The First Three Matches of the Overwatch League are in the Books
Overwatch League (OWL) the new city based competitive league for Blizzards multiplayer phenomenon Overwatch held it’s first day of preseason play yesterday. Fans in person and at home got to see five of the new teams in action as well as the new Blizzard Arena. The battles were fierce, close, and provide a great view of what to expect for the future. We’ll have some links for Vods at the bottom if you missed the action.
Mayhem vs. Shock
The first match of the day put the Florida Mayhem against the San Francisco Shock. The Shock are filling in for the Philadelphia Fusion who announced they would be absent for the match. The Mayhem started off the competition coming out of a tunnel one at a time to thunderous applause. The Florida team only has a six players, something that could work either way for them this season. Despite great play from the Florida team the Shock came out with the win, taking the match 3-1
Valiant vs. Shock
In the second match the Shock had less luck losing to Los Angles 3-2. These matches were incredibly even. Nearly every team fight was close and many of the matches went to hotly contested overtimes. Despite great play from both teams, pushing the game far past the expected time slot, the Valiant claimed a close but well deserved victory in the fifth game. A great showing from the Shock who made the best use of the extra match they were given.
Dynasty vs. Dragons
One of the most anticipated matches of the preseason put the two teams from Asia up against each other. Seoul Dynasty and the Shanghai Dragons The match was delayed slightly but was no less exciting for it. The game was defined by dominating play from Seoul right out of the gate. They set the pace for the games, usually forcing the Dragons to play catch-up. The Korean team won the series with a commanding 4-0. Commentators were quick to point out that some of the Shanghai team had only arrived the night before.
The entire evening was exciting. The jerseys on the players looked great. The skins in game looked great. The broadcast was miles above where spectating Overwatch had started at last year. Seamless transitions between characters combined with much tighter replays made the broadcast easy for fans to follow. The arena featured massive screens across the team tables and wall behind them. These screens wrapped around the side walls. This allowed the coordinators to create the feeling of bringing the crowd ‘into’ the matches as well as instantly redecorating the stage with any teams colors and logos.
You can watch all of the preseason matches via Overwatch Leagues official site. For a detailed breakdown of the teams check out TheOuterHaven’s teams break down.
More preseason action happens this afternoon. The first match will be pit the LA Gladiators against the London Spitfire for one of the most anticipated matches of the preseason. The pulse bombs fly at 2:00 PM PST. Fans can catch the action is a number of languages on Blizzards official site.
