were once again Zenyatta, Lucio, Reinhardt, McCree and Zarya, with Tracer, Reaper, Genji and Winston all seeing a decent amount of play as well. However, we saw a few interesting picks and waves within the mini-meta game in the tournament.
Hanzo was picked on offense by both Kyb of REUNITED and Tviq of Rogue on Kings Row to varying effect, the former pick helping REUNITED snowball their way to an incredibly quick victory, while in the latter case, C9 managed to better Rogue’s time of 7:53. With the upcoming changes in mind, one wonders whether there’s space for more than one Japanese ninja in the competitive scene.
Another niche hero who saw unusual amounts of play today was Mei. The Ice Princess saw play 39% of the time on defense side during 2CP maps, especially on Hanamura where her wall was used to great effect by both REUNITED and Rogue. The ability of Mei to divide teams, and isolate weakened enemies is unique. Combined with her stalling abilities, this meant that for awhile it seemed like her potential was just waiting to be unlocked. While she has seen sporadic use on Kings Row before, and questions abound about her lack of tanking/direct dps abilities, perhaps the pros have finally cracked the code?
Upcoming matches
The remaining matches are scheduled to begin on the 21st of August 1000 CEST/0400 EDT/0100 PDT. If you want to follow the action you can do so at Twitch.TV/ESL_Overwatch!
For more competitive Overwatch news, follow us @GosuOverwatch.
