With both REUNITED and Rogue failing to progress, some may have felt that there was no one left to challenge Team EnVyUs, but boy were they wrong. A stunning first push from Misfits rocked the tournament favourites and set them for victory on King's Row. EnVy were able to bounce back and tie the series up on Nepal, but would find themselves shutout again on Watchpoint: Gibraltar. It would be on Lijiang Tower that Misfits emerged as champions, dashing EnVy's hopes of an offline title to manifest their legacy. An incredible achievement by Misfits to triumph over roster adversity on the grandest stage.

King's Row

Mirrored Mei comps have been all the rage on Objective A and this game starts off no differently. Misfits open with their favoured balcony push and despite Talespin waiting to give the attackers a frosty reception, it is cocco who gets left out in the cold; walled off by Nevix and set upon by a pack of rabid rabbits. With Reinhardt down the rest of EnVy fall like dominos and Misfits capture uncontested.

Neither side has even built an ultimate at this point, but the one-sided first engagement has given Misfits the edge in the arms race. They wait for the payload to get rolling before initiating with SoOn's Nano Reaper, he assassinates his evil twin, Taimou, before being Shattered to the floor. Red and blue Blizzards trade out, but it is the Graviton that swings things in favour of Misfits to collect on another team kill.

At the mouth of foundry INTERNETHULK's well-placed Graviton Surge goes unrewarded in the face of ryb's shield. He responds to open things up with a long range Earthshatter that floors cocco, granting the French maids SoOn and Kryw access to do a little housekeeping. Misfits have traded one for six and the momentum continues with the attackers swatting down Talespin's Pharah-Mercy threat in the home straight. The payload is virtually captured, but EnVy rally from spawn to halt it progress at 85cm with a HarryHook Resurrect. Then from nowhere a pick on HULK and Sleep Dart on cocco sets up Hidan's outnumbered Ana to ride it home and steal a completion.

With still 4 minutes in their opponents timebank, EnVyUs begin their arduous attack with Talespin and chipshajen taking to the skies. The rocket man may have been hoping to abuse a defensive Mei, but Nevix is ready to keep him at bay as McCree. However, when both Reinhardt's are traded out the damage boosted spam potential becomes too much and Misfits retreat to the streets. When ryb returns they plough straight back in with a Nano Boost killing four, only for chips to land the money Resurrection that leads to a Graviton Barrage wipe. EnVy hit the streets with 5 minutes on the clock.

The body count skyrockets as Misfits team wipe EnVyUs three times in space of a minute; the initial push, a respawn push and a resurrection all entering the meat grinder. It falls to Taimou to do some heavy lifting on Reaper in the Sound Barrier push that follows, stacking up frags and pulling his team out of a rut. Just before the foundry SoOn pushes back, waking up from a Sleep Dart with a Nano Blossom 3K to reset at 2:15.

Some lovely Dart interplay between Taimou and chipshajen coming from the flank eliminates the SoOn threat in the next push and nV finally commence the foundry section. Time is their enemy with only two minutes to go and a host of ultimates available to the defenders, but a classic Misfits aggressive defence goes sour and Talespin slays them with a Nano Blossom. Misfits find the reset though as Kryw's clutch Zarya makes her presence felt with a Graviton wipe. Having not learned their lesson Misfits go hunting for frags again only to be smacked down by Taimou and Talespin who show up to deliver the payload home in overtime.

No changes for Misfits as they plot the best way to secure Objective A in 4 minutes. This time around cocco doesn't fall for the early Mei shenanigans, surviving the first push to deliver an Earthshatter that shuts down the Nano Boosted second one. Huge shield work from ryb isn't enough and the third push falters for Misfits. Again EnVy stand tall on wave number four and Misfits have it all to do on the fifth attempt with 40 seconds remaining.

Nevix manages to split the defenders ranks with a zoning Blizzard and SoOn pushes hard on the right to force out Sound Barrier with his life. One man down and running out of time ryb goes charging behind, spins around to ground three with an Earthshatter, shielding off Mei before channelling his Nano rage monster and swinging for the fences. Try as they might EnVy cannot recover and Misfits take an epic first map.

Nepal

1 - Village

Both teams are comfortable on KOTH maps, but Misfits enter the Village stage with a one map lead. Recognising that now is the time to stop the rot, Taimou opens on Roadhog with a series of surgical hooks that help Team EnVyUs win the first fight with zero casualties. Misfits win a scrappy fight with SoOn's Tracer to flip it back at 32% and he continues to maul. EnVy recap at 44% and then find a big Graviton wipe to solidify their position. Misfits regain control in overtime with Hidan's Zenyatta shelling out orbs that SoOn and Kryw on Reaper follow up on to shred wave after wave of nV players to take the round. 1-0 Misfits.

