19/02/2018.

Some of you may of heard about a new game that was released in 2017 that is taking the gaming and e-sports world by storm!

That game is Overwatch!

Overwatch is an objective based game similar in style to that of Team Fortress 2. In a classic game of Overwatch one team of six characters chosen from the ever increasing and diverse pool of twenty-seven unique characters will play for the objective on either an: Escort, Point Capture, King of the hill or Hybrid map and play as either Attack or Defence and thusly play a mirror match (The same match but on defence instead of attack and vice versa) to decide the victor.

Escort Map: Dorado

Hybrid Map: Numbani as Bastion

Assualt Map: Hanamura as Tracer

King of the Hill Map: Illios as Reinhardt
Overwatch has quickly become an all-time favourite due to their well designed and loveable characters. People who play the game become quickly attatched to their favourite character or "Main". Through the use of voice lines, highlight intros, emotes, skins and game-play you quickly become attached to the character you relate most to and whose play style you prefer.

ESports

Then enter the ESports revolution. ESports has finally given a way for pro players to show off their talent to the big crowds. ESports big breakthrough was definitely through games like Call Of Duty, Gears of War, League of Legends, CS:GO and even Halo but never before like this.

Before the ESports experience for all but hardened fans consisted of watching a load of teenagers you didn't know, get mad 360 no scope headshots and basically just waiting to see who wins. Overwatch broke that boundary by starting the Overwatch World Cup. For the first world cup players of overwatch from all around the world nominated two captains for each country who then went on to choose two more players each to form a team of six to represent their countries. Suddenly people were invested, really invested. Now you had chosen the player for your country, you had time to watch the teams play, get to know them, get to support them and watch them grow. The Overwatch Esports commentator style presentation of the events also focused a lot more on individual players and had commentators constantly talking through the actions and consequences both teams were making and creating. This combined with Overwatch's team fight play style and fast paced action made this a very good and exciting thing to be a part of.

Overwatch League

This bring us nicely to the Overwatch League, a tournament in the same style of presentation and gameplay as the World cup except between teams of pro-players not bound by country of origin (funnily enough a lot of the teams are now solely South Korean after the World Cup team spear-headed by Miro won the tournament without a single loss or even conceding a single point.)

SEASON ROADMAP

As of the writing of this post Stage 1 has just finished and we wait for the current season to start up again in late February. The layout of the season is as follows:

PRESEASON :- Dec. 6 – 9, 2017

The preseason kicks off with a series of livestreamed exhibition matches featuring all 12 teams at the Blizzard Arena Los Angeles on December 6–9. After that, teams will have until Opening Day on January 10 to prepare themselves for competition.

REGULAR SEASON :- Jan. 10 – June 16, 2018

Matches in the Atlantic and Pacific Divisions will play out live from the Blizzard Arena each Wednesday through Saturday. Though the season is divided into four stages, wins and losses will count towards teams' full-season records and all-important seeding for the postseason. On the last Saturday of each stage, the top teams will compete for hefty bonuses and the title of stage winner.

POSTSEASON :- June 17 – July 28, 2018

After Stage 4 finishes, top finishers in each division will prepare for the championship playoffs, which run from July 11–22. The grand final on July 26–28 will determine which team will be crowned the first Overwatch League champions, claiming glory, the Overwatch League trophy, and a USD $1 million bonus.

ALL-STAR WEEKEND :- Aug. 10 – 12, 2018

After the rush of the inaugural season championship, the Overwatch League will kick back for a weekend of festivities as the community’s favorite players face off in unexpected challenges.

Teams

San Francisco Shock

Also known as ESports team NRG. Their roster includes:

• IDDQD - DPS
• BabyBaby - DPS
• Danteh - DPS/Flex
• Nevix - Flex/DPS
• Nomy - Tank
• Dhak - Support
• Sleepy - Support

Boston Uprising

Owned by the Kraft Group (Owner of New England Patriots). Their roster includes:

• Striker - DPS
• Mistakes - DPS
• Kalios - Flex
• Snow - Support
• Neko - Support
• Avast - Support

Florida Mayhem

Owned by Misfits and recently just signed Zappis (Swedish World Cup Star Player). Their roster includes:

• TviQ - DPS
• Logix - DPS
• AwesomeGuy - Tank
• Zebbosai - Support
• Zuppeh - Support
• Mannaten - Flex

Los Angeles Valiant

One of the two L.A. teams owned by Immortals. Their roster includes:

• GrimReality - DPS
• Agilities - DPS
• Numlocked - Tank
• Fate - Tank
• Unkoe - Support
• Verbo - Support

Philadelphia Fusion

Owned by Comcast Spectacor. Their roster includes:

• ShadowBurn - DPS
• Carpe - DPS
• Poko - Flex
• Fragi - Tank
• Boombox - Support
• Neptuno - Support

London Spitfire

Owned by Cloud9 and my home and favourite team to win. Spitfire just won Stage 1 and they do just look the best. Their roster includes:

• Birdring - DPS
• Profit - DPS
• Fury - Flex
• Fissure - Tank
• HaGoPeun - Support
• Bdosin - Support

Seoul Dynasty

Owned by KSV eSports and effectively pro team Lunatic High Seoul Dynasty was favourite at the start of the season. Their roster includes:

• Zunba - Flex
• Miro - Tank
• Ryujehong - Support/Flex
• Fleta - DPS
• Munchkin - DPS
• Wekeed - DPS

Dallas Fuel

Owned by team Envy and Hersh Interactive. Their roster includes:

• Seagull - DPS
• Taimou - DPS
• HarryHook - Support
• Cocco - Tank
• aKm - DPS
• Mickie - Flex

Houston Outlaws

Owned by Optic Gaming Outlaws have continuously surprised people so far this season. Their roster includes:

• Linkzr - DPS
• Jake - DPS
• Muma - Tank
• Rawkus - Support
• Bani - Support
• Coolmatt - Flex

New York Excelsior

Interestingly enough Excelsior is owned by the New York Mets, lets hope they see similar results! Finishing in 2nd place for stage 1 has stood them in good stead. Their roster includes:

• Saebyeolbe - DPS
• Libero - DPS/Flex
• Meko - Flex
• Janus - Tank
• Jjonak - Support
• Ark - Support

Shanghai Dragons

Owned by a Tech company in China called NetEase, we haven't seen much from Dragons yet. Their roster includes:

• Sky - Support
• Fearless - Tank
• Ado - DPS
• Undead - DPS
• Roshan - Tank
• Freefeel - Support

Los Angeles Gladiators

Last but not least it's the 2nd team from L.A., Gladiators. Their roster includes:

• SureFour - DPS
• Hydration - DPS
• Bischu - Flex
• IRemiix - Tank
• Shaz - Support
• BigGoose - Support

Thanks

Thanks for taking the time to read my article and I hope you're more up to speed with the layout and teams of Overwatch League. If you enjoyed the post please leave and upvote and follow my blog for more on gaming and much more!