Another leg of the #OverwatchByATK tournament has come and gone. Storylines continued to develop throughout the leg with ending up in different positions to where they were expected to finish at the beginning. This is the last leg before finals later this month, so let’s take a look at how it played out.

Elite Division

The elite division had quite the shake up this leg with a couple of teams not performing to the level that we have seen from them this year so far. The two teams that underperformed the most this leg are XvG 2CP and Evo Esports, finishing fifth and seventh respectively compared to their second and fifth positions in leg one. 2CP losing a couple of players in their roster seems to have had a dramatic effect on their performance this leg. Having lost 3-2 against TSG Team Mist in the first week, losing 3-0 in their other losses and needing their own reverse sweep over Rage Quit Odyssey to finish in fifth, a position way below where they want to be. Evo, on the other hand, did not have changes to their roster, but their performance this leg was also not up to where they have been in the past. With their only win coming against Vanguard, the team they join in the two relegation spots of elite division, Evo will be far from happy. Especially losing their series against Odyssey 3-1, a team they have beaten every time they faced before this leg. Both Evo and 2CP will be looking for redemption in the upcoming finals this month.

Going into leg two, everyone was wondering how Team Mist would perform coming up to elite division after dominating challenger division in leg one. They came in with a bang, taking down 2CP 3-2 in their first match of the leg. In that same week, they also had a close 3-2 loss against Omnius Gaming Kintsugi. After week one, Team Mist had already announced that they were here to throw out everyone’s power rankings. Having only lost to ATK OW and ADG Snorlax, besides for Kintsugi, the first and second place teams in elite, Team Mist earned themselves a very well deserved fourth-place finish. Now all that matters is whether they can maintain that going into finals.

The rest of the division shaped up as expected taking into account the placings of 2CP, Evo, and Team Mist. ATK maintained their dominant first-place finish not dropping a map with ADG Snorlax moving up to second place. Kintsugi and Odyssey also kept their same positions from leg one, finishing third and sixth respectively. Unfortunately for Vanguard, they were not able to keep up with the teams in the elite division and finished in the eighth position. 

Elite Division Standings

1. ATK OW
2. ADG Snorlax
3. Omnius Gaming Kintsugi
4. TSG Team Mist
5. XvG 2CP
6. Rage Quit Odyssey (Playoff match)
7. Evo Esports (Demoted to Challenger)
8. Vanguard (Demoted to Challenger)

Challenger Division

Challenger division saw the entrance of two new teams in ADG Risen and RE ACCE Legion. For Legion, most of their players are new to Overwatch and especially the competitive scene as a whole. This meant that it was a lot for them to play this leg and they ended up finishing ninth. Risen, however, were able to come in swinging finishing in fourth, much like Team Mist did in the elite division. Risen being able to take down Overclocked Esports 3-2, who emerged as the second-best team in challenger, as well as narrowly losing out to Ladon Overwatch in a 3-2 reverse sweep shows just how much potential they have going further into the year. Their almost complete 3-2 reverse sweep over Overwatch Cubs is another result for them to be proud of. 

One team that improved from the previous leg is Overwatch Cubs. Finishing in the fifth position with five wins compared to their seventh position and one win in leg one is a significant improvement. They were also one win away from possibly finishing in second. Their only outlier result was their 3-0 loss to iEnvy Calypso a game, which many were favouring the Cubs going into it. They bounced back from that loss with a narrow 3-2 loss to Overclocked Esports the following week. 

The biggest fall of leg two is Overtime. Having only been able to beat Team Valiance and Legion in this leg, it was not the results they were looking for. Their 3-1 loss to KitsuneZA was the biggest surprise of the leg, a team that going into the leg was predicted to be a team scrapping for wins at the bottom of the standings. 

The last teams to look at are Ladon Overwatch, Overclocked Esports, and iEnvy Calypso. Calypso snuck quietly into that third place position earning themselves a chance to fight for a place in the elite division against Rage Quit Odyssey. While Ladon was dominant throughout dropping only three maps, Overclocked had a bit more struggles dropping a 3-2 series to Risen and almost losing to Overwatch Cubs in another 3-2.

Challenger Division Standings

1. Ladon Overwatch (Promoted to elite division)
2. Overclocked Esports (Promoted to elite division)
3. iEnvy Calypso (Playoff match)
4. ADG Risen
5. Overwatch Cubs
6. KitsuneZA
7. Overtime ZA
8. Team Valiance
9. RE ACCE Legion

Playoff Match for Elite Division

Another leg and another playoff match for Rage Quit Odyssey. This time their opponents would be iEnvy Calypso. Once again, Odyssey came in as clear favourites and would start the series off quite slow having two very close control point maps. However, the rest of the series looked pretty dominant in Odyssey’s favour, ending any hope that Calypso had of winning a map let alone the series. This match shows that a lot of teams in the challenger division are not at the level of elite just yet but with finals coming up perhaps things might change.

Looking Forward to Finals

With the teams still yet to know their groups headed into finals, it is very difficult to say where some teams will ending up finishing. However, everyone’s favourite has to be ATK Overwatch and it will be interesting to see whether or not anyone can challenge their throne. Evo Esports, XvG 2CP, and Overtime ZA will be looking to make amends for their performance in leg two while TSG Team Mist will try to continue on their momentum moving into finals. Ultimately this is a finals that you will do well not to miss and I advise all of you to watch all the matches that you can.