2 - Shrine

Switching up from the first round cocco moves to Zarya with HULK embodying his spirit animal, Winston, but it's the other EnVy tank that steals the show. Taimou on Roadhog continues to find godly hooks on SoOn. A prolonged opening fight ends when EnVy capture, and the follow up push from Misfits is over in a flash as Graviton leads to a Pulse Bomb from Talespin. It's 95% before Misfits manage to flip control, but in the subsequent repush Taimou finds the entry hook on Tracer before nV burn all their ults to reclaim control and tie things at 1-1.

3 - Sanctum

Heading to the confines of Sanctum, Nevix switches back to Mei, Kryw to Zarya and SoOn to Reaper. A bizarre opening sees HULK fall in the pit unaided and SoOn miraculously avoid the pit despite being hooked by Taimou. The point ticks up in Misfits favour. Switching from Winston to Reinhardt ryb weathers the storm on the point as carnage unfolds on all sides. It's not until Taimou's cowboy busts the flank open, going 1v2 against Mei and Lucio, that EnVy are able to flip the point at 86%. A crowd pleasing Primal Rage from HULK denies the pit another frag, but as he batters Kryw's Zarya up and down the map Misfits are able to sneak the cap. EnVy battle to regain control at 42:99 and dispatch fresh Genji and Tracer threats from Nevix and SoOn to hold out. 2-1 EnVy.

4 - Shrine

A second trip to Shrine sees Taimou's god hooks return in style, catching the SoOn Tracer almost mid-Blink, then shredding Winston before snaring Zebbosai's retreating Lucio and capturing the point. Lurking behind cover on the left, the flashy Finn pops out to connect a big hook once again, wrenching SoOn down from the balcony. Misfits try to focus the Roadhog next push, but Taimou baits them into running the nV gauntlet. After another failed attempt Misfits do manage to flip control in overtime and start the long road to 100%, but some immortal Roadhog play from Taimou sees him murder Kryw's Reaper and SoOn's Tracer in quick succession. EnVy retake control and secure the map to unironic chants of "USA! USA! USA!".

Watchpoint: Gibraltar

With the series tied up Misfits select Gibraltar as the destination and open on defence with Mei x Reaper once more. EnVy roll out with durable 3-2-1 setup that has Talespin on Mei. Spotting Misfits holed up in the server room, Tale forces them out with an Ice Wall and nV then commit from multiple angles as Taimou's homing hooks pull the defence apart. Reinhardt cocco racks up three quick kills to secure the first checkpoint and nV rush to take the shuttle high ground.

A hectic passage of play sees Misfits somehow dislodge the attackers and stall the payload out, with ults traded to eventually reset the fight and take the hangar high ground. EnVyUs then seek to challenge them directly and attack from upper right only to run into Nevix's white witch - none of them survive the resulting snowpocalypse. Eager to remedy the situation, Talepsin and chips head to the Pharmercy, but Nevix's quick switching prairie doctor prescribes them nothing but hot lead – dropping down for a Deadeye into flick shot and flashbang triple kill.

EnVy fight back to stagger out the Misfits spawns and make payload progress up the hangar slope. Approaching the checkpoint the defenders scramble to stall out, busting in with a Sound Barrier before a Kryw Graviton goes deep to suck half of nV back down the ramp, denying cocco's Nano fun time and completing the rout. Misfits stand tall and the attack ends at the hangar phase.

On defence EnVyUs still favour triple tank, but they switch roles up a little with Taimou taking to the catwalk as McCree and Talespin playing the ramp as Roadhog. Tracer SoOn finds out the hard way, taking an early ride on the Chain Hook. Misfits delay briefly before engaging directly even before SoOn returns. An optimistic charge from ryb misses cocco but crushes the life out of Roadhog. A flurry of frags come in for Misfits and as the first checkpoint falls they still have 5 minutes to push for the map.

The attacker's momentum allows them to snowball rapidly through the hangar. EnVy are in complete disarray; lacking numbers, lacking ultimates and lacking cohesion. Misfits temporarily regroup on the cart before rushing upstairs to the claim the catwalk. EnVy actually manage to dismantle the offence, but crucially Misfits maintain a huge ult advantage for the next fight.

