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It’s only Week 2 over at Contenders Overwatch, and with the official Australian line-up for the Overwatch World Cup also having just been announced, I’m starting to wonder if the two events can truly live in tandem.
While the Contenders League and the World Cup aren’t exactly going to overlap much when it comes to viewing, these two very worthwhile competitions use some of the same players. This means preparations for the bigger event are going to take precedence. and we are already seeing unexpected changes in the Contenders roster due to this.
Monday’s matches started a little unorthodoxly with the Bin Chickens forfeiting to the Sydney Drop Bears with no game actually played. I’d be hard to blame the World Cup for this and, if anything, this was just the Chickens wanting to avoid the embarrassment.
There seems to be a lot of different skill levels between teams in the Contenders – more so than what you’d be used to seeing in League – and while it is a good thing to watch players grow and move into other teams, I can hardly blame one group for not wanting a shameful thrashing if they’re not ready for it. Being on the bottom is tough without having someone rubbing your nose in it, which is why we all love teams like the Shanghai Dragons for even showing up.
Where I really noticed the effects of the World Cup was on Tuesday during Dark Sided’s match up with Serenity. Most tips would put Dark Sided firmly at the advantage in these games, and while they won it, a key element was missing.
Instead of a roaring 4-0 victory like many expected, Dark Sided managed only a 3-2 victory, and credit to Serenity for pulling this off as it’s clear this team has come along way.
The casters made mention of flex tank and very capable D.Va player Leyton ‘Punk’ Gilchrist’s absence from the Dark Sided’s line-up due to being picked for the World Cup and how he was chosen because he is arguably the best at what he does in the region.
(Robert Paul / Blizzard Entertainment)
Dark Sided also hosts the star DPS James ‘Yuki’ Stanton, who has also been chosen for the Australian team but for whatever reason was still present for this match. With his excellent plays I’d say the rest of his team were thankful for that this time.
There’s no doubt that losing one of these players from your roster sometimes is going to make a huge difference to the end result, and Dark Sided will feel it especially heavy with two members to lose – though at least they won’t be the only team to suffer.
Current favourites, the Sydney Drop Bears, may also see problems, with support player Dario ‘Akraken’ Falcao-Rassokha selected to play alongside Overwatch League’s Scott ‘Custa’ Kennedy on the World Cup roster.
If the disappearance of core team members continues throughout the Contenders season, it definitely seems like we may be inclined to see upsets on expected victories without the thrill of it being wholeheartedly earned. The good news is this week Contenders delivered on a tasty true upset right in its final match-up.
It was Avant versus Kanga, and no-one expected Kanga to win it based on previous games. Avant have seemed very strong even last week, beating Pixl in a 4-0 match. Kanga are not slacking either, also picking up a win, though a less divisive one, in Week 1, but it was very surprising to watch the team steamroll Avant with a 4-0 victory.
It’s early days to start predicting things now, but this surprise puts Kanga at the head of the pack for Group B with a +5 differential closely followed by Dark Sided with +3. Group B is looking to have the closer and more interesting match-ups, with Group A currently led strongly by the top two placeholders, the Sydney Drop Bears with +8 and Legacy at +6.
How this will continue is very uncertain as many teams are new or have had players swapped since last season. This is only doubled by some of the leading groups having the potential to see their stars potentially unavailable for play due to World Cup commitments.