Usually, roster changes take place after events following poor results. However, sometimes such changes can happen before events – that’s what seems to be the case for the Boston Uprising OWL Roster. Accordingly, read on to learn more about the roster below!
Boston Uprising OWL Roster – Right Before an Event
Specifically, it seems that the organization is making a change in staff concerning the coaching team. Accordingly, the likes of Kim “Lori” Seung-hyun has parted ways with the organization, as the former Head Coach.
In his stead, Valentin “Ascoft” Wulfman has been promoted and will be the new Head Coach.
Considering this, he’ll be managing the following players:
Leyton “Punk” Gilchrist – Tank
Kim “Faith” Hong-gyu – Support
Kim “Valentine” Byeong-ju – DPS
William “Crimzo” Hernandez – Support
Lee “MCD” Jeong-ho – Support
Gi-hun “Victoria” Oh – DPS
Kim “ITSALF” Chang-hee – Tank
Alex “Seeker” Taylor – DPS
Kim “Mag” Tae-sung – Tank
Credits: Blizzard Activision
He’ll have to fill in his shoes quickly considering the upcoming event. Namely, kicking off on 8th September, the Midsummer Madness will test this team.
Specifically, he’ll hope to improve over a lacking record:
Following a few poor performances, the London Spitfire OWL Roster is looking to make changes. Bearing this in mind, they’ve recently signed a new player – read on to learn more about the change below!
London Spitfire OWL Roster – Still Struggling
from one eu team to another. happy to be with this talented squad, lets get some more wins! ππ https://t.co/APLNt4nYsY
Accordingly, the last time the franchise made a change was before the 2022 season.
However, after a 9-12th finish at the OWL 2022 Midseason Madness, the roster seems to be switching up.
Bearing this in mind, they’ve decided to sign a new flex support player from the likes of Paris Eternal. Here’s how Emir “Kaan” Okumus fits on the active roster:
William “SparkR” Andersson – DPS
Johannes “Shax” Nielsen – DPS
Jamie “Backbone” O’Neill – DPS
Daniel “Hadi” Bleinagel – Tank
Gael “Poko” Gouzerch – Tank
Oliver “Admiral” Vahar – Support
Landon “Landon” McGee – Support
Emir “Kaan” Okumus – Support – New Signing
Credits: Overwatch
Currently, the franchise is competing through the Summer Showdown qualifiers. Perhaps this change will help them seed for the tournament stage in September.
Anyways, they’re hoping to improve over their poor record:
9-12th @ Overwatch League 2022 – Midseason Madness
Heading into the OWL Midseason Madness event, the community was excited to celebrate this new addition to the Overwatch League. Accordingly, with $1,000,000 on the line, the international competition concluded last weekend – read on for a recap!
OWL Midseason Madness Recap – Favourites and Upsets
Qualification into this event involved the top 8 teams from the West and the top 4 teams from the East. With so much at stake, here’s how everything boiled down:
#1 – Los Angeles Gladiators
#2 – San Francisco Shock
#3 – Atlanta Reign
#4 – Philadelphia Fusion
The likes of LAG winning is no surprise. Indeed, as the second seed from the West region and the winners from Kickoff Clash, they were in fact the favourites. However, their path to victory was definitely not perfect:
LAG vs Houston Outlaws (3-0)
LAG vs Hangzhou Spark (3-2)
San Francisco Shock vs LAG (3-2)
A huge thank you to @uhmanoa for making our #OWL2022 Midseason Madness tournament possible!
With their loss in the Upper Bracket Final, things were looking grim. However, after taking down Atlanta Reign, they bounced back into the Grand Final.
Learning from their earlier loss, LAG managed to take the Grand Final the distance and win in 4-2 fashion over San Francisco Shock.
Although the event was great, we’re wondering whether Activision-Blizzard will make an effort to host offline events as it’s incomparable to online.
In esports, at the end of the day, every team is looking for results. Accordingly, a lack of results is a common factor for roster changes. Bearing this in mind, the Vancouver Titans OWL Roster is making moves – read on to learn more below!
Vancouver Titans OWL Roster – Do They Need A Tank?
We want to thank sHockWave for his time and dedication throughout the season. We appreciate his passion and wish him nothing but the best moving forward ππ pic.twitter.com/klSV5rdyxk
Specifically, the most recent move involves the organization letting go of a recent signing. Accordingly, the likes of Niclas “sHockWave” Jensen has parted ways with the team, after signing last year.
Furthermore, the active roster is as follows:
Luka “Aspire” Rolovic – DPS
Nick “False” Wiseman – Tank
Petja “Masaa” Kantanen – Support
Park “Aztac” Jeong-su – Support
Robert “Skairipa” Lupsa – Support
Chris “MirroR” Trinh – DPS
Credits: Activision Blizzard
Likely, this is to do with the change in the meta of Overwatch 2, as teams aren’t in need of several DPS roles as before. In addition, the team is struggling greatly – with no significant placings so far this year.
