GG One.PoinT, nice win!
Still good to see Midna perform so well, at leats on Rei.

On Oasis Midna owning Mowzassa... didn't really expect it!
Second map, Horthic Phara basically untouched popping off.

Love this serie!

I think he continued, just ranked thou, was proposing himself as a coach for the US team if I recall correctly.

Well true but you'd have probably to put him in place of one of the Main healers of NYXL, which means basically having him stuck on Mercy?
I believe Kariv gives them better flexibility, just in case, but yes sad day. :(

Thanks man!

As others I'm wondering why, I really see no reason to distance itself further from their Optic brand, it's a good one.
Maybe they want to keep it completely separated, at least on the marketing side, from the other esports??

Asking poggers

Damn that's a shame. :(
Thanks guys

Why were the players ineligible? A matter of age maybe?

Sick roster!
Also 🐍
I dont' care if you beated our Italian team, good teams are alwasy fun to watch!

I only used hax now I have Shax!

That moment when u get on screen 2 Symm ulties plus 2 Moira ones... my eyes were bleeding -.-

Dammit now Symmetra is in every match (Quick Play) on both sides...
Also the endorsment stuff is nice, even if I got endorsed 4 times as a shotcaller, and yesterday in QP wasn't using the mic at all lul.

Yes but pls don't kill all non-OWL teams in NA Contenders. :(
I'm sorry, it's just me I know, but witnessing an amazing team and org like Envision quit, is so sad...

I literally had couple of friends on the brink of tears, honestly bbelieve only another nation could take it worse, Brazil, lucky them they never missed a single world cup.

So this is where ex NL guys were going!
Amazing potential!

And godluck to Emil's family

That's great news!
Now they should get better prize pools as well!

Also 🐨 are strong will wipe everyone out, even away and not on home turf!! :)

Damn look at all the brit flags in here! <3
Very interesting site mates!

True, but other classic NA sports (and OWL takes a lot from them) do that, NBA has matinees on Sunday, yes have to be properly planned so that all teams get the same amount of chances into them.

It was better than how I feared it could be, so that's a positive but I would lie if I said I didn't have some "viewer's fatigue" at the end.

Part of it due to time zone, of all the possible timezones western coast one is the worst for me (I wake up at 5AM if the matches always start at 1AM...), also so many games in a row always on the same map pool made the end of each stage look a bit repetitive (always my personal opinion).

I have to admit I enjoyed watching lower tiers team in the various Trials more than watching some of the latest OWL matches.

For me personally is not about the season being too long (is actually the contrary, now we'll have 5 months without OWL, at all), but the stages and map pools not being organized properly.

What would I change?

• Probably forcing live patch and OWL one to be on par, it helps to watch pros playing the game you are currently playing and not the one you were playing 2 months ago.
• Shorter stages with longer pauses in-between, more time for the teams to pèrepare/scrim and for sure to take well deserved breaks
• Map draft with all maps instead of fixed maps, yes teams would be struggling with this (this might even reduce slightly the gap between Koreans and Western teams/players, have to admit they simply are better at methodically preparing for something).
• For sure different timezones/hours and finally for OW to become REALLY global also at its highest tier, I know this is coming but will never be too soon.

EDIT: 'cause very important, get ZP in and IF you have to remove someone to make space for him, sorry but Semmler was the weakest, even at the end.

No idea, but hope they'll include all maps, the teams will have about 3 weeks to practice and this might make the playoffs more spicy.
Just please not again "only" Blizzard's World, Junkertown and Lunar Colony...

And EZ it was

https://youtu.be/IgfBHPTNMJc

Competitive OW has surely evolved a lot, and players (many players) have become something completely unthinkable back then, and you can call me old/nostalgic how much you want, but most of my favorite matches of all times go back to 2016-17, and Rein(force) was a blast to watch.

Btw still salty af they kicked him out from both Misfits and the National.

Yep but that's what happens if you "sandbag" for weeks, top form doesn't work like a switch.

They will still likely be the strongest team during the actual playoffs, but better start seriously practicing again.

9-1, lost only 1 match in the stage and won the stage playoffs, who should be the strongest team of stage 4?
NYXL? They just lost to LA Valiant.
Gladiators? Same as above.
Who else? London? Fuel?

So a full season and Semmler didn't get much better.

Spending a whole break harping about Jjonak (ok you like him Semmler, understood) is not like Londn and Philadelphia don't have great players, calling wrong ulties and skills, and concluding the 3-0 map with a "Philadelpia is back into it"...

Please tell me we are getting ZP for season 2.

