This Saturday, the APAC All-Stars Event took place. Due to its early timeslot in the United States timezones, many fans were not able to watch the games live. While some events delivered on the promised hype, others are not worth the time to go back to. The following review will not reveal the winners of the challenges and games.
Winston Skill Challenge: Disappointing Rule Set
After years of Windowmaker 1v1 Prestige, Tank mains were excited when the Overwatch League announced a Winston skill event. Unfortunately, the Workshop mode selected did not create much excitement. In a 1v1, the opposing players had to knock a neutral Wrecking Ball inthe the Illios Well. However, because each player had their own Wrecking Ball instead of having to fight for one, the lack of interaction made the challenge rather boring. Going back to this mini-tournament can only be recommended to the biggest tank gameplay fans.
Genji Skill Challenge: A Step Up
The following challenge between some of the leagues’ best Genji players was a clear improvement to the Winston Challenge. In another mini-tournament format, two Genjis went up against each other. With 400 health and increased ultimate charge rate, most rounds turned into a race to a Dragon Blade. Unfortunately, this created a rather monotone viewing experience. With only one map and one hero, this challenge was only mildly entertaining.
Ana Skill Challenge: From Chaos to Precision
The Ana Skill Challenge was the first event to really break out of the mold. The first was a chaotic free for all between nine top-level Ana players. Due to the “Ana Paintball” rules, one shot secured an elimination, so with nine players, it was hard to keep up as a spectator. However, the four players with the most eliminations moved on to a final round. The final provided a close match with many back and forths and a lot of individual strategies. This was a challenge not just for support fans, but a great watch for any Overwatch fan.
APAC Talent Takedown: Good for Fans
The APAC casting and analyst talent divided into two teams. Both teams were able to choose one game changing effect each map that would make the game more interesting. However, while this element made the games unique, they were only truly exciting if the spectators were familiar with the Asian talent. Anyone who watches the Korean or Chinese broadcasts of Overwatch will be very entertained, while those who exclusively watch the English broadcast might not get much out of it.
Widowmaker 1v1: The Royal Discipline
The Widowmaker 1v1 is the traditional special event of the All-Stars and this year is no different. Since both San Francisco Shock and Philadelphia Fusion traveled to Asia for the Grand Finals, the region is absolutely stacked with talent. The Widowmaker Tournament is required viewing for every Overwatch fan.
The All-Stars Match
Of course, the All-Stars match itself is the big finale to the special occasion. As mentioned before, due to the Grand Finals relocation, the APAC region is stacked with talent. Furthermore, for Map 2 the teams locked each other in one singular team composition as a special challenge. For Map 3, they played a special workshop mode that changes the size of the heroes based on kills. Every year, this match is an amazing look into an alternative reality where some of the best players of each team play on one team and it is always entertaining. This year was no exception.