Hot off the heels of OGN Overwatch APEX Season 1, some of the top South Korean teams from that highly competitive league will clash alongside a pair of European powerhouses at Intel Extreme Masters Gyeonggi for $100,000 on Dec. 16-18. Let's take a look at which of the six invited teams might make a big impact at the tournament.
Day 1 - A Cinderella and a Beast
Many Western Overwatch fans will remember South Korea's dominance in the Overwatch World Cup in early November at BlizzCon 2016. Half of Team South Korea's championship roster was composed of the fearsome Lunatic-Hai core of Kim "EscA" In-jae, Gong "Miro" Jin-hyuk, and Ryu "Ryujehong" Je-hong; Ryujehong, for example, is considered the best Ana in the world. Despite the strong influence of those players on Team South Korea's success, Lunatic-Hai itself has yet to win a major tournament.
The team has come close before, taking second place in the APAC Premier in October, but recent results have been less than stellar. Lunatic-Hai was knocked out of the OGN Overwatch Apex Season 1 playoffs in embarrassing fashion, getting swept 3-0 by KongDoo Uncia. This puzzling development may owe to not adapting to the changing meta. If LH stopped refusing to play Roadhog, who is widely regarded as one of the strongest characters in the current state of the game, that could be a start. But if they hope to take their first LAN tournament on Friday, they'll have to learn how to adapt, or else be left in the dust by their competition.
Unlike their South Korean counterparts, Europe's Misfits have put together plenty of success in recent months, winning DreamHack Winter in spectacular fashion against Fnatic. Conventional wisdom says, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," yet that's exactly what Misfits did, taking part in a three-way trade with Luminosity and fellow IEM tournament-attendee Rogue.
When the wheeling and dealing was finished, Misfits ended up with an entirely Swedish lineup, replacing Nicholas "skipjack" Rosada, Terrence "SoOn" Tarlier, Jonathan "Kryw" Nobre, and Mikaël "Hidan" Da Silva with Jonathan "Reinforce" Larsson, Kalle "Zave" Haag Nillson, Tim "Mannetens" Byhlund, and Kevyn "TviQ" Lindström. This new roster has yet to be tested on an international level, but Misfits are still expected to perform well. TviQ is known to have stand-out performances, and Reinforce is regarded as one of the most intelligent Reinhardt players in the world. If the roster can gel in time for IEM Gyeonggi, Misfits shouldn't have too much trouble making it through the tournament.
Day 2 - Goliaths await in the wings
The two winners of the quarterfinal matchups on Friday will have the unenviable task of facing two of the better teams in the Overwatch scene in Afreeca Freecs Blue and Rogue.
Afreeca Freecs Blue (AFB) used to be one of the most exciting teams to watch in the earlier stages of competitive Overwatch. DPS player Jeong "ArHaN" Weon Hyeop was a critical member in the team's success, helping AFB put together solid showings from September to early October. However a meta shift left the team high and dry as of late. OGN Overwatch Apex Season 1 showcased the team's struggles, as AFB barely got by REUNITED in the quarterfinals, and were absolutely decimated in the grand finals against Team EnVyUs. In that final series, nothing seemed to work for AFB. They weren't able to "play the meta" at the same level as EnVyUs, as they were heavily countered by the abundance of tanks and long-range pressure from Soldier 76. It is unclear what AFB will bring to IEM Gyeonggi, but whatever their approach might be, there is no doubt that the pride of South Korea will be with them.
On the flipside, Rogue, until recently, was easily one of the top three teams in the Overwatch scene. With a history of high finishes at events such as Operation Breakout and ESL Overwatch Atlantic Showdown at Gamescon, Rogue looked like a top-class Western team earlier this past year. When Rogue won the APAC Premier as the sole European representative, defeating top South Korean teams on its way to the title, the Overwatch community was ready to crown them the kings of Overwatch.
OGN Overwatch APEX Season 1 only helped the hype grow, as they swept through their group without dropping a single game. Then, in the playoffs, against a seemingly weakened EnVyUs who was using a sub, Rogue faltered. They looked like they weren't sure of what to pick into EnVyUs' compositions, and there was visible panic in the way the team played in Game 5. The loss prompted an immediate change, as they jumped into the aforementioned three-team trade, dropping TviQ and Reinforce to pick up SoOn and skipjack. As a result the pressure is on for Rogue, as anything short of winning IEM Gyeonggi will hurt their legacy.