The NGE Winter Premiere has reached a staccatoed climax. Leaving only the cream to rise to the top, we have seen some of the most interesting, creative, and innovative Overwatch to date. Multitudes of teams have made clear that the community should believe the hype. Others fell to the bite of the winter frost. Casualties are a common occurrence in tournaments, not everyone can hoist a trophy and be considered number one.

Coming off a static start, NGE has shaped up to be one hell of a tournament. With the likes of the Detroit Renegades and Team Immortals shocking everyone with their performances and possibly becoming a new titanic force in the absence of C9 and NV, as they travel to Korea. Faze Clan’s failure to hit the ground running and newly arisen roster issues. To the curious case of Team Liquid’s odd consistency issues. NGE’s Winter Premiere has been a watershed moment for North American Overwatch as a whole. Where some teams have shown their true colors, others are a bit more rough around the edges.

Rough they may be, but even the roughest diamond is still a diamond.

There is potential in everything.

Two teams stand out amongst their peers, for vastly different reasons. Team Kungarna and Citizen 7 look to be very potent dark horses coming into the later parts of 2017. Both teams came into the Winter Premiere relatively unknown. Kungarna is shaping up to be a strong contender, sparring even with Immortals throughout the open bracket, whereas Citizen 7 looked scattered and lacked the luster we normally see in most teams.

Both teams have highlight reel capabilities but, the real question is: Do they have the potential to succeed?

Their records on paper share a varying degrees of suspension, but both teams have played with a flair and bravado that only a bright upstart would dare attempt. With the Overwatch League looming overhead, let's look at these two teams on a case by case basis to see if they have the gall succeed or will stay in the amateur purgatory.

Rising Kings

At the helm for Kungarna is Roadhog specialist Connor “ConnorJ” Johnson and retired professional Crossfire player Andrej “babybay” Francisty. The DPS duo have already shown to be fairly innovative attacking Point A on King’s Row in an odd “skirmish” pseudo-dive style, using babybay on Tracer as a distraction, sending her to flank through the high ground. While babybay causes havoc and discord in the backline, ConnorJ shows us that not only is he a Roadhog god, but is also proficient on Genji. Dismantling the enemy team with well placed shurikens. This two pronged attack is something that has not seen much success in Overwatch to date. The late team that tried this, in my eyes was KongDoo Panthera, sending Evermore on flank attacks constantly, while marched up the middle.

Babybay shines the brightest on Soldier 76. His tracking is impeccable, playing doppleganger to the likes of EnVyUs’ star Harryhook. It is almost unfair to have players that skilled. Mechanically being able to aim that accurately is akin to having ultimate up constantly.

It is safe to say Kungarna is off to a slow, but bright, burn.

Their freshman debut was attempting to qualify for the Atlantic Showdown in July 2016. Falling short, Kungarna placed between top 32 and top 16. Skating under the radar during the storm that was Team EnvyUs’ return to the states during MLG Vegas, they finally remerged to show us their true colors.

The Winter Premiere has been a bright and vibrant painting for Kungarna.

In the 4th round of the qualifiers for NGE, Kungarna fell to Immortals in a nail biter of a set, 1-2. Placing top 8, they moved on to the online round robin play with 2-0 upsets over Immortals, Renegades, and Team Liquid. They’ve solidified themselves as contenders for the Winter Championship. The only thing that concerns me about this team is the projectile DPS role. Can ConnorJ rise to the occasion or does babybay have some pocket picks that we don’t know about? Kungarna may have not hit the ground running, but they’re sure to finish the race with ample time.

In the midst of the Winter Premiere, Team Kingdom was acquired by the Detroit Renegades. As far as unsigned talent, I’d put Kungarna very high on the list. I’d be shocked to not see them get picked up by TSM, H2K, or TempoStorm NA.

With the absence of Cloud 9 and Team nV on their exodus to South Korea, Kungarna needs to polish their skills and confidence to fill the void left by the North American titans. Kungarna definitely has the potential to succeed. Taking that potential and turning it into “kinetic results” will be a different story but the future looks bright

Law Abiding Citizen 7

In the unfortunate position of last for NGE’s Winter Premier is Citizen 7. Scraping by to qualify off of a number of 5th - 8th place finishes, they were definitely the underdogs of the tournament. However, what looks like a last place finish could spell success in other ways, within the Citizen 7 brand or outside of it.

