I didn't lie, my prediction was indeed in bold. Also, it was all part of my plan, curse successfully activated. LONG LIVE THE QUEEN.

I'm really not sure about this one. China looks so good but Finland really seemed to have showed up during groups. I say this with very little confidence but, 3-2 for China

Bold prediction, 3-0 for USA.

Bold prediction, 3-0 for SK.

I want my boys to win, and I think they can pull through, but my gut feeling is a close match, either 3-1 or 3-2 in favor of France.

That being said, I expect to be proven wrong!

I'd have to agree.

Shrug.

Win or lose, KR or not, aint gonna stop me from participating and rooting for my team. As long as the Org treats it's players, staff and fans how they should be treated their roster is probably not going to be a big concern for me.

But hey, that's how I see it.

So, OWL not having relegation is in line with NA sports leagues, so that's not surprising to me. It's the whole point of OWL's franchising model, and probably how they got the investors in the first place, not something they do to keep them. So I don't think it's a good talking point if the league is literally built on the concept.

I can also kind of understand why they'd want their Academy teams to get a free pass every other Contenders season, but I still disagree with it. Specially if the prize pool is now more top heavy and how unfriendly this is towards non-Academy teams or league that have few/none (aka everywhere that's not NA).

Path to poverty btw

PAC had 5 full KR teams. Just for kicks, if we assume that no teams would have disbanded (OWL pickups included) 17 KR players playing in that region would have needed to come back home.

The number is probably still similar possibly even a bit higher if the players on disbanded teams decide not to stay in the region.

What's going to be interesting is how much of a gap will need to be filled (if at all) and if the KR region will have enough teams to fit deserving talent.

In the recording there was talk of possibly doing something but the presenter stressed that he couldn't promise anything.

Though, I think that because of costs and logistics we'd probably get a "Playoff bracket" at best. It does look more feasible now that they want to add an 8th region but from the tone of the leaks it sounds like cutting costs is the main focus, or at least, it's what it felt like to me.

So, an odd effect this could have is on the KR region itself. Because of the region locking more players than ever will be returning to Korea, but the number of Contenders teams has been reduced to 8, instead of having been expanded to accommodate the influx of talent that's eventually going to come in.

My guess is that will make the KR region even more condensed in talent...possibly to a point where better players aren't being seen because their teams didnt make it.

All of this could lead to players from KR being considered in even higher regards for OWL, over other regions, but more importantly, it could also add to the discontent of yet another region that feels like Blizz doesn't care about them.

At the very least this is what it feels like to me in regards to the KR region. For the other ones I think 8 teams makes sense, but the prize pool redistribution will make it harder for "decent" teams to stay active and will probably cause a lot of team/player turnover, or at least even more than we already see now, imo.

Now, I think I can grasp the direction that Blizz wants to go with this, but I don't agree that Academy teams should get a free pass every other Contenders Season (if the leaked video mentioning that they get re-invited to the first one of each year automatically still stands). Academy teams already have the huge advantage of getting access to more resources and support. On the other hand non sponsored teams already have it hard and because of rules put in place by Blizzard many teams just can't get sponsored.

I'm really hoping that my first impression of all of this is wrong and that it works out somehow, but I'm not holding my breath. I'll let the state of the game do it's own talking in hopes that changes are made if/when they are needed and that the house of cards doesn't crumble before they do anything about it.

OWL/OWC 2019 is going to be something, I pray that it's something good rather than bad.

GET OFF MAH LAWN, Murican. <3

Don't know about you, but as a Canadian, I'm not any less proud. Yes, I would have absolutely loved a team as diverse as my country so in a way it's a bit unfortunate, but I personally can't say I'm disappointed.

From the information that was leaked, including an audio clip of the briefing, it seems like it is.

I see wut u die there.

Liking the Soon/SDB combo but the support line does feel very weak to me. Will be interesting to see who they decide to add and how it'll turn out.

I'm Black and I like weeb shit so it just fit well.

Funny yet slightly concerning.

Others from the team did get offers so I can't corroborate that with an affirmation in all good faith. The non OWL scene isn't looking good, but you're just stretching that to fit your short sighted narrative.

I know you're just baiting for comments, but this had pretty much nothing to do with OWL. The team was apparently mismanaged, failed to get proper funding and in turn failed to pay it's players/staff.

Not sure how you'd actually, logically be able to make that much of a stretch to only blame OWL for this.

