The second week of North American Contenders is complete, and we're getting a good dose of holiday spice. If you missed out on some matches, never fear, we have you covered. Due to personal circumstances, I missed recapping Week 1 of Contenders, but don't worry. The "theme" of Week 1 applies to this week's matches as well: Academy teams can bleed, don't underestimate the importance of a D.Va, and Second Wind creates miracles. Read on for recaps, match MVPs, and next week's predictions!
This week's Contenders China recap was completed with the invaluable help of Eren "Kenobi" Erkey — thanks for the assist!
We are now over halfway through the group stages of Contenders China, and we're starting to get a good picture of who will be progressing to the playoffs and who will be headed back to trials. 3 teams in each group have locked in their playoff spot – T1w Esports Club, Team CC and LinGan e-Sports for Group A, and Big Time Regal Gaming, Flag Gaming and LGD Gaming for Group B. No one has yet been eliminated from playoff contention, however, so every matchup is still important.
Ieuan "vowels" Hall is an Overwatch caster and analyst from the UK. When he isn't casting, he studies Maths at the University of Manchester and can be found rambling on Twitter about Chinese Overwatch, esports in general, and the Chicago Bears.
After Week 2 of Contenders China, we've started to get a sense of who's on top and who might be missing out on a playoff spot as we reach the end of the group stages. T1w Esports Club and Team CC are yet to drop a map, as expected, but a dark horse in LinGan e-Sports is keeping pace and has also registered two shutout victories. On the other side of the standings, we have five teams yet to win their first map, although two of these teams are set to play each other on this upcoming Saturday. What else did we learn from Week 2?
The second week of Australian Contenders was a lot of ups and downs. Floats, a modified GOATS comp with Winston and D.va for main tanks, was the flavour of the week. Two veterans of Aussie esports squared up while a set of new teams saw some fun and tense matches.
The first week of Contenders China has come and gone, and week 2 is almost upon us already. The region is undergoing a huge amount of turnover, as four new teams have come up from Open Division to compete and many of the star players we saw last season have moved on, presumably to the Overwatch League. Who can take up their mantles? How can teams which saw success previously but have had to make sweeping changes keep up with the competition? Here's a brief rundown of what we learned in the first week.
Australian Contenders kicked off with a fun set of matchups that gave teams new and old a chance to flex their strength. A startling amount of GOATS composition was run; almost every team, it seemed, either started out on it or hurriedly switched to mirror their opponent's GOATS. Even so, the first week of Contenders Season 3 proved to be an exciting one.
Season 3 of Contenders Australia is right around the corner! The new season kicks off Monday, November 19th and the off-season has been chaotic to say the least. Rebrands, collapses, sneaky roster moves and the sad demise of the Bin Chickens. Rookies fresh off the ladder will be squaring up with old school veterans, and we'll no doubt see some intense matchups this season.