Hopefully, whether a player is signed instead or not, the organization will improve their poor record:
Accordingly, the Overwatch League 2022 season has had many twists and turns. Yet, a common factor for this season is competition played out on an early version of Overwatch 2. So, the question to ask is as follows – has Overwatch 2 esports delivered?
To elaborate further, by ‘deliver’ we mean one particular point. Mainly, has the title manage to maintain or improve on the likes of Overwatch (1)?
Let’s start with the gameplay. Indeed, one of the most controversial changes regarding Overwatch 2 was the match-based player count.
Specifically, moving from a 6v6 format to a 5v5 format, literally everything has changed in terms of gameplay. Here are the implications:
A Crushed Meta: abandoning the former 2-2-2 split of team composition, a new mix had to be found. Accordingly, teams are now forced to spawn with one tank, two DPS and two supports. Also, less Tanks make for less choatic fights.
Change of Pace: overrall, Overwatch was always known to be incredible fast paced for competitors and viewers. Indeed, considering this the move to 5v5 has slowed down the rate of competition.
Apart the above changes associated with 5v5, there are also map changes and balance changes which have made things more interesting.
So in terms of developing Overwatch‘s game design, the changes involved with OW2 have yielded some interesting development in the esport – but did such changes need a full new title?
Overwatch 2 Esports – Has Viewership Improved?
How can we tell if the community is onboard? Accordingly, one reliable metric is esports viewership as it shows how interested everyone is – both in and out of the community.
Credits: Overwatch League
Bearing this in mind, here are the viewership metrics for the two events on Overwatch 2 so far:
As you can see, the season kicked off with a great blast of viewership especially considering the extensive off-season break.
Now in comparison, let’s look at some statistics from the 2021 Overwatch League leading into this season:
OWL 2021 Playoffs – Peak Viewers 134,320
Overwatch League 2021 Countdown Cup – Peak Viewers 71,182
OWL 2021 Summer Showdown – Peak Viewers 70,082
Credits: Activision Blizzard
In comparison, if we had to put the numbers side by side, it seems that viewership has continued where it left off back in 2021. While this may be suitable, Overwatch esports has been in desperate need of better viewership statistics.
What else can Activision-Blizzard do to try and improve viewership?
How Can the Format Improve?
One way to do so, is by adjusting the format.
And that’s one thing which has improved for the 2022 season. Indeed, this year they’ve added the Midseason Madness event which is another international event.
Seemingly, the OWL is taking a note out of LoL esports’ book by offering two international events. Improving over the single international event from previous seasons, we have high hopes for the Midseason Madness event.
Credits: OWL 2022
Otherwise, there aren’t a tonne of changes to the format besides this – will it be enough to make enough improvement? In our opinion, having another international event should definitely pay off.
Conclusion
In conclusion, many hoped that Overwatch 2 would be the return of Overwatch. As in, the return of 2017/2018 viewership with events hitting over 300,000 peak viewers.
Accordingly, although Overwatch has delivered on implementing new and intersting changes to the format and the game, there’s more to be done in terms of creating more viewership and more events.
Kicking off on the 18th July, the OWL Midseason Madness 2022 has truly been crazy. Accordingly, the online event has already progressed to the point where only 8 teams stand – read on to learn more!
OWL Midseason Madness 2022 – Massive Upsets
Well, we don't call it Midseason "Madness" for nothing.
There have been some incredible upsets already at this event. Specifically, top teams such as Philadelphia Fusion and Dallas Fuel have already been eliminated from the competition.
Bearing this in mind, the following are the remaining matches together with the schedule all taking place on July 22nd:
Upper Bracket Semi-Finals
San Francisco Shock vs Shanghai Dragons (04:00 CEST)
Los Angeles Gladiators vs Hangzhou Spark (05:30 CEST)
Lower Round 2
Atlanta Reign vs Houston Outlaws (02:30 CEST)
Philadelphia Fusion vs Florida Mayhem (01:00 CEST)
Credits: Overwatch League
With $1,000,000 on the line, the competition looks to heat up and conclude with an epic grand final on the 23rd July.
Indeed, with the East champions of Seoul Dynasty out of the picture, only Los Angeles Gladiators can defend their win at the Kickoff Clash.
Leading into the final few days, here’s the schedule for the remaining days:
July 23rd 2022
Lower Bracket Quarter-Finals (2 matches, one at 01:00 and the other at 02:30 CEST)
Lower Bracket Semi-Finals (05:30 CEST)
Upper Bracket Finals (04:00 CEST)
July 24th 2022
Lower Bracket Final (01:00 CEST)
Grand Final (02:30 CEST)
We can’t wait to see how the event concludes in the weekend!
