1SHOT are a team that has been crying out to be signed for some time - rarely a weekly would go by when ZP and Hexagrams would not lament their lack of sponsorship. Dry those eyes brave casters. Fans rejoice. Salvation is here, 1SHOT have been signed by Method.

Method are a professional eSports organisation borne out of World of Warcraft who have dabbled in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Hearthstone, but are currently focusing their energies on Overwatch. Sascha Steffens, Method co-owner offered his thoughts in their official announcement:

"A Method Overwatch team has been an idea on our mind ever since the game's announcement at Blizzcon in November of 2014. Therefore we are very happy to announce today, that this almost 2 years old thought has become a reality. It's exciting for us to branch out into a new game, especially with such a talented group of players. We can't wait to show you more of the team - keep a close eye on Method's YouTube channel!"

Having held a position on the fringes of North America's elite for the longest of times, the results of 1SHOT can perhaps look a little unflattering when taken out of context. As regular invitees to Overwatch's top tier tournaments they have more losses against top five teams than perhaps anyone else in the region, but that belies the fact that they have maintained their status for months by consistently dismantling those who would challenge them from below.

The mercurial flex role had previously been filled by Dylan "DoT" Matychuk, but the roster had been trying out a variety of players for the last 2-3 weeks in an effort to fill their sixth spot including Rastsy who was part of their noteworthy win over Northern Gaming Red (another team currently looking for a sixth – playing with bl4nk in that game) in the ELEAGUE / FACEIT Overwatch Open NA Qualifier #1. In recent games though they have favoured Gabriel "Snow" Ceregatto, but he was not part of the official Method announcement.

I reached out to the team manager Brayden "APotentBeast" Wilmoth for some clarification on the situation. Here's what he had to say:

"We have been playing with Snow and just as of this week we've decided to bring him on as our permanent sixth player. DoT and the team both decided it wasn't quite the right fit and left on good terms. Both parties weren't necessarily on the same page about the direction we wanted to go so we felt it was better on both sides to find a new person to fill his place. Great player though and we can't say enough great things about him."

So is Snow is officially signed with Method?

He isn't "officially" signed with Method but he has a verbal acceptance to the team. We believe it will become official over the course of the next week.

Never missing an opportunity to fish, I inquired, "Any plans for a team house?"

"It's an option we're keeping open for the future, but in the immediate future we are really just focusing on practicing with our new finished roster to get our team results where we want them. Give it a few months and we might revisit the team house idea though!"

Yesterday they missed out on a trip to Cologne, having made it within two games of qualifying for ESL's $100,000 Atlantic Showdown they came undone in dramatic 0-3 fashion against an ohno side that have been making big waves in North America. No doubt lessons will have to be learned, but the gritty determination that has got them this far combined with a newly stabilised roster and the support of the Method organisation put them in good stead to bounce back. ELEAGUE or bust!

The Method roster is:

  • Jacob "PsychoWaffle" Oyer (Support)
  • Randal "Roolf" Stark (Support)
  • Brandon "ultimawep" Wilson (DPS)
  • Nicholas "exi" Dudek (DPS)
  • Eric "Krawnnic" Beaugh (Tank)
  • Gabriel "Snow" Ceregatto (Flex)
  • Seamus "Seamoose" Anderson (Analyst)