In other news gg Phillie, as usual my predictions are wrong. :D

New interface POGGERS

Eh I have the feeling you won't be disappointed, as much as I like Fusion I guess this is a win for London.

Plus with the new two-way stuff and all the new drafting rules for season 2 he'll probably end up being picked up in the first window anyway.

Italy is gonna win the whole stuff... oh wait. :D
Hope Iceland fares well, but I'd say maybe Germany for the thropy?

And this one directly on SMSB Twitch, no cast but eh yoou can watch it:
https://www.twitch.tv/morningstars

BTW no audio at all, since it's casted from SMSB acconts

Btw games are casted:
https://www.twitch.tv/broadcastgg

EDIT: and thanks to whoever at over.gg added the proper link!

A bit surprised the Puppiez lost, but Disband earned it, gg!

Always good to see Hydration's Doomfist.
And Goldenboy lost his voice? :O

Yeh agree.
Btw no idea who downfragged this old discussion, but cmnbruh

But replacing who? Architect? I don't know which kind of contract he has with the shock (1 year, or longer), but for sure they won't drop Sinatra (don't even know hwo they could, but eh), maybe replacing Babybay, but is it worth to bring in Rascal to make him a sub?

Spree on Zarya is always a blast to watch <3
But damn didn't expect him on phara!!

Can we now see Poko and Fragi again?

Sado might be a better main tank than Fragi, for me thou is less fun to watch, but I know teams play to win not to make me have fun :)

Hotba is imo worse than Poko thou and not by few.

If the reason for having both in the team is due to communication between tanks, what about communication with the rest of the team?
Sometimes it looks like it's completely missing, unless suddenly Boombox forgot how t play Zen, Eqo got worse and worse, etc...

Oh gg WHO!
Dannedd's Doomfist on Junkertown was nutty.

Oh yes that's what I wanted to hear!

God Italians on both teams how should I pick, I mean yes I really like SMSB, but Midna is a good main tank.
Well let's do this: GL both! :D

Absolutely EU might have won the showmatch over NA, but you guys have Scrubasaurus!
As usual a nicely written and meaningful article mate, gratz!

That's true, but if Blizzard pushes it a bit it will happen, besides up until the end of 2017 I would have never imagined a "major" sponsor would pick up an Italian based OW team, and now Samsung stepped in, there's always hope mate!

🐨🐨🐨

• OWL: Philadelphia Fusion. As Sayabi above me (btw thanks for the format! lol) started following them for SDB+Carpe, but all iterations have been interesting to watch (I miss Fragi and Poko thou)
• Contenders NA: I'm not following it too much but Optic, even if just for Kaiser: https://imgur.com/a/3EPiX2X how can you not love the guy?
• Contenders EU: I'll be the fanboy that I can be Samsung Morningstar Black, go my Italian friends" (Now they'll lose every single match and won't get out of the trials...)
• Contenders CN: Literally no idea, I'd say maybe LGD? But know very little of their scene, sorry. :(
• Contenders KR: Runaway, let's go boys!
• Contenders PAC: Blank, gotta cheer for the Aussie friends, been at the top of their scene since... forever.
• Contenders AU: 🐨 SDB 🐨
• Contenders SA: Isurus but all of them honestly (same could go for AUS and PAC ones), they all deserve much more, better visibility, better prizes.

EDIT 'cause damn I already write a shitty English, my dying keyboard ain't helping either...

I know Scurbasaurus, but despite me being happy that SMSB won boht vs NL and That's a Disband, purely from a competitive point of view I would have preferred both teams still having their "stable" roster.

I cite NL as they smashed SMSB 4 times before they had to change roster (Yes I know some players had better offers in this case), on the 5th match with new roster they lost 4-0.

Being a planned decision or just something that happens due to better offers/instability I still believe it's a pity not to "see" teams fight at their best potential (both players and chemistry). :(

Wish I could watch also this match...
Asking has been playing out of his mind, and NL will surely be improving after a couple of rough matches (please let Riverboat back on Hanzo he was nutty)

Let's go guys!
Just wish we could watch these Trials matches, at the moment are more interesting than some of the OWL ones...

I honestly don't know if it's the right choice to swap rosters right at the beginning of the Trials, unless of course some of the players want to go to a different team (e.g. Northern Lights).

They end up fighting teams that come from 15-20 matches with the same stable roster, like for example We Have Org to whom they just lost.

GG Eagles, would have been a shame if they lost that 3rd map due to all those disconnects.

They are new team, guess they need more time to synch.

Besides the old NL was the only team able to steamroll SMSB , considering them a pushover team would be a mistake, didn't help they were the only ones streaming ALL their open division matches.