By all means is this an excuse, but this is one tournament: A grueling four weeks of double elimination tournament followed by two weeks of round robin play. Citizen 7 may have placed last, but they worked for this. They trained day in and day out, and it does show.

Most of the finishes were close, ?ven the 2-0 losse?. If you just skim reddit and look at the results and see Citizen 7 at the bottom, with no wins, I can see how that alters the opinions of some. But I challenge you, watch some of their games vs Luminosity. By no means are they world beaters, they do deserve their 0-12 record, but there's potential there.

“A diamond is just a chunk of coal that did well under pressure” - Henry Kissenger

Citizen 7 do have some endearing qualities about them. Sypeh on Genji is a complete all star.. This Genji came out of nowhere and shocked me in particular. His Dragon Blades were crisp, cleaving the enemy in two whenever the opportunity presented itself and very seldom would you find Sypeh missing ultimates. He has also shown his hand on Mei and looked very strong there, too. Moving forward, it would be very interesting if Citizen 7 go the route of the old Afreeca Freecs Blue and play nothing but Mei and Genji for 2 control point maps.

Lyna and Sypeh are the duo that showed the most impact on Citizen 7. Their communication is shown through their paramount Nano-Blade combos. Lyna enables Sypeh to carry, the most true definition of “support”. If these two take away anything from this, it is that they have something there. Other “supporting” members include Kayuun and Peebimitsu, both having standout performances on Solier 76 and D.va. With a comparable style to their bedfellows in Faze Clan, what can Citizen 7 derive from NGE as a whole?

The “one man army” mentality has to go. While Sypeh is a very good carry with Genji, the team seems to fall if he can’t find impact. With a bit more work, Kayuun’s Soldier can provide the “suppressing fire” that would alleviate the pressure off the back of Sypeh. Another thing that struck me odd was that, apart from Sypeh and Lyna’s combo potential, the cohesion of this team was lackluster at best. Impossible to tell without having coms, the direction and leadership of the team is worrying. With the departure of Dogman, Citizen 7’s in game leadership is left without a host.

Whether or not Citizen 7 returns to shock us all at the Overwatch League, will come in due time. We won’t get to see Citizen 7 moving forward into Phase 2 of NGE, as they were eliminated, but be sure to look remember some of their names moving forward. Personally, I predict they will find individual success apart from Citizen 7.  

Citizen 7 is a rougher diamond then most. But, a diamond is still a diamond. They have potential.

Final Thoughts

The comparison of Envyus and Kungarna is a bit of a stretch, but hear me out. Both teams faced scrutiny on their performances and both teams had no expectations of achieving as much as they did. What made this possible for both teams was dedication, seasoned with a bit of dumb luck, topped with a hearty dose of determination to see their potential come to fruition. With that in mind, you can see how far they’ve come. Both from seemingly unknown to fresh off of their own individual performances.

Whereas the Envy to Kungarna comparison was a bit of a stretch, Citizen 7 to Faze is a bit more direct. With similar playstyles, similar hero pools, and shared map choices, it would not surprise me if we saw some of the stars from Citizen 7 move to Faze. Would be interesting to see Shadowburn and Sypeh trade off on Genji domination, and how zombs and Lyna would work together. Either way both teams need to address the issues that plague them and move forward. There is incredible potential in both of these team, even with being eliminated from the Winter Premiere in phase 1.

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For these teams, the amount of exposure is sure to propel those who are worthy into the limelight. Not only with this event be a stepping stone into the future of Overwatch, but it is poised to be a large sum of what the Overwatch League could look like. Everything has potential here. NGE has a very good chance of being a powerful force, possibly becoming a “major” in Overwatch esports. Kungarna position themselves well coming into phase 2 of the Winter Premiere. They look to secure sponsorship and on the cusp of doing so. Citizen 7 has to go back to the drawing board. Restructure, and attempt the marathon again. But they’ve left a lasting impression on the landscape.

Next Generation Esport’s Winter Premiere has shown nothing but growth. From players evolving and superseding their own expectations, to fostering some of the best North American talent in Overwatch today. Exciting prospects are sure to follow NGE and where their future leads them.

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Written by @Volamel

Images courtesy of Blizzard and NGE respectively.