Indeed, the return of competitive Overwatch saw a strong start at the Kickoff Clash. Now, we’re preparing ourselves for the upcoming event – OWL Midseason Madness 2022. Kicking off within the week, read on as we provide all the viewership details you need below in this episode of How to Watch!
Event Background
Accordingly, as you can tell, this is the staple mid-season event for the Overwatch League. Running from 18th July to 23rd July, there’s everything on the line.
Momentum's been building for all these months, and now it's finally time for East and West to crash headlong into each other!
With regards to format, Blizzard is keeping it simple with a double elimination bracket. Bearing this in mind, all teams will start in the Upper Bracket.
Also, here are the Upper Round 1 matches listed for you below:
London Spitfire vs Atlanta Reign
Shanghai Dragons vs Toronto Defiant
Hangzhou Spark vs Philadelphia Fusion
Houston Outlaws vs Florida Mayhem
Meanwhile, the likes of San Francisco Shock, Dallas Fuel, Seoul Dynasty and Los Angeles Gladiators are waiting in Round 2. Notably, matches will range from BO3 and BO7 though Blizzard haven’t specified yet!
For those unaware, a double elimination bracket means that teams have two lifelines. Indeed, two losses send a team home, while one loss sends them to the Losers’ Bracket.
Accordingly, one team from the Winner Bracket and one team from the Lower Bracket will compete in the Grand Final.
Schedule for OWL Midseason Madness 2022
Indeed in terms of schedule, consider the first two days of competition below – times listed in CEST region:
July 19th 2022
London Spitfire vs Atlanta Reign (01:00)
Shanghai Dragons vs Toronto Defiant (02:30)
Hangzhou Spark vs Philadelphia Fusion (04:00)
Houston Outlaws vs Florida Mayhem (05:30)
July 20th 2022
San Francisco Shock vs TBD (01:00)
Dallas Fuel vs TBD (02:30)
Los Angeles Gladiators (04:00)
Seoul Dynasty (05:30)
Moreover, feel free to check out an updated and detailed schedule here.
Watch the OWL Midseason Madness 2022 on esportsguide
You can also watch the OWL Midseason Madness 2022 live stream via our very own website. Providing an extensive list of the biggest esports together with streams for each esports match live today or upcoming matches.
Moreover, in terms of predictions, it’s best to take a look at the Qualifier standings heading into this event – let’s look at the top 3 from each region.
West Qualifiers
#1 – San Francisco Shock – 13 points
#2 – Los Angeles Gladiators – 13 points
#3 – Dallas Fuel – 11 points
When even the opposing team has to respect the ace…
Arguably, these six teams are some of the favourites for the competition next week.
However, while Seoul are the clear favourites in the East, the West is more indecisive. Accordingly, with Los Angeles Gladiators as the reigning champions from the Kickoff Classic, can San Francisco Shock beat them out?
Regardless of East and West – this time we’ll crown an international champion!
Apart from the CDL, the Overwatch League also enjoyed some epic competition this past weekend. Indeed, Los Angeles Gladiators is coming off a win at the OWL Kickoff Clash Finals. Read on as we recap this exciting event below!
OWL Kickoff Clash Finals – The League’s Back
THE STRONGEST METAL IS FORGED IN THE HOTTEST FIRE: OUR BLADE STRIKES TRUE.
Accordingly, with $330,000 on the line, this was the first Major event of the season. Inviting the 12 qualified teams, here’s how the standings concluded specifically for the West region:
1 – Los Angeles Gladiators
2 – Dallas Fuel
3 – Atlanta Reign
4 – San Francisco Shock
Perhaps, this might be one of the most dominant wins in Overwatch history. Bearing this in mind, take a look at their run below, starting with the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals:
Los Angeles Gladiators vs Houston Outlaws (3-0)
Dallas Fuel vs Los Angeles Gladiators (3-1)
Atlanta Reign vs Los Angeles Gladiators (0-3)
Los Angeles Gladiators vs Dallas Fuel (4-0)
Credits: Blizzard Entertainment
As you can see, in the Grand Finals, they swept Dallas Fuel and removed any doubt of their position in the West region.
Indeed, this event is great redemption for the team after a disappointing finish last season. They’re proving that last year’s performance was not a fluke – we can’t wait to see more from the OWL!
Earlier this month, we witness the much-awaited return of the Overwatch League. Accordingly, since the Kickoff Clash earlier this month, we’re back on track for another season. Indeed, we’ve just received information regarding the OWL Mid-Season Madness 2022 – read on below!
Mid-Season Madness 2022 – Community Update
Accordingly, everything was revealed in the following YouTube video:
As summarized by the Overwatch League officials, here are some details to bear in mind:
Due to difficulties for travel to and from China, the event will be online
Specifically, thanks to servers hosted in Hawaii
Format: six days of blowout competition, with competitors from both regions
East Qualifier pushed back to June 24th
Accordingly, the Mid-Season Madness is planned for July 18th. Here, the top 12 teams in the world will qualify and compete in an epic double elimination competition for global domination.