The pieces are in position, but Misfits are forced to execute early as HULK surprises them with a Graviton from behind. They survive and burst out with a Nano Nevix Reaper who finds three big kills before biting down on a Pulse Bomb. The attack centres on the payload, cocco whiffs an Earthshatter and ryb picks up the scalp before find another on HULK's D.Va. With the tanks down the remaining defenders are simply too squishy and are soon mulched under the wheels of payload progress. Misfits win out to make it 2-1.

Lijiang Tower

1 - Night Market

Roadhog-Winston-Zarya for EnVyUs faces off against the 2-2-2 of Misfits with Reaper Kryw, SoOn Tracer and Hidan Zenyatta well positioned to the shred tanks. First to fall is ryb, diving straight in as Winston, but his teammates head directly to the point, killing HarryHook and Talespin's Tracer. EnVy regain control at 32% but hold outside, allowing Misfits to come in and recapture without a contest. They realise their mistake too late and take a panic engagement, but it's a slaughter and Primal ryb punches them skyward as gentleman Kryw waves them off.

EnVyUs flip control back at 79% and issue a number of successive beat downs. Eventually Misfits retake again at 86% off the back of intrepid Tracer plays from SoOn. EnVy switch it back again in overtime, but one last prolonged push for Misfits capitalises on big Winston plays from ryb on the respawn, punching his way to a first round victory.

2 - Control Center

EnVy continue with the triple tank plus Tracer setup and take the first fight. Misfits struggle to break control, their key ultimates have been building at a snail's pace, but finally with a war chest assembled they commit. Nano Winston from HULK achieves little, but Primal ryb proves to be the top banana, causing chaos amongst the defence. The point flips to Misfits at 91% and for at least a minute they face heavy pressure from EnVy. Valiant efforts from SoOn and ryb aren't enough and nV recap to put the round in to overtime kicking off an insane fight on the point. Only three heroes remain; it's Tracer v Tracer - SoOn v Talespin - with Hidan's Zenyatta supplying the orbs to stack the fight, but SoOn steps off the point and the round ends. Unreal! 1-1.

3 - Garden

EnVy barely make it past the bridge before Talespin's Tracer goes down. Their trio of tanks hesitate to commit and are picked off one by one, playing to the single target strengths of Hidan's Zenyatta. Transcendence comes out in the next fight in response to chipshajen's Nano Boost. The next fight is a real slugfest and slowly Misfits are ground down allowing nV their first capture at 79%. Their spell in control is brief though as Misfits flip it back at 26% when Nevix comes skipping over the bridge to unleash his Graviton, setting Kryw and SoOn up to slay all and sundry. EnVy's final attempt forces overtime by a whisker but is quickly neutralised. 2-1 Misfits.

4 - Control Center

Map point, match point and tournament point for Misfits as they return to Control Center. Compositions remain unchanged. EnVy's 3-2-1 plays the 2-2-2 of Misfits; Ana plays Zenyatta. The first two frags go to EnVy, but they quickly find themselves encircled on the point. SoOn, Zebbosai and Nevix tighten the noose, collapsing on Taimou to take the initial capture.

Control ping-pongs back and forth to nV and then Misfits as Taimou watches his team die waiting for the perfect conditions to Death Blossom. Misfits rush forward to hold the lobby, and with four ultimates up for each side all hell breaks loose indoors. Taimou picks both supports with the Blossom he held on to moments before, and at the same time SoOn's Tracer is farming frags and ult charge all over the map, retreating to the control point to stabilise with Nevix's Zarya.

The ticks hit 80% as Misfits respawn and regroup on point. EnVyUs commit hard to the fight with a Kryw Blossom wilting in the face of Taimou's Nano Reaper, Hidan pops a pre-emptive Transcendence to keep everyone healthy – it has all been building up to this point.

Nevix lobs a Graviton Surge toward the stairs just as he gets it only to die seconds later, almost in unison with SoOn who tosses out his Pulse Bomb from beyond the grave. It's so fucking beautiful, man. A huge 3K leaves only legendary Broders Zebbosai and ryb on the point battling Talespin's Tracer. Going Primal one last time, superstar stand-in ryb punches a young English girl for $100,000; landing the killer blow on Tracer and landing Misfits their biggest payday to date as the overtime decays to zero.

Team EnVyUs finish the Overwatch Open in second place for a cool $32,000, but clearly expected more. Misfits miracle run to beat the "greatest Overwatch team in history" (and EnVy) with two stand-ins will be talked about for years to come and speaks volumes about the strength and depth of their core roster.

Absolutely incredible stuff and another great milestone for competitive Overwatch.