Overwatch Contenders – All Articles
On Wednesday, ten teams entered the Giga Arena to compete in the first-ever Contenders Gauntlet tournament. Night after night, fans would watch as they fell one by one until the top three teams were established. Runaway, ATL Academy, and Element Mystic would fight tooth and nail for their spots at the top. After two wild…
Kicking things off with a solid 3-0 victory, ATL Academy came back from their loss against Element Mystic looking stronger than ever. Sending XL2 Academy packing, Kamden “Sugarfree” Hijada made some sweet plays on Doomfist throughout the series. XL2’s inability to adapt to deal with either Sugarfree or Garrett “Saucy” Roland would ultimately be their downfall.…
William “Crimzo” Hernandez was right that the first match of the night would be a total sweep; he just got the teams mixed up. The game started with a bang as XL2 Academy took down Team Envy with a solid 3-0 victory. Fans were shocked to see the Fuel’s academy team be sent home so…
On Thursday, Blizzard Entertainment announced a new direction for Overwatch Contenders, their global Tier 2 competition. In a preview of the 2020 calendar, Blizzard outlined the changes and revealed a fresh format. Gone is the traditional round-robin league format. In its place comes a “bi-weekly tournament series”. For a full explanation of how the new…
Four months ago, ATL Academy, the Contenders squad for the OWL’s Atlanta Reign, made their first foray into international competition at the Atlantic Showdown. They entered with few expectations as North America’s third seed, having defeated Gladiators Legion to secure their spot in Krefeld, Germany. North American powerhouses Envy and Fusion University stole the show…
Talon Esports surprised most by taking Element Mystic to a Map 5 series. Most expected Element Mystic to wipe the floor with Talon, but Talon put up a solid fight. Patiphan “Patiphan” Chaiwong, Bo-hyun “Bashful” Kang and Ji-Yoon “Gogora” Lee played out of their minds. Bashful’s Reaper, in particular, was one of the best highlights of the…
The hype in Jaws and Legday’s voices as “HSL ESPORTS WINS” flashed on the screen was nothing in comparison to the cheers of joy going on in the team’s discord call. By defeating Team Gigantti, they not only took down one of the best teams but also snagged Europe’s only spot in the Gauntlet. This…
Intro: Into the Gauntlet! As the 2019 Overwatch League season ends, fans may be left wondering how to satisfy their competitive Overwatch cravings. Such a feast is displayed through the 2019 Gauntlet, a World Championship-esque tournament featuring the greatest Overwatch Contenders teams around the globe. And while some teams have dominated their regions throughout the…
In the first part of this series, potential landing spots for most of the Fusion’s roster were discussed. This installment is dedicated to coaching decisions and players who are currently under contract. If a player is under contract, that means that they have decided to extend their commitment to the team into the 2020 season.…
To casual fans of the professional scene and hardcore Contenders aficionados alike, few stories shine brighter than RunAway’s. The tale of the scrappy, pink-clad self-starters who rose through the ranks of Contenders Korea has become an especially beloved chapter in Overwatch’s history. At every level, 2019 has been an excellent year for the RunAway organization.…
After two wild seasons, it’s all come down to this. Six regions will be competing in the first-ever Gauntlet, an international showcase where ten Contenders teams will set out to prove who is the best. The Gauntlet will be taking place in Seoul, South Korea from October 9-October 13. Tickets went on sale for The…
This past weekend was the final weekend of OWL games in the Blizzard Arena in Burbank, CA. This venue has been the home of the OWL for its first two seasons, but that will no longer be the case as the league moves to a home-away schedule for the 2020 season. The Game Haus has…
Yesterday, Rivalcade, an esports entertainment company, announced their return to the Tier 2 Overwatch scene on Twitter. Who is Rivalcade? Before the Overwatch League, there was no official Path to Pro like there is now. The professional scene was run by other esports entertainment companies, the most popular one being OGN with their Apex tournaments…
Triumph Esports has announced an official partnership with Big Ticket Sports LLC. Big Tickets Sports LLC is an event management and production company owned by Kevin Garnett. Together, We Triumph Garnett is a former NBA player who most notably made a name for himself playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves and then won a championship with…
2020’s Newly Eligible Players With the 2019 season coming to a close, managers and owners in the Overwatch League should already be thinking ahead about which current Overwatch Contenders players they’d like to have on their roster next year. With next year’s roster construction rules released, every player born before June 15, 2002, will be…
In recent news posted by Blizzard on the Overwatch League Website, the roster construction rulebook has been released for the 2020 OWL season. For a full explanation of everything detailed in this rulebook, read TGH’s overview here. One of the more interesting details coming out of this news is the age cutoff announcement for 2020.…
An official statement from the Overwatch League announced new changes to the structuring of teams in Contenders. These changes will take place next year, along with a few other changes for the League itself. While many rules remain the same, there are few notable changes for Academy teams that fans of the scene should be…
The Guangzhou Charge have announced the addition of Rohit “Curryshot” Nathani as a strategic coach. Any Contenders fan worth their salt knows the name Curryshot. Curryshot has been around the scene for quite some time. He has been a coach for several Contenders teams, including One.PoinT, Mayhem Academy, and, most recently, Revival. Working alongside head…
In an official statement released by Team Envy earlier today, it was announced that Lukas “LullSiSH” Wiklund and Elliot “ELLIVOTE” Vaneryd have been signed on by the Washington Justice. The Justice’s Twitter account confirmed the signings but made it clear that this acquisition is still pending final approval by Blizzard. For fans don’t know who ELLIVOTE or…
The Hangzhou Spark hold the key to a budding legacy in their hands. Their core was formed from X6 Gaming – Contenders champions from the most competitive region in the world. While their history is not as storied as the likes of LW Blue, Lunatic Hai, KongDoo Panthera or RunAway, this roster has the chance…