The NetEase Esports X Tournament (NeXT) has finished its qualification rounds and will continue many of the stories left unfinished from Overwatch Contenders China Season 2. Sixteen teams entered and only four teams made the final heat. Four of China’s best will compete for $30,000 in prize money in an offline tournament held in Guangzhou, China. With an additional three Chinese franchize slots being added for Overwatch League Season 2, having a memorable performance is the most powerful thing sticking out for a talent scout. Rest assured, whoever takes home the first place prize will, at the very least, be considered for the Overwatch League in some fashion. And with Overwatch Contenders Season 3 looming on the horizon and set to start sometime in November, it’s time to scout the next generation of aspiring talent.
A Future Vanishing
After two dominant seasons, the kings of Chinese Overwatch Lucky Future Zenith seems to be no more. The all South Korean lineup built from the ashes of teams like Mighty AOD and Ardeont were notably absent from LanStory Cup - Guangzhou, but were slated to participate in NeXT and were seeded into the offline final as one of the semifinalists. Earlier this week a report broke that revealed that, unfortunately, Lucky Future Zenith would be forfeiting their seed in NeXT and would be stepping away from the tournament. This follows head coach Jung “yeah” Young-su’s departure from the team earlier this month. With Overwatch League on everyone’s mind, conclusions on where the team can be headed can easily be tied, but nothing has been confirmed as of writing this report.
That being said, if Lucky Future Zenith is closing their doors and is finished scribing their legend in Chinese Contenders, they have easily left their mark on the region as a whole. Going undefeated for two straight Overwatch Contenders regions is no easy feat and they did it dominantly. Ultimately this will lead to a power vacuum in the Chinese region that some teams are already looking to fill. The top team may be leaving without ever facing a match loss and it’s hard to predict if such an accomplishment will ever happen again. