Added it into the first post for reference.

They kind of already do it with Blue/Red but I wouldn't mind them changing the Red because of enemy outlines and how red things usually symbolize the other team rather than a specific one.

That and keeping the same colors when teams switch maps and what not but I think he was mostly focusing one how the action was hard to follow and that no matter what camera angle you take you're likely missing key plays because of the nature of the game.

He has an interesting take on why Overwatch is so difficult to spectate, made a lot of sense to me. The whole title was too long for the post so I shortened it but added it to the link itself.

He didn't list solutions but the Reddit thread goes through some itself.

Reddit Thread:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Competitiveoverwatch/comments/6udfjq/overwatchs_fundamental_and_unfixable_spectator/

Youtube Video:
Overwatch's Fundamental and "Unfixable" Spectator Problem

-----

Remiska's OWC Viewership/Spectating threads in case you missed them:

Shanghai
Number of viewers for the Overwatch World Cup Shanghai Qualifiers

Sydney
Number of viewers Sydney qualifier

Katowice
Katowice OWC qualifier viewership

Santa Monica
Santa Monica OWC qualifier viewership, observing

Rem's Spectating improvement thread:
Overwatch spectating improvments

I have to agree, though I hope GiG can manage to make the match closer than the score would indicate, maybe even make it a 3-1 for eUnited.

Much hype to see how these guys have adjusted their style of play after all the roster changes.

I remember reading that Zebbo did found it harder to call in English, probably because he hadn't needed to in a while, and that they had some form of Swegrish thing going on.

Their two newest additions should definitely help them out, ChrisTFer and Jaru are awesome players and I really want these guys to do well but I think it's going to be a rough road.

I hope they can compete with RNG, Kun and FNRGFE at the very least. I'm not 100% sure how FaZe will do with Carpe since he can be an absolute monster under the right conditions and the other three teams have proven to currently be the elite of the region.

Realistically I think this has a high probability of being a 4-0 for Rogue, but I believe, through polar bears and snow storms or through -40C temps, Maple Syrup shall save us all.

I think the meme will never die, ma favorite current iteration is Canada9, since the roster that birthed this gem is sadly no longer.

You can bet that people will gladly embrace these new "C9 LUL" warriors should they make the mistake even once. What is dead may never die.

I'm assuming that comms would swap to English but maybe they'll go the IMT route where everyone learns some call in the favored language so who knows, maybe after enough time they'll all be able to add another language to their bag of tricks!

New vid up:
Rewind! Lunatic-Hai dominate Escort

This looks like it could be shaping up to have a clear top 4, maybe even top 2, and a clear bottom 4 with ahq, BLANK, Ardeont and FW posturing themselves as being head and shoulders above the rest.

If FW have managed to learn of their, now obvious, weaknesses from those losses to USA and UK we could end up seeing a two man race for the top between them and possibly Ardeont.

Looking forward to seeing who can set themselves apart early in the game and what matches between the top three from last season + Ardeont will look like!

For all the prep they seem to make when expecting some comps it's still surprising, even after three seasons, to see them stick to strats that don't work.

They either looks like geniuses that knew all along or a really inflexible team that brute forces their way to victory, or in this case defeat.

I'm guessing that LTJ's not going to be in the starting lineup for the next matches...or will he...

Welp, couldn't deal with the Pharcercy and Doomfist. Bit of hubris for the LH squad since their stubbornness seems to have cost them as well this time around.

Interesting meta with the Rein/Zarya/McCree/Doomfist picks that we hadn't seen in a while but them not having played a match together before this really showed. Luckily this is an extremely long tournament so they have time to gel but hopefully we do see improvement in the coming weeks.

I see, do they include data from platforms like twitch or MLG or is it just television broadcasts? I don't know what Blizz has planned for the OWL in that regard.

Wouldn't be that surprising given the long run without good results. Where are those rumors from? Other the usual speculations about under performing teams given the current state of the scene.

Sinatraa could be a thing but LGE would have to fold for Jake to realistically be somewhat available and I haven't seen/heard any rumblings about that.

I also wonder if they'd wait until Contenders was over for player, if teams play once a week we're looking at 7-9 weeks for the whole thing ish? (Don't quote me on that, not entirely sure)

I guess it's possible but it would be a long time holding out when they could fill the spot earlier, imo.

Interesting, can't say I've heard of them but it's good to see more interest into eSports period.

I've got dirt on Admirable's less than admirable pet hating practices so I'm running the show from the shadows...

Read it as "IDDQD wasn't streaming at the same time", the other way could have been clear to you, of course, but it wasn't to me hence why I questioned that particular practice.

I'm all ears if you know of any additional pieces of information that could be added to him sitting out a scrim though.

EU flag? Europeans hate pets, confirmed.

And finally, earlier today, Kariv told xQc that they were scrimming against NRG. This would be meaningless if IDDQD wasn't streaming at the same time. Which begs the question, is he still on the team ?

The structure of this particular passage makes it susceptible to interpretation but feel free to clarify it.

Of course you're allowed to post whatever it is you feel is relevant, I don't believe I ever said you couldn't and of course your free to defend your point of view from opposition. I can rephrase my inquiry if it relays the question better.

Admirable hates pets, confirmed.

As in you hate pets...or do you mean pet peeve? <3

What actual concrete information do you have other than him not streaming scrims, not something I know them to usually do, or you thinking he's overrated?

Right now your argument is extremely weak, at best.

Feel free to add that Reddit thread link to this thread:
https://www.over.gg/5223/faze-replace-lui-with-carpe-add-surefour-on-bench-and-head-to-bootcamp-for-contenders

It was already mentioned there though the link is to Liquidpedia.

That's a possibility, but realistically I don't see them as being stronger than they were with Munchkin, and they weren't able to challenge eUnited back then.

So while I'm all for being optimistic actual results speak much louder to me, and I'm not convinced they will "surprise us" by actually beating the dominant team in the EU right now.

I don't know how much practice they've had with Kolsti but this could be an interesting look at how flexible they might be able to be with a more versatile tank.

I don't know if this means they've dropped their Overwatch team but with the lack of activity and the poor results I'm afraid it might be the case.

He used to be a standout player for Toronto Esports along with Jaru but it looks like he's a free man and looking for a squad. Someone give this kid a job!

His tweet:
https://twitter.com/onigodow/status/898185850361696256

I see no reason for this not being anything but a 3-0 for LH, may the KR Overwatch gods have mercy on these poor recovering MVP souls.

Yeah, for the most part I'm assuming these are just loans and "just in case" measures. Most of these guys are too talented to not be on a starting roster, on top of OWL teams getting formed during the next few months.

They just need more chances to strut their stuff so any chance they get is one they'll take for now.

FaZe has a Korean, and a deadly one at that, should be very interesting.

I think SDB is a great Pharah, but not quite at S4 levels imo.

I can only imagine that a lot of these arrangements are temporary since the players wouldn't be playing in any event anyways. Some of these "subs" are either still under contract, too good to realistically be left on the bench or both.

Maybe we will even get to see some interesting combination of players and strats as this unfolds. Should be an entertaining affair on the NA side for sure but I'm also hoping the EU shake ups give us the proper competition we've been wanting at the top levels.

I can only imagine, after all they are trying to bring something new to eSports, and regardless of what these orgs decide to do I hope the league manages to grow and help spread the game.

The more successful it is the more motivated they may be in putting more resources towards refining the experience for Viewers, Pros and players across the board, hopefully.

I can see that and I think you might end up being right, but for some reason I can't shake the feeling that full KR vs KR matches aren't that appealing to viewers outside of Korea.

So while I understand and appreciate the need for some parity most leagues don't develop that until further on in their development, if you look at the NHL (yes, I know, i'm Canadian OK?) and it's many dynasties compared to the relative parity of it's current state.

Rethinking about this I can see your point that the league being in LA for the first year could facilitate entire non western squads since you wouldn't have to field KR vs KR matches in London since the diversity of the former could enable success anyways.

On the flip side of that argument full KR teams might hurt how relatable these teams are because the entirety of the Season will be played in an English speaking country. I like the LK type of team where diversity is king but because they can all communicate in English it's much easier to form a connection and maybe even a reason to go see them. I still stand behind my impression that to gather initial interest into these Korean squads you need to have them play familiar faces.

In the end though other than the Asian based OWL teams I think most of the other squads would most benefit from diverse rosters with at least 1-2 players from the region they represent to anchor the team and allow people to identify with their local team a bit more. Cause personally I'd still watch and enjoy duels that have no players from the region their team is "based" in, I'm just not that confident that the rest of the western world would, right now.

Fireball wasn't far off from Machi last season and if the new additions give them a boost in performance there's no telling how far they can go. This will be a very good opportunity to gauge where they stand in relation to the middle of the pack.

According to this Reddit thread the team may be having internal difficulties that could have been, in part, responsible for the roster swaps.

Thread in question:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Competitiveoverwatch/comments/6u4bm7/flash_lux_drama_two_formal_players_exposes/

If this turns out to be true the team might not be able to stabilize and see the improvement it desperately needs right now. Hopefully the atmosphere is better, but it could explain why they've seemed so disjointed for quite a while now.

Meza next character to die on Game of Thrones confirmed.

Mineral moved to coaching for Misfits.

Here's his twit longer:
http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sq48os

Meta Bellum looked very shaky during both of the Challenger rounds so even though Conbox lost two of it's key pieces I think they still have the marked edge here.

Experience goes a long way in matches like these and they' ll be able to lean on their veterans while the Meta squad still seem to be trying to find themselves and their color.

My best guess is 3-0 for Conbox, Meta Bellum might take a map.

The only thing I'm unsure of is his how good his Tracer is since Bunny had that role back in BK Stars. You need a standout Tracer to dominate right now and while S4 mostly fits the bill I have no clue what Carpe brings to the table in that regard.

RIP Pixel's first star.

If they wanted a player like Seagull they have a large choice of them in Fl0w3r, Rascal, Birdring etc back in KR. They' re arguably more mechanically skilled than him and there wouldn't be the language barrier or culture gap.

If this is correct I'm not exactly what direction they' re going to take roster wise, but they could possibly make a monstrously scary team considering how attractive a guaranteed 50k/year salary might be compared to what they are currently earning.

I see Sideshow, I upfrag, I watch.

Watching this is like dropping a D.Va bomb and getting a 5k, before the self dmg buff: Totally Worth It.

• APEX as a Korean Contenders

Chances are that will be the future for APEX, not because OWL will have more talent, I think APEX could keep that honor because it's in Korea, but because Korean OWL teams could be a more attractive prospect to players given the current lack of financing in the scene.

In a theoretical world where KR has 2-3 OWL teams (in the future perhaps?) that would be a maximum of 36 spots for Korean players wishing to make it big while still being "based" in KR. More than likely those players would be scouted from the top APEX teams and they in turn could scout players from lower or up and coming teams within the league.

• OWL Year 1 viewership and full KR squads

As for the first year of OWL in LA I think there is a need for it show that fans are interested. Other than the already established fans I don't know that the casual gamer/watcher has that much interest in seeing 6 Koreans plays in LA if he doesn't know the legacy of Lunatic Hai and why he should be hyped.

But if there's this NA player that other non regulars kind of talk about he might consider it and with that discover that the other team is really REALLY good. Things could develop from there so that's why I feel like we don't want to have 6KR vs 6KR right off the bat. Less to do with national pride and more to do with relatability to the general masses since that's who they want to attract in some way shape or form. Just like Hockey is loved by many people who don't even know the rules to the game because their favorite player is on the team.

Edit: Nate pretty much invalidated a chunk of my argument pertaining to them wanting to attract viewers that aren't involved with overwatch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h255IqtWNeI

Their goal is to bring in any all current or past fans of Overwatch, including the more casual variety, just not people who've never heard of the game.

Would have loved to see them be able to pick up Hidan if that would have been a thing but hoping this nets them better results than last season.

Just like eV they have an uphill battle and a lot to prove in part because of the way they got in. Looking forward to seeing if they're able to take advantage of this second chance at Contenders S1.

I have to agree with Pixel on this one. The league itself will be international but I also believe that it needs to generate a good amount of local interest in the first few seasons. I'm not convinced non Overwatch fans, or possibly even casual fans would be as interested in a fully Korean team as they would NRG to take his example.

My impression is that building the viewer base would come first in the first few seasons and going for wins would come after its more stable and established.

Honestly very interested in seeing which direction most orgs decide to take.

I think for a lot of fans a connection is somewhat needed if they're going to support a local team. That could be harder to generate if the team does have 6 Koreans given language and culture barriers. I wouldn't be surprised that C9 would want to recruit from the KR scene since, well they have in the past already, but I'm not quite convinced they'd go the way of having a fully or, to a lesser extend, a majority Korean roster.

Will need to follow this.