Time flies when you’re having fun. It seems like only yesterday that we steamrolled through Open Division with bombastic playoff series that showcased the best T3 had to offer in regions around the world. Today, we’re in Contenders Trials – the penultimate step on the elusive, often frustrating Path to Pro. Eight teams per region – 56 in total – are fighting for limited numbers of Contenders spots to try and make a name for themselves and be noticed by Overwatch League scouts.
North America has one of the greatest concentrations of OW talent in the world right now, and all eyes are on the newly-expanded region and the players being thrust into the spotlight as a result. Will these players step up to the challenge, or fall back into obscurity? Only time will tell.
If you’re a bit behind on the Trials teams coming to North America this season, look no further. This list will show you everything that’s changed, and everything that’s stayed the same. All you need to do is go watch the games!
Phase 2 are making interesting moves after their split with Kungarna, but they could bear decent fruit if handled properly. K1ng and Moopey are both strong pickups from the good parts of Skyfoxes, and they have already proven that they can push through Trials with the right support.
[Related: Interviews with Moopey and K1ng, courtesy of Connor “GoopyKnoopy” Knudsen and Brandon “thibbledork” Padilla]
Speaking of support, P2 have completely overhauled their backline, dropping Mohr and Insomniaq in favor of both grizzled veteran Kyle “Phaz” Dornian and Nishik, who seems to be plucked straight from the competitive ladder. He’s not the only one, either – Samito is well known in competitive circles, but not for his formal experience on any team. He may prove to be an interesting wild card if the meta opens up in the weeks to come.
Underwater Squad have only made two changes, but they’re fairly noticeable ones. Boostio has been grinding away in the T2/3 area for some time now, including a decent tenure on the original GOATS roster. While he might still be considered a newer talent, Mike “Midnight” Ryan is anything but – he’s played on teams on and off since mid-2016, which is pretty much the longest amount of time you could possibly be playing on a team at all. UWS must have shown him something decent to pull him out of retirement, and that’s not even accounting for his role swap, either. New year, new me?
After an undefeated regular season and a deep playoff run in Open Division, Chicken Contendies (winners in Best Name and Best Logo contests the world over) have made few changes. Both new players are relatively unknown, but that might be a good thing. Making it through Trials is all about keeping your enemy on their toes and hiding what strategies you can for the real competition in Contenders proper. If these new players can help the Tendies fly under the radar, so much the better.
With Mirage’s Overwatch division moving in… other directions, one half of their old roster have taken control of their Contenders Trials spot and formed a totally new organization – with an impressive lineup to go with it.
[Related Report: Toronto Academy is developing a new player and management core with resources from Mirage]
Shuh, Carter, Ojee and Pizzademon set the stage for Bermuda, utilizing their past synergy to (hopefully) ensure a smooth transition for Bermuda. Add in some strong DPS players for flexibility and ridiculous frontline stars like Hypnott and ChroNoDotA, and you’ve got quite the rave on your hands. Keep your crab emojis ready.
Minor changes for Triumph so far, but they should show their impact relatively quickly – Izzy has made a name for himself as an intelligent, communicative in-game leader, and Matman should keep Shereshoy on his toes for a starting spot as the competition heats up. Fae has a deep hero pool, which should compliment Peebimitsu’s hitscan specialties perfectly. We’ll refrain from commenting on their potential, given certain biases, but these seem to be reasonable changes all around.
Another team with few changes beyond their rebranding – which looks super cool, by the way! The dual threat of Daiya and Vibrant on flex support should keep teams guessing in Trials, which is more than half the battle. They’ll just have to make sure they keep track of Mixo in the front line if he ever starts over Natrix – when he turns on Mixo Mode, the party don’t stop til someone dies. The “someone” is either the entire enemy team, or Mixo himself.
To clarify, this rebrand was the team’s choice, not a forced issue by Blizzard. As abrasive as their former branding may have been, you can’t say it didn’t have its charm – we’ll see if starting at Square One will have the same effect.
Berd and Shadowz add depth to a roster that’s already proven that it can hang with the best of them – if not for a certain late-game signing, frankly, you could argue that P2P would have been Open Division champions. With extra time to prepare for Trials, it’s hard to see this team missing Contenders. Definitely a team to watch.
We don’t have much info on Skyfoxes yet, beyond a report from the Benchmob about a new cross-region partnership with Korean org Meta Gaming (home to Meta Athena and Meta Bellum, who have each fielded a number of OWL prospects in their time). Such a partnership most likely means a mixed roster of no small repute – could this team bounce back in Trials AGAIN? And if it does, can they actually win a map when they make it back to Contenders?
We’ll see.
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Featured Image Courtesy of Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment
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