The year 2016 is over, and we are all looking ahead at what Overwatch might accomplish in 2017. But let's take a look at the few things that did happen in the rankings during December, when most people were too busy celebrating the holidays.
December was one of the calmest months yet, in terms of competition, but deservedly so. The players, and all tournament organizers together, made 2016 a good year for Overwatch fans. Even still, December featured a few big events, of which some included European teams:
1st Misfits (-)
The new roster of Misfits got invited to Korea (for the first time for the organization) to participate in the IEM Gyeonggi invitational. While the tournament provided a solid opportunity of the new team, now featuring ex-Rogue players TviQ and Reinforce and ex-Luminosity players Zave and Manneten, this tournament was not succesful in terms of results. After losing 0-3 to Lunatic Hai in the first round, their run ended there and then. Still, the raw talent and increasing synergy of the roster should set them up for an incredible run at the start of the new year.
The Ninjas took a break during December, comfortably cruising on their #2 EU and #4 worldwide rankings. The team often mentioned as originators of triple tank could see a decrease in potential thanks to the upcoming Ana, Roadhog and D.Va nerfs, but NiP has the talent, focus and wits required to adapt their play accordingly.
3rd Rogue (-)
The new, all-French roster of Rogue was also invited to IEM Gyeonggi. The release of Reinforce and TviQ was hard for the players and organization, but they have in turn managed to recruit a solid roster of French-speaking players (and Skipjack who is hard at work on his French). Rogue did marginally better than Misfits in Korea, but only because they managed to take one game off LW Red (after a first round bye). Rogue has proven their dedication to and good care of the roster, and the new roster definitely has the potential to rise up the rankings in the coming weeks.
4th Reunited (-)
It has been awfully quite around the REUNITED organization and roster. In fact, we haven't seen them play since the APEX playoffs, when they got knocked out by eventual 2nd place finishers Afreeca Freecs Blue. With only a single recorded match in November, and none in December, it begs the question what the team is up to. Everybody can understand them taking a break after firing on all cylinders throughout the year, but two months is a long time out of the spotlight and could hurt the team in the long run. That is, unless the rumours of a possible major buyout are true.
Another team with a shaky position in the scene currently is Team Dignitas. While still officially under the organization, the roster once headlined by Knoxx and Numlocked has not had any form of success for a long time. Still, the team has not given up yet and is working on their play, most recently in the Realm Winter Series. Currently 2-0 in their group, the roster has been playing with ex-Ninjas with Attitude player wat7, seeking their previous form (going back to the Creation eSports days) once again.
6th Slav Squad (+2)
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