TaKeOver 2 will be the strongest Western tournament since the Overwatch Open last year. The sequel to the first ever LAN for Overwatch also breaks a drought in the EU scene, giving us a chance to see the full potential of Europe's best.

There is no weak team at the event. Rogue return to Europe after cementing themselves as the best team in North America, looking to broaden that claim across the West. They've brought Cloud9 with them too to represent North America and Korean talent.

In the home corner, every top European team is in attendance; it's a beautiful blend of dive and tank stylea - with the pioneers Rogue, eUnited, and NiP in attendance - along with versatile teams and those who have improved on their creations.

It’s the meta of versatility and the first standalone LAN tournament since it hit. Whether we’ll see an individual tournament meta or teams innovating on the fly remains to be seen. We don’t even know if LAN will mirror online.

All of this elite competitive action will be combined with the casual feel of a TaKe TV event. The German sofa LANs are legendary in other esports, often for the banter, but also for the window you get into the views and personalities of players and talent. We’ll hear less censored opinions on how players think of other teams, the meta, strategies, and their own performance.

Let’s meet the teams, in the order they were invited.

Teams

Ninjas in Pyjamas

  • Joonas "zappis" Alakurtti (DPS)
  • Lauri "mafu" Rasi (DPS)
  • Kalle "hymzi" Honkala (Flex)
  • Joona "fragi" Laine (Tank)
  • Aleksi "Zuppehw" Kuntsi (Support)
  • Antti "kynnel" Ville Kinnunen (Support)

Ninjas in Pyjamas were the forerunners and bastions of triple tank, but times have changed. The Finns were the team to beat in both the Overwatch Open and DreamHack Winter but fell both times to teams crafting counter-strategies. Both were millimeter losses but were juxtaposed to their dominant online wins.

It’s possible that these were LAN chokes; Ninjas’ loss to Fnatic in particular at DreamHack Winter showed an inability to adapt their gameplan or even composition, as the team refused to add a D.Va, or any mobility and verticality, to their composition. When the pressure hits them in close games, NiP have a history of losing.

This time, Ninjas in Pyjamas have no pressure to perform and a casual LAN atmosphere that may suit them. The issue is that we’re comparing apples and oranges in terms of the fruit Ninjas’ performance; NiP are no longer dominant in the European scene. Their only official outing has been in the Overwatch PIT and they flopped in playoffs, with their tanky style unable to match Movistar Riders and then Dignitas.

Teamplay has always been their strength, especially with the ability-intense tanks and their powerful ultimates. There are lots of compositions to try out to see if they fit that style, and this time less of their gameplan has been laid out on the table.

If Ninjas in Pyjamas return to form, it will be the longest-standing roster currently performing at the top. If not, perhaps they must consider a change.

Rogue

  • Terence "SoOn" Tarlier (DPS)
  • Dylan "aKm" Bignet (DPS)
  • Nicolas "NiCO" Moret (Flex)
  • Jean-Louis "KnOxXx" Boyer (Tank)
  • Benjamin "uNKOE" Chevasson (Support)
  • Michaël "winz" Bignet (Support)

Rogue are acclaimed and lauded their their efforts in making famous the triple DPS style and wreaking havoc with it in North America. Their new all-French roster fits excellently into their style and recent tweaks show they are open to change again certain opponents.

Rogue were on a 35 match winstreak in North America online, reminiscent of EnVyUs’ early 2016 dominance. Their victims included Selfless, EnVyUs, Cloud9, and other notable teams but the French side were unable to continue that streak to APEX.

In Korea Rogue were thrown into the ‘group of death’ with Lunatic-Hai and Kongdoo Panthera, potentially two of the best teams in the tournament. They lost to both and looked to be outclassed on some maps by Lunatic-Hai in particular. The Koreans have lain out a blueprint for taking down the Western giant, which could prove dangerous if their opponents have the skill and teamwork necessary to cut the beanstalk and watch them fall.

There is an expectation of achievement now that Rogue are back in the West. They are facing stiff competition against similar teams, however, and must keep their consistency against talent like eUnited and Movistar Riders after showing blood in Korea.

There is no doubting the talent of this roster though; they have some of the foremost individual players in the game and months of experience with their style. NiCO in particular should find it a comfort to be back in the West in a more relaxed environment, after shaky LAN performances on Genji. This is home turf back under their feet in more ways than one.

Rogue are the defending champions of TaKeOver after their win a year ago. Much has changed in that time; if you can bear to cast your memory back, you’ll remember that the game was played with hero limit zero, while Rogue had a split nationality team with Swedish iddqd, TviQ, and Reinforce on the roster. Interestingly, they beat KnOxXx in the finals under Creation Esports to take the trophy. Rogue would like to make it two out of two.

Cyclowns

  • Christian "Krytox" Gyldenloev (DPS)
  • Tuomo "Davin" Leppänen (DPS)
  • Emil "destro" Krastev (DPS)
  • Luke "iuKeEe" Dainton (Tank)
  • Antti "poks" Hellstedt (Support)
  • Ryan "CrusaDe" van Wegen (Support)

The story of Cyclowns heading into TaKeOver 2 is as tragic as their new name. The team has competed without an organisation since leaving Cyclone in March and has struggled to keep hold of its players. Mere days after qualifying for TaKeOver 2, earlier in May, they lost the battle to keep their unsalaried roster united.

With the roster which qualified, Cyclowns were crushing smaller European cups, blasting their way through Europe with wins over Riders, Hammers, Singularity Ninjas, Team expert, and a host of tier two and below teams. They had proven a phenomenal ability in the dive meta with world-class individual talent and a great skill for initiating and disengaging. Respect from peers was their reward, but the team had not been able to secure a major tournament win and prove themselves to a wider audience.

Playing without the support of an organisation took its toll on the players despite their success. Boombox was approached by eUnited, one of the only teams that did not represent a downgrade in ability, and felt he had to take their offer - directly boosting one of Cyclowns major opponents at TaKeOver. The team fashioned a plan to adapt, moving poks to flex support and loaning Krytox to play flex DPS.

While the team was negotiating with Singularity Ninjas and focusing on building short-term synergy, they lost yet another player to a paid position. Their star tank Mowzassa accepted an offer from Laser Kittenz and flew out to meet his new team in Korea, rendering him unable to play at TaKeOver 2. The change also left Cyclowns without their primary shotcaller, looking down the barrel of a $50,000 championship slipping through their fingers.

With only days to adjust and find a replacement, coach iuKeEe was forced to step in on main tank. He has prior experience on support and an intricate knowledge of how the team plays, but with so many changes and an overall reduction in talent, Cyclowns will be hard pressed to hit their previous form at their first LAN event.

If they are able to evolve rapidly and beat the world-class teams at TaKeOver 2, it will be testament to how incredible this team could have been.

Movistar Riders

  • Andreas "Logix" Berghmans (DPS)
  • Johan "cWoosH" Klingestedt (DPS)
  • Finnbjörn "Finnsi" Jónasson (Flex)
  • Raymond "Kolsti" Tea (Tank)
  • Dante "Dante" Zegveld (Support)
  • Alberto "neptuNo" González (Support)

In terms of tournament results, Riders are the strongest team in Europe currently. They have back-to-back victories in Overwatch PIT and the HND Invitational, with direct series wins over Hammers, eUnited, NiP, and Cyclowns.

Movistar Riders rose to their peak in the drought of Europe after moving to a team house. They’ve struggled to demonstrate their ability due to a lack of tournaments and this is their opportunity to take a championship win. Their primary strength is their triple DPS composition, particularly when playing against other dive teams. The stress of playing mirror compositions appears to push them to their limits, beating eUnited twice in PIT to take the title.

The fragging half of their roster gained LAN experience at DreamHack Winter playing as mousesports, so this won’t be the Riders’ first rodeo. Nevertheless, they have not performed as a team against such skilled opponents at a live event - the pressure will be on them to replicate their online success.

And despite their tournament wins, Riders lost to Misfits in the groups of PIT and Hammers in the qualifier for TaKeOver. While they could be the counter to other aggressive teams such as eUnited and Rogue, Movistar Riders may struggle against tankier teams fine-tuned to neutralise them.

The Riders must measure up against the rest of the best in Europe, against a range of styles, on LAN, before being crowned the best in Europe.

Misfits

  • Kevyn "TviQ" Lindström (DPS)
  • Andreas "Nevix" Karlsson (DPS)
  • Tim "Manneten" Byhlund (Flex)
  • Jonathan "Reinforce" Larsson (Tank)
  • Sebastian "Zebbosai" Olsson (Support)
  • Vytis "Mineral" Lasaitis (Support)

Misfits have failed to reach the potential that was expected of this roster, especially after the role changes paired Nevix and TviQ on DPS. To be fair to the Swedes, we haven’t seen this current iteration in a tournament since bringing in new Lucio Mineral, but their new national roster has so far not achieved the greatness it should be capable of.

Theoretically, their newest addition looks like a great move. Mineral plays closer to the backline in general to provide Zebbosai with more support and give the team additional leadership and initiative, two issues that appeared to plague them in PIT. Only a small tweak should be needed - Mineral could be the key to success.

Misfits are the most versatile team at TaKeOver, comfortable swapping reactively between compositions as the map or opponent requires. They have the tools to beat any team, generally know when to bring them out, and may unlock their monster DPS duo on LAN.

We’ve seen little of Misfits so far but their issues in PIT and APEX appeared to stem from playing at their opponents’ tempo and not having the initiative to grab key opportunities. With a little more gumption, individual ability, or aggression, Misfits could take the event.

Cloud9

  • Daniel "Gods" Graeser (DPS)
  • Lane "Surefour" Roberts (DPS)
  • Koo "Xepher" Jae-mo (Flex)
  • Ryu "Kaiser" Sang-hoon (Tank)
  • Randal "Roolf" Stark (Support)
  • Adam "Adam" Eckel (Support)

Cloud9 have traded their Europeans for Koreans in the run-up to TaKeOver to avoid being sabotaged by the Swedish patriots. It may not be the official line, but Cloud9 are the only team at the event - and the only Western team in quite some time at a championship - without any European players.

The team is versatile but still trying to find their individual ‘colour’, as coach Bishop would say. They have a gameplan and the roster but their ideas seem not to hit the floor with the same crisp execution as other teams’.

Kaiser moving in recently could open up Surefour to focus on DPS with Gods and Xepher flexing, allowing them to fall back to his legendary Reinhardt at any time. Before his addition, C9 were playing mostly D.Va/Winston compositions, juggling roles around; since Kaiser came in the team appears more comfortable on tanky compositions as well as the classic NA Pharah/Mercy.

The meta in North America over the last couple of months has been revolving around Pharah/Mercy more than in any other region, with no team finding a good counter for mastery of that comp. If the Rumble recently is a reasonable indication, Cloud9 may attempt to bring that style across the Atlantic and see how well it fairs into European Zenyattas and hitscans.

Cloud9 have been playing second fiddle in North America for a long time now, and a revival would truly be a surprise at this event. Nevertheless, with recent roster changes and a multi-talented team, now could be the time for Korean dominance across the world.

Hollywood Hammers

  • Mads "fischer" Jehg (Flex)
  • German "Nesh" Kobrin (DPS)
  • Erik "Snizzlenose" Hedåker (DPS)
  • Christopher "ChrisTFer" Graham (Tank)
  • Jonas "Shaz" Suovaara (Support)
  • Tamás "tomzeY" Bordás (Support)

Hollywood Hammers were invited to TaKeOver 2 late in proceedings, having already attempted to qualify through both brackets and been pipped at the post. They were by far the most consistent team not initially brought into TaKeOver and managed to beat Movistar in the first qualifier in a nail-biting 3-2 game.

Hammers have classically been a tank-heavy team, revolving around Snizzlenose’s excellent Roadhog and their coordination, but have made adaptations recently to open up more aggressive dive compositions for themselves. The adaptations have led to large improvements against their contemporaries, and Nesh has given them additional firepower whilst allowing them to go back to tanks whenever they please.

Hammers are a strong team that have the potential to upset anybody if they play at peak performance. They will likely be judged as the weakest team in the tournament after failing to qualify but should not be brushed aside lightly.

The overarching issue for Hammers however is their move to North America shortly after TaKeOver. It has put them in the unfortunate position of having to qualify for the NA Overwatch Contenders tournament on 140 ping from the event on Sunday. Their attention is split and both routes are tough.

Speaking to the team, they value qualification in the NA Overwatch Contenders more highly than performance at TaKeOver 2. The potential for success in this $50,000 tournament is outweighed by the importance of securing regular matches for the players and organisation in the upcoming Blizzard system.

It must feel strange to compete at your first championship LAN, surrounded by players you looked up to mere months beforehand, and instead be forced to focus on an online qualifier. It’s a tough road for Hammers.

eUnited

  • Harrison "Kruise" Pond (Flex)
  • Hendrik-William "vallutaja" Kinks (DPS)
  • Andrei "uNFixed" Leonov (DPS)
  • Normund "sharyk" Faterins (Tank)
  • Isaac "Boombox" Charles (Support)
  • Thomas "Morte" Kerbusch (Support)

eUnited are touted as the best team in Europe by almost all of their peers. They placed second in PIT after winning the StriveWire Monthly Brawl February and also have a fierce reputation from their scrim results in Europe, but have shown their face only fleetingly in tournaments.

Their most recent roster move, kicking Rubikon for reasons unknown and bringing in Cyclown’s former flex support Boombox, appears to be a slight but meaningful upgrade for both parties.

eUnited at TaKeOver are looking for their first major win. The team has been relevant since their days as REUNITED in beta but took second at the Atlantic Showdown, bombed out of the Overwatch Open, struggled in APEX S1 with a last minute replacement, and have rebuilt their roster for 2017.

They’ve been waiting for this opportunity. They are one of the favourites coming into the tournament. Their players have LAN experience. They helped pioneer the triple DPS compositions, so much so that the EU players call it the eUnited comp. If it wasn’t such a stacked field in Germany then it would almost feel inevitable.

This is their meta and their time to prove themselves, but Rogue are like sharks, circling for blood - and they must also overcome Movistar Riders who beat them in back-to-back series to take EU PIT Championship.

Schedule

The format of the tournament sees the eight teams split into two groups of four. Each fixture of these round robin groups will be played as a four-map set. The top three from each group seeded into a double elimination bracket. It’s a rigorous sieve with one aim: find the best in the West.

Group A

Group B

Thursday, 1st June

Friday, 2nd June

Saturday, 3rd June

  • 15:15 CET - Group B Round Robin - Misfits vs. Movistar Riders
  • 17:00 CET - Group A Round Robin - eUnited vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas
  • 19:05 CET - Upper Bracket Round 1 - TBD vs. TBD
  • 20:30 CET - Upper Bracket Round 1 - TBD vs. TBD
  • 21:55 CET - Lower Bracket Round 1 - TBD vs. TBD
  • 23:20 CET - Lower Bracket Round 1 - TBD vs. TBD

Sunday, 4th June

  • 15:15 CET - Lower Bracket Round 2 - TBD vs. TBD
  • 17:15 CET - Upper Bracket Final - TBD vs. TBD
  • 19:15 CET - Lower Bracket Final - TBD vs. TBD
  • 21:15 CET - Grand Final - TBD vs. TBD

Broadcast Details

All of the action from TaKeTV's casting couch will be broadcast live to twitch.tv/taketv, where Mitch ”Uber” Leslie, Jason Kaplan, Brennon ”Bren” Hook, and myself will be there to guide you through the action.

Players and coaches are likely to jump in from game to game to give their insight as well, so don’t miss any of the unique action from TaKeOver 2. Be sure to check out our event page for all the live scores, VODs and brackets.