She may also have been given numbers that management decided to change on her. There's no way to tell, and making assumptions and/or baseless accusations without properly fact checking or having the full story can be dangerous.

I'm inclined to believe that something probably did go down, but the specifics are unknown, and Mykl just came out with accusations framed in a way that left little room for any explanation other than what he's trying to push.

That style of "reporting" is wrong, regardless of the validity of the material, imho.

She may also have been given numbers that management decided to change on her. There's no way to tell, and making assumptions and/or baseless accusations without properly fact checking or having the full story can be dangerous.

I'm inclined to believe that something probably did go down, but the specifics are unknown, and Mykl just came out with accusations framed in a way that left little room for any explanation other than what he's trying to push.

That style of "reporting" is wrong, regardless of the validity of the material, imho.

Even if it's true, circumstances and bias apply here.

I see plenty of reasons for him to do so, drama and notoriety seem to be plenty enough. To each there own, but his track record is enough for me to abstain on this considering how there's always another side to the story.

But the way he called her out and the tone of the whole video leaves very little space for anything other than a witch hunt, ignoring any other circumstance that he may not have been aware of.

This isnt how journalism is supposed to be done, just clickbaity drama bull shit, imo.

Unacceptable if true, but I'm not a fan of this type of content, and he's not a source I trust in the least so I'm not biting on this one for now.

Should I DM Seoul my paypal?

They also had the whole roster change situation because of VISA issues etc. Not that it would have guaranteed a different result but still, today's game shows what they can do regardless.

Would be hard to do since he's in the military and he sure as hell aint leaving his wife and kids back there anywways.

Imma take a chance and say that this is a pog. TO seems to be building a solid foundation, here's hoping they can also get their hands on solid players!

Sleeper agent...THE UK'S BEEN BREACHED! QUICK! SEND THE D.VA TO RANDOMLY SHOOT IN ALL DIRECTIONS!

I don't know why, but I feel there might be some bias here...

1 EU team and no KR team, hopefully they can find investors if the next season is also successful in their eyes.

Those teams/franchises also have much larger rosters. And they do drop/trade in numbers like we've seen in OWL.

Drafting was something they looked at but it's not a mechanic that replicates being relegated. That would be the role of Contenders acting like a "minor league" for OWL.

I get that these layers being dropped carries emotion for people but that's not relevant to how these types of leagues do business.

With limited spots, even at the peak number of teams that Blizz wants, all countries are obviously not going to get a team. So if you want to pick a team you might need to find a more broad reason to root for them, or just follow the players you like around.

People will find reasons to like teams, whether it's the team or the players is obviously up to them - and yes, even after just 1 season or players being dropped.

Again, the goal of this league is to replicate professional sports leagues. Regardless of your, or anyone's, emotional attachment. This is par for the course.

Then you don't care, simple as that. Find a team you want to care for and tick with them...or don't, up to you. But this is what the League wants to achieve.

That's how localized teams work.

They are the Florida Mayhem, regardless of who's playing for them. And what you named as reasons for being attached to the team is how it works. I'm going to root for Toronto...because it's the team that represent Toronto. Not because Ryujekong or any other player is there at the moment.

Not sure why you' re shocked by this.

cough SEOUL, GRAB THIS DUDE cough

League record wise it doesn't count. But you're free to see it how you want to see it.

His hero pool was also covered by other players on that squad. Unless he really wants to push for Pro play, streaming might be a more viable option for him, imo.

Pixel "I almost died to a non ulting Mercy" fish

You can get 60+ with an AMD Ryzen 3 2200G. Just have to OC both the Processor/Graphics on the APU, have decently fast RAM and configure your in game quality appropriately.

Good luck.

Something like 150-300k depending on region size, or w/e number would make it at least somewhat viable.

Just heartbreaking.

I see de futcha, mon'.

Welp, SK came out like they were playing for their lives.

I don't know how good his English is, or his aptitude for learning the language but I'm not sure why you think he's not learning English, EFFECT's been with the Envy group for a lot longer and his English always improving but clearly still has a ways to go.

And so what if English is the language for Overwatch? It doesn't make it easier to learn or communication any easier for non native speakers. Why would this be any different for Saya?

I agree that they need to move him if he's not willing to work with the team but if he's otherwise willing and trying to learn...I think he's worth keeping assuming both sides want it but I'm forced to question how shortsighted, or possibly even ignorant(?), you sound here.

Insane. I soiled myself.

Game of Thrones levels of SHAME.

Small. Indie. Company.