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What we learned from the Overwatch Atlantic Showdown

(Master Overwatch)
(Master Overwatch)

The biggest tournament in Overwatch’s young history took place over the weekend in Germany, featuring 8 of the best teams from around the world and a $100k prize pool. After the dust died down, here’s what we learned:

Gods can bleed

Things are never as clear cut as they seem in esports. Headed into the weekend it seemed all but certain that Team EnVyUs, who have simply been massacring all challengers with a seemingly untouchable 57 game win streak, would continue making an example out of all who opposed them. However, a true digital revolution occurred on playoff Sunday at Gamescom as NV’s reign of terror finally came to an abrupt end at the hand of the european team the underdogs Rogue. David has brought down Goliath.

Europe is stronger than ever

Throughout the Beta and in the months after release, North America has been considered the strongest region in Overwatch – but that could be changing. Maybe it was a case of home field advantage, but Europe showed up big at Gamescom. First, Cloud9, widely considered the second best team in the world behind EnVyUs, ate a tough loss to compLexity, their regional brethren, in true upset fashion. Then both teams were eliminated from the group entirely by Rogue and REUNITED respectively (both from Europe) – the two teams who would ultimately meet in the grand finals. While EU walked home with the trophy, keep in mind that in the East many agents of Overwatch are waiting in the wings for their turn to seize the spotlight. Ryū ga waga teki wo kurau!

Overwatch is growing

The Atlantic Showdown peaked at 78,646 concurrent viewers during the grand finals. For a game in esports infancy, this is a fantastic benchmark to hit for one of the first major tournaments. While the spectator experience may be confusing for newcomers and Overwatch may receive next to no esports promotion or marketing from Blizzard currently, this number is a sign of an esport with a positive trajectory.
Many people in and outside of the industry are waiting with bated breathe to hear what approach Blizzard takes with Overwatch. We have only seen two models truly work: Riot’s actively committed role in League of Legends, and Valve’s entirely hands off approach to Counter-Strike and Dota 2 in juxtaposition. It seems Overwatch is on the right path, for now at least.

Dylan Walker is on Twitter @dyluuxx