Why we ALL need this down time

#1

darkcvc

So I see a lot of people commenting on the current state of the OW pro scene and the lack of tournaments now that OWL is announced and I wanted to put my opinion out there.

So over the last month 12 OWL teams have been announced. Almost every player in the league came from a team that was formerly playing in the online and LAN tournaments we all love. We all know that there were some amazing players that also did not get signed to OWL teams. So the current state of teams outside of OWL is totally up in the air.

As fans, players, and organizations we ALL want this down time in order for the remaining orgs to evaluate rosters, sign remaining players, and re-build as necessary. As exciting as OWL and the rosters are, the rest of the OW scene has to recover from these players signings and re-build. So before we can jump right in to tournaments, we have to let these teams, players, and orgs have the proper time to do so.

For example the shakeup in contenders to me is the most obvious. A lot of these teams were picked apart, but have remaining players who could rebuild a team to take that spot. Looking at the four EU and NA finalists:

Envyus - roster is gone, but can the team build a new contenders roster to participate? sort of like a farm league
FNRGFE - Muma stated if there is anyone else left unsigned he would let them re-build or give it to Enigma
Faze - org still exists, FCTFCTN unsigned
Envision - stated they are re-building
Misfits - roster is gone, but can the team build a new contenders roster to participate? sort of like a farm league
C9 EU - some of the roster is gone, org still exists can they rebuild?
Gigantti - 2 members left to re-build from
123 members left can re-build

You could look at a similar situation with the shakeup in APEX. Bottom line is, there is a huge talent pool available, but OWL was a huge shakeup and we need to give everyone some much needed time to do what is best for the players and orgs, even if it feels like it is not the best for us fans.

#2

Wombat

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We should take a page out of Zenyatta's handbook.

This break gives us a chance to focus, a warrior's greatest weapon is patience. Free your mind until the cycle begins anew.

I dreamt I was a butterfly.

#6

DanceNumber

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I dreamt I was a butterfly.

This is my most used voice line on Zen. For some reason I feel like zenyatta is happy about his butterfly like dream. Fly on little robot monk, fly on.

#3

remiska

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c9 exists ... as london i wont expect them to create other team for a while same goes for envyus and misfits, they might have different name but it is still the same company with same people

i woudexpect some organizations to come back for example faze

#8

KuroiRyuu9625

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The C9 organisation exists but they're free to use the actual C9 name if they did want to entertain having a Contenders Team. Not sure if it's something they'd want to do but it's an open possibility.

#4

Pixelfish

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I like the relaxing time. Also builds up the hype for preseason.

#5

FrozenJackal

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Note that in the last 5 months we have had Contenders season 0 and 1, APEX, OPC, Premier Series, APAC, and World Cup. Frankly after all that a pause is needed.

#14

Diamond1580

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Also OWPS

#7

Hudsen

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I'd much prefer an offseason/down time in tournaments to a tournament drought any day of the week

Plus it's getting into the later months of the year, and most of these guys have families that may not get to see them because they're competing

That being said, having smaller tournaments for the non-OWL/OWC teams will be great to keep viewers engaged with up and coming talent. It's one of the prime reasons why I miss watching the Overwatch Monthly Melee. The games were frequent enough to keep viewers engaged but still contained talent that was worth watching to the event's conclusion

#9

LordOfHorns

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I think we need a tournament. This is boring. We’ve already had the hype with the rosters and everything. Now we jus wait a month

#10

robokun87

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Correct me if I'm wrong but we will most likely only have Contenders in Europe to deal with, why would any org pick up these players and pay them only to lose them in a year if they impress and get snapped up from an OWL team, that org for example Misfits wouldn't make a dime from them being "Moved over" would they?

I can definitely see some orgs having a feeder team like Misfits, picking up 6 of the best Europeans left and basically saying impress us and you might join our OWL squad next season.

#11

Sideshow

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Having your team be picked up by OWL S2 is a HUGE paycheck for the org. It's like the #1 reason you would make a team in Contenders right now.

Sign good talent
Prove they're good in Contenders
???? (owl teams want them)
Profit from the players' buyouts

OWL teams can't just "take" players, they have to pay the buyout if they're under contract. Contenders org will sign players desiring to sell them later, and players will take that burden of a buyout rather than play without salary for a year. Positive situation for both, assuming you are clever with signing the right talent that will be desired in S2.

#12

robokun87

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I thought every player was a free agent though or was that only to begin with? if orgs do get a buyout fee for the players then it would be massive for any org not involved with OWL to build a team in that case for sure not just to get the fee but in the hopes they get financial backing if they do well.

#13

tamagao

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Despite the "everyone is a free agent" thing, orgs still have buyouts for their players. Orgs that thought they were getting into OWL until late, such as Rogue and eUnited, likely demanded high buyouts for their players until they released them, which is likely why certain no-brainer pickups are not in OWL.

#15

Sideshow

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No, everyone is/was NOT a free agent. OWL treated everybody as available to be signed, as in "you are allowed to sign owl contracts, blizzard won't stop you because you used to be on LG / Misfits / etc. and now wanna join DF / BU / etc." but many players were still under contract to their organisation. Blizzard cannot suddenly undo a load of contract law by announcing that the players are all free agents.

This is why you've heard about players finding it difficult to find teams due to their buyouts. Rogue players for example have publicly said that their buyouts were quite large and so it made them less in demand despite their skill. It's a balance to find a good buyout for the org, since if they overprice the player they will get 0, but they obviously want as much as possible.

As to your second sentence - exactly, and that's what the system is banking on, that farm teams can generate money from prizepools/viewership/sponsorship + these buyout "farm" systems to stay afloat even in the tier 2 scene. It's a fairly legitimate system.

#16

accountseverywhere

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I know I have been down on the whole OWL scene before but after the world cup I'm really pumped to see what is next. It looks like its going be pretty cool. Would be nice if they ease up a bit and start letting 3rd parties host stuff to enlarge the breeding ground for talent. Either way, for the first time in a while I'm pumped.

#17

darkcvc

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Thanks for a positive post. I am looking forward to it as well.

#18

Hudsen

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I wonder if Blizzard is going to have the World Cup be the conclusion of pro/tournament events under their banner each year. To me it makes a lot of sense too. Having the OWL season go through the majority of the year, concluding a little bit before the World Cup qualifiers begin, and then Blizzcon and the World Cup being the end of major events for the year in terms of pro/tournament play, giving the pros the rest of the year as a sort of off-season period