Credits: Overwatch League
Apart from League points, there’ll also be a prize pool on the line for competing teams.
Naturally, we’ll be sure to stay keeping you up to date with any further updates with regards to the upcoming plans for the Overwatch League season.
Finally, after so much waiting, the 2022 season for the Overwatch League is almost here! Indeed, we’ve been studying the roster moves. Accordingly, we’re ready to break down some of the OWL Rostermania 2022, highlighting some of the more notable changes below!
OWL Rostermania 2022 – Focusing on Complete Rebuilds
Here’s a reminder – it’s been 6 months since the end of the 2021/22 season. Indeed, it was at the September OWL 2021 Playoffs that the Shanghai Dragons took home the World Championship. Naturally, we can’t possibly cover every single roster change since then.
The start of the 5v5 era has shaken the foundation and rosters of every team in #OWL2022!
We'll help you catch up with every offseason move.
Instead, we’ll be looking at some of the more interesting rosters formed from the 20 franchised teams! Indeed, considering the move from 6v6 to 5v5 teams, everybody made some changes.
Specifically, we’ll be looking at overhauled franchises. By this, we mean teams which have radically changed their team structure with at least 4 roster changes involved. Accordingly, this makes the franchise more unpredictable and ripe for potential heading into the coming season.
Accordingly, the following franchises have made radical changes:
Los Angeles Gladiators
Vancouver Titans
Philadelphia Fusion
Los Angeles Valiant
London Spitfire
San Francisco Shock
Toronto Defiant
New York Excelsior
Houston Outlaws
Washington Justice
Florida Mayhem
Boston Uprising
Hangzhou Spark
Atlanta Reign
Now, let’s dive deeper into the teams which have rebuilt their entire rosters!
Last season, the Vancouver Titans offered quite a shaky season with no impressive placements. Indeed, this contrasted their 2019 season where they earned multiple podium finishes. In response to the poor performance, the franchise was one of the only to completely sweep the roster.
Take a look below:
Luka “Aspire” Rolovic
Niclas “sHockWave” Jensen
Nick “False” Wiseman
Petja “Masaa” Kantanen
Park “Aztac” Jeong-su
Maximilian “Seicoe” Otter
Robert “Skairipa” Lupsa
Let’s see if this new bundle of competitors could grant the franchise success similar to the past!
Los Angeles Valiant – Mid-Tier Isn’t Enough
On the contrary, the Los Angeles Valiant franchise offered a stronger performance last season. Offering one podium together with mid-tier finishes, the franchise stillw asn’t happy.
Hereβs the tank announcement!
We are thrilled to confirm that No. 20 Sanghyun βSasinβ Song is joining the team as a tank player!
Considering their competitive nature for the past few years, changes were expected. Yet, nobody expected a complete swipe. Yet, in pursuit of success, the entire team has been rebuilt from the ground up.
Here’s the roster for the 2022 OWL season:
Weida “Diya” Lu
Oh “Innovation” Seok-hyeon
Kim “Becky” Il-ha
Tong “ColdEst” Xiaodong
Chen “Lengsa” Jingyi
Lee “Ezhan” Ji-han
Song “SASIN” Sang-hyun
With a DPS focused team, let’s see how they’ll adapt to the new meta of Overwatch 2.
Florida Mayhem – Looking for Consistency – OWL Rostermania 2022
And then, there’s our third franchised team making a full roster sweep. However, in this context, they’re also the historically least achieved team out of the three.
Specifically, it’s a lack of consistency which haunts this team. Last season, despite a 16th place finish at the Regular Season, they surprised everyone with a 3rd place finish at the May Melee event. They’ve gone through this pattern for a few seasons now.
Attempting to fix this for next season, a brand new roster is here. Find it listed below:
Majed “SirMajed” Alrashied
Baek “Checkmate” Seung-hun
Adam “Adam” Soong
Ham “SOMEONE” Jeong-wan
Taesung “Anamo” Jung
Isaiah “Hydron” Rodriguez
Youngseo “KariV” Park
Jung “Xzi” Ki-hyo
Offering an international roster, it’s a rather interesting roster to say the least. Perhaps this unique mix could give the franchise an edge over the other teams.
To conclude this discussion, we’d like to contrast these franchises with arguably one of the best in the world.
Indeed, as the current World Champions, the likes of Shanghai Dragons have not made any changes at all really – only signing one additional player in the form of Huichang “BeBe” Yoon.
As you can tell – while other teams are rebuilding, others are sticking to what’s proven to work.
It’s this combination of franchises that has us so excited for another unpredictable season of competitive Overwatch!
