It’s all Coming Together Now…
There’s only two weeks left in the regular season. Two Weeks! A mere four times that we get to see some of out favorite teams play before it’s time for the last stage final. Dallas, Valiant, and (of course) NYXL are all looking very good. Meanwhile Houston, San Francisco, and Philly are all fighting to stay in. London, Seoul and Boston though are just spinning their wheels. This has been the hardest week for me to highlight just one match as the series of the week because of the large number of exciting and important match-ups. Let’s get into it.
News
Overwatch League Finals Sell Out
It’s not news that the Overwatch League Season Finals are being held at the Barclays Center in New York City. The news is that it’s now sold out. The entire Barclays Center of 20,000 is sold out! For an esports league in it’s first season! The importance of this for the future of the league cannot be understated. As we’ve said before, the OWL is in it’s early stages and could still fail. Only through triumphs such as this can it hope to succeed and survive for more seasons. I hope you got your tickets.
Overwatch World Cup Committees Announced
The 2018 Overwatch World Cup committees have been decided. You can see who will be representing your country as GM, Coach, and Community Manager on the official site. Some of these names will be familiar as many of the people behind teams in the Overwatch League have been selected to represent their countries in the World Cup. These committees will have to hit the ground running as rosters will be due by July 15.
VOD of the Week
NYXL (32-4) vs. Los Angeles Valiant (24-12)
New York had what now seems to be their one required loss for the stage last week. They had it against what has been the best team this stage, the LA Valiant. The Valiant and NYXL go back and forth on this one but its the fourth map that’s most important. Gibraltar ends 3-2 in favor of the Valiant, but when you watch it sure feels like it didn’t have to be that way. That is, New York could have taken the map, they just didn’t. This shouldn’t cheapen the achievement that LA had here though, because they took on the best team in the league and won. The Valiant are the top seed in the Pacific Division currently and are looking good to hold onto that. This series is an example of why.
Series of the Week
Dallas Fuel (10-26) vs. Houston Outlaws (10-16)
There’s a lot going into the latest, and final, battle for Texas. Dallas is having their best stage of the season and, against expectations, has a shot at the stage finals. For one reason or another, they’ve found their niche. Even if it comes after they no longer have a shot at playoffs. Houston on the other hand have everything to play for. They are outside-looking-in for both the stage finals and the season playoffs. This team had early success this stage but has stumbled the last few weeks. Both teams have what it takes to beat the other, but only one can do it.
