The Overwatch League produces an abundance of content for fans and onlookers alike. A full weekend of OWL can account to hours upon hours of watching and not everybody has the time to catch all the action. A way that the Overwatch community has tried to mitigate this is through “highlights”, a staple in any sort of sport or esport. With the Overwatch League signing a deal with YouTube, licensing rights have been moved around in every sort of way and regular “highlight” producers have come and gone.
So, here is a current list of places to find highlights every weekend if you don’t have the time to tune in live.
The OWL’s Official YouTube Channel
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07Z7jHgmsZE]
The move to YouTube has allowed the Overwatch League’s channel to flourish more than ever. While fans are still waiting for a drop system and proper emotes, the OWL’s YouTube channel is a good start to finding general highlights every week. Viewers can find the “Top 5 Best Plays” from every weekend on top of full VOD’s of every game played. These average out to about two-minute videos (as of the writing of this article). The league’s official channel is the quickest way to get a professional Overwatch fix as soon as needed.
Teams’ YouTube Channels
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtAN5ghG4og]
It seems as if a few teams and Homestand hosts have also been creating personal highlights for their games. These videos revolve around the team specifically rather than the general approach the OWL’s channel take. Something that sets these packages apart is the style that each team has put into their highlight videos. Background music, team-branded transitions, slo-mo shots for epic moments – all this and more give each team their own flair when it comes to their highlights. These videos can range from being a couple of minutes long to 10 minutes long based on the team. Fans should specifically look out for these videos whenever their team host’s a Homestand.
itsjieyang
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFuS-qRG1JM]
Overwatch content creator “itsjieyang” is currently producing weekly highlights that are fleshed out beyond just the top 5 plays that the league is currently putting together. Jie’s highlights are a good balance between the style of team-focused highlights and the best plays of the week. These videos are currently riding around the 10 to 11-minute mark per day of play and are arguably the best value when it comes to highlights currently. itsjieyang is also known for his in-depth, easy to follow patch note videos that directly translate to his OWL highlight style. Both types of videos are excellent resources for any Overwatch player or Overwatch League fan.
SI Not Found
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U53KIhGxfvk]
For a more cinematic feel, Triumph Gaming’s SI Not Found (support Tier 2 Overwatch) is creating “frag movies” every week for the OWL. These stray away from just using stock footage from the broadcast and find a way to make Overwatch League highlights an art form in itself.
SI Not Found uses the in-game replay system to fix the camera to different points of the map to show distinct angles that a typical highlight video would not show. On top of this, SI Not Found removes the majority of the scoreboard, syncs the music to frags and uses shoutcaster’s calls liberally to give these videos that film-like aesthetic that can not be found anywhere else. These videos only last about two minutes, so they fit in that good hybrid as a fast-paced video, like the OWL’s official highlights, but with the particular feel that a third party content creator can deliver.
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