Next Generation Esports has partnered up with Blizzard to bring about the genesis of a new North American tournament, the Overwatch Winter Premiere. From December 10 through the end of January, teams from across the continent will be vying for the $100,000 prize pool. The tournament format is a bit unusual, so it will be interesting to see how this event plays out for audiences and competitors alike.
The first stage of the competition centers on an open qualifier that allows two methods of entering the round of eight. Each day will consist of a bracket round, in which the winner immediately secures a spot while everyone else gains points for their placings (second place, third place and so forth). At the end of the open round, four teams will have made it through by placing first on each respective day of the open qualifiers, and four more teams will advance by having the highest accumulated points from this round as well.
On to the first qualifier! The final matches of the day's games showed heated competition between Kungarna, Complexity, Kingdom eSports, and FaZe Clan who had knocked out the rest of the competition. Kungarna's Andrej "babybay" Francisty and Conner "ConnorJ" Johnson displayed the sharpness of their skillset as they played Soldier 76 and Roadhog respectively to bulldoze right through Complexity for a 2-0 victory in the semifinals. Kungarna as a team is incredibly decisive as it blitzes through the map for better or worse, as all six players are always on the same page.
Kungarna's opponent for the automatic round of eight seed would be decided by a fated brawl between Kingdom eSports and FaZe Clan, both teams featuring well known star players. Kingdom eSports had picked up ex-NRG players Mark "Pookz" Rendon and Daniel "Gods" Graeser who had left the team after the Overwatch World Cup after BlizzCon. Meanwhile, FaZe Clan had Russian player George "ShaDowBurn" Gushcha who had demonstrated himself to all denizens of the earth what a terrifying Genji player he truly was. Adding to his arsenal, ShaDowBurn picked up D.Va who thus far is a power pick in the current meta.
In what was a close match, FaZe Clan, at a huge disadvantage, almost had a miracle comeback over Kingdom eSports on Watchpoint: Gibraltar, but their hopes were dashed to pieces; Kingdom eSports displayed frightening teamwork as they advanced to fight Kungarna for the guaranteed seed into the round of eight.
As both teams had standout players in their series so far, the match between Kungarna and Kingdom couldn't be described as anything less than an experienced team putting a newer team through a clinic. While Kungarna had illustrated good teamwork against Complexity, it was Kingdom who showed a more cohesive squad of six teammates in the finals, and pulverized the valiant efforts of Kungarna for a 3-0 sweep, and a spot in the round of eight. However Kungarna need not despair as there are three more open qualifiers left to prove their worth and get their revenge on Kingdom as the tournament goes on.