I'm sorry you had to endure an Admirable edition of Picked Over last week, his taste is worse than INTERNETHULK with his pineapple sandwiches. In between cramming Winter Premiere vods and watching the CS:GO Major (please for the love of god, Astralis), I did manage to catch a couple of good pieces for you.
Here's some of the best content created in Overwatch since last Sunday, so you never have to leave over.gg ever again...
Grand Danois Interview
Plus Forward - by xou
Grand Danois, who were until recently playing for Fragsters, are one of the best "unknown" teams in Europe. Despite not having competed in large tournaments, they are a strong team firmly inside the top 10 in Europe.
The lack of tournaments in the region along with the emigration of top teams has left a vacuum that teams such as Grand Danois have been quick to fill.
After Fragsters chose not to send the team to the only European LAN in months, Grand Danois paid their own way to Paris to compete. xou caught up with them to see how things are going for the Danish side.
You are now in Paris for the final matches of the XtraCup. Is this your first live/LAN event on Overwatch? How do feel about it so far?
This is the very first event, we got to meet each others in real life only yesterday even though we played for 5months together. We wanted to attend DHW17 but Fragster didn't want to pay for it. Seeing each others was the most exciting thing, it will probably improve our communication. We only get pressure from the cameras, we already played on stream before. The nerves come from the conditions here at the event, it's not as comfortable as home.
Overwatch Esports Fastbreak
KickedTripod - by John
Overwatch is quickly developing into a competitive scene that has more tournament matches than one person can physically watch. If you don't have all the time in the world, or Bernard's Watch to hand, then recap shows like this are a must.
Fastbreak aims to show you what happened in the notable tournaments during the week - all in under three minutes. Everyone has three minutes. I waste three minutes on average every five.
Around the Watch: Episode 3 with Mendokusaii
By CaptainPlanet, Pesto_Enthusiast, and Harsha
If you can navigate your way around the podcast's rough edges, this episode of Around the Watch is very informative and entertaining.
CaptainPlanet, Pesto_Enthusiast, and Harsha talk for around 50 minutes with *Mendokusaii* who is currently competing in Korea for APEX Season 2.
It's a loose interview that meanders through his experiences in Korea, the new Cloud9 roster changes and the new meta, and its casual feel doesn't stop it hitting many interesting checkpoints on the way.
Interview with Spicy Boys' spOh
GosuGamers - by Pesto_Enthusiast
Immortals recently highlighted Spicy Boys as one of their teams to watch in 2017. They're one of the best unsigned teams and continue to make waves that are splashing at the heels of the top teams in North America.
Pesto_Enthusiast gives us an introductory insight into the team and their beginnings.
You guys have been invited to the Alienware Monthly Melee that's taking place this weekend. You'll be in a group with FaZe, Denial, and Rise. What are your goals heading into the event?
Our goal is pretty simple: show up, play our best and give 100%. We've been scrimming several of the top teams for a while and have had pretty good results, dating back to the NGE qualifiers. While scrims are a rough barometer at best for how a team is doing, consistency in performance whether its in scrims or tournaments, has usually been one of our strong points.
Based off these performances, I'd say our team is a contender for winning the tournament, but not the favorite to win. None of these teams are easy matches and we will have to take every match seriously. We've got the opportunity to be here, now we just have to make the most of it.
Interview with Hunni from Grand Danois
By Kirby
Seems like everyone wants to talk to Grand Danois this week. Kirby adds a twist to his usual content by incorporating some on-site interviews from the XTRA Cup in Paris this week; we get to hear how the Danish side feel about splitting with Fragsters and adapting to the new meta.
Looking Forward
By Scr1be
Our last highlight for this week is not really a feature piece.
Scr1be has been creating solid content for quite some time within the scene but, as with many content creators, has not broken out into mainstream public awareness - at least not enough to justify moving full-time into the space.
This is quite a personal Twitlonger but it's a good insight into the psyche of content creators within esports. They often have to make difficult decisions about how much time they can commit, how many opportunities are available, and how it impacts the rest of their life. More and more homegrown talent is being developed within Overwatch - many of whom have full-time jobs as is the case with Scr1be, Flame, etc.
It's by no means a more difficult scene to break into than former esports; opportunities only continue to grow as the industry develops and Overwatch booms. But, for many, esports content creation remains a small venture dabbled in by fans. For those with successful careers, it can often only exist as a passion project.
Ever since my start in esports, Overwatch has taken a very large role in my life. In order to write, to keep up with the scene, even to the extent of socializing and trying to build my brand, I've been sacrificing valuable time. Every article I have written has been done while on the clock at my actual job. And it is heavily impacting my ability to do the job, which allows me to follow my passion.
Furthermore, due to the increasing number of active clients I now have to support, I can no longer afford to waste time in this manner. I often times don't eat when I get home because I get exhausted. I don't have the time to watch 5 hours of VoDs everyday for minimal return.
The truth is, I'm frustrated with how little I am able to achieve in the Overwatch scene with my current level of contribution.
Discord