The start of the third season of Overwatch The League is upon us, bringing with it a new way to hold games and new rosters. While this is an offseason full of change and experimentation, there's a lot to look forward to from old fans and new ones alike.
After two seasons of hosting games at Blizzard Arena in California, Overwatch The League will take place on the road in 2020, and instead play games in teams' home cities. The inaugural Homestand Weekend will be hosted by New York Excelsior at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York and Dallas Fuel at Esports Stadium Arlington, Texas.
The idea of Homestand Weekends was that it will create a local fan base, much like traditional sports teams, and attract a local crowd.
How can I watch the matches?
In previous seasons, fans could follow matches on Twitch, as every match was broadcast live. Viewers could also earn League Tokens which, if they linked their Battle.net and Twitch accounts, they could put team skins into Overwatch. There was also the chance to win exclusive in-game sprays and OWL Twitch Emotes.
However, last month Blizzard announced a new deal with YouTube, which means all of this season's games will stream exclusively on the Platform. The deal included exclusive broadcast rights worldwide, excluding China only.
Overwatch League on Twitter
The deal received a mixed reception from fans, but it's unclear how the move to YouTube Gaming will affect the community aspect of the League. On Twitch, Overwatch The League typically had between 100 and 000 concurrent viewers during broadcasts. Dedicated fans aside, this is probably due to the fact that many Twitch users browse streams on first login, so if they see that the OWL is on and the chat is excited, they check it out.
This might not be the most accurate comparison, but the new Call of Duty The League had around 75 viewers on YouTube in its first week. This is a steep drop in audience from what OWL is used on Twitch.
However, one advantage that YouTube offers is a more accessible video-on-demand system.
Comment Overwatch League work?
All 20 teams in the league are divided into Pacific and Atlantic divisions which then play 28 games each in the regular season. The top team from each division gets the top two seeds in the playoffs, as well as four teams that, regardless of the division, have the best winning records in the league. Teams that place seventh through twelfth head to a wild card tournament to determine the final two places in the playoffs. The playoffs are double elimination.
le Pacific Division consists of Chengdu Hunters, Dallas Fuel, Guangzhou Charge, Hangzhou Spark, Los Angeles Gladiators, Los Angeles Valiant, San Francisco Shock, Seoul Dynasty, Shanghai Dragons and Vancouver Titans.
le Atlantic Division comprend Atlanta Reign, Boston Uprising, Florida Mayhem, Houston Outlaws, London Spitfire, New York Excelsior, Paris Eternal, Philadelphia Fusion, Toronto Defiant et Washington Justice.
Which teams should I watch?
One of the most obvious teams to watch out for is San Francisco Shock, champions of last season. They are also one of the obvious favorites for the opening weekend, and the team intend to maintain their victory from last year.
During the offseason, Shock was among the teams that made the fewest changes to their roster. In fact, one of the biggest changes has been the addition of a new assistant coach, Ji-won ”Arachne”Lee. While they haven't changed their players much, they've made some behind-the-scenes changes to challenge themselves in the New Year, instead of sticking to their tactics from last year.
They dominated last season and have the potential to do the same, but getting to grips with their success and last season's games would have been a sticky trap to fall into for San Francisco.
Another team that was successful last season is the Vancouver Titans. They finished second in the 2019 season playoffs, losing to San Francisco Shock, and won the Pacific title during the regular season (as explained above, the Pacific's top team and the team from the Atlantic at the end of the season qualify for the playoffs).
Unlike the team that had defeated them before, the Titans worked tirelessly to perfect their roster during the offseason. Perhaps the most important new player on their roster is Jehong ”ryujehongRyu, who is considered one of the best support players in the league, especially for his Ana play. He's also an incredible flex support, which makes him a great addition to the team in any meta or situation.
Chan-hyung “Fissure"Baek was also signed in Vancouver for this season to replace Jang-hyeon"TiZi"Hwang and Sang-beom"Bumper“Park, the main tanks of last year. This addition met with backlash from fans, mainly because TiZi was widely regarded as one of the best main tanks of last season, but also because Fissure had already had issues with the LA Gladiators and the Seoul Dynasty.
Vancouver, like San Francisco Shock, has the potential to win the crown this season, provided they stay united. Last season they tended to lose their temper, especially if they were forced to choke on their opponents.
They should also play around Hyojong ”HaksalKim, their Flex DPS, more often. Haksal performed some of his most important and successful plays last year, and he has an incredible sense of the game, but most of the time his team was not behind him.
le New York Excelsior are also an obvious team to watch. They've always been at the top of the League since the inaugural season, and their roster is absolutely stacked (as it has been throughout the team's history). Perhaps one of their best assets is MVP Sung-hyeon 2018 ”JJoNak"Bang et Jong-ryeol"Saebyeolbe”Park, who was named one of the league's top captains.
During the off-season, the team let go of Tae-hong "MekO"Kim at the Houston Outlaws and Yeon-oh"Fl0w3R”Hwang. However, it is doubtful that NYXL will suffer as a result of the loss of these players, especially since they have taken over Hong-joon ”HOTBA»Choi on the way.
HOTBA was previously signed for Guangzhou Charge, and its Sigma games gained notoriety during the playoffs for their ability to turn the tide in a fight. I hope he can hone his skills to include other tanks, such as D.Va, and then work closely with Dong-gyu ”Bro"Kim, the other main tank from NYXL.
New York are a very confident and assertive team, and there is no doubt that they will dominate this season, just as they have dominated them every other season.
Although Toronto Defiant didn't have much success last year, it's worth watching them this season due to the number of significant changes they made during the offseason. This includes, in particular, the addition of Brady "Agilities"Girardi and Lane"SurefourRoberts, two fan-favorite DPS players who had previously been signed with Los Angeles Valiant and LA Gladiators.
Last season, Toronto had a lot of potential, but never seemed to be able to tap into it, which was frustrating for the fans and even more so for the players and staff. However, if Surefour learns to adapt to the current meta - which was his problem last season with the Gladiators - we might see some of his raw talent and great play that we got used to from the previous season. Surefour also didn't really get a chance to play and show off his skills last season, so hopefully the Defiant gives him a chance.
One problem Toronto might face this opening weekend is its tank lineup, which starts with Andreas.Nevix"Karlsson and Adam"Stupid”Denton. The main problem for Beast is that he came from a Contenders team, Fusion University. The team succeeded and he turned out to be a good tank player, but this will be his first experience in the League, where the level of play is higher than that of Contenders. I hope he will be able to adapt quickly and step up when his team need him. Nevix, however, played for San Francisco last season, but had virtually no playing time. Now that he's in the starting lineup, fans can hope he's eager to play again. and that he will bring his best games.
If the meta changes to a more DPS-focused meta, the Defiant will most likely start and maintain a winning record, especially with Agilities and Surefour on the team. However, if they coordinate and become more adaptable, they have a chance to be successful despite the meta.
The 2020 season of Overwatch League kicks off February 8 with Toronto Defiant vs. Paris Eternal in New York, and LA Gladiators vs. Vancouver Titans and LA Valiant vs. Dallas Fuel in Texas. You can check the schedule in your time zone here and watch the matches on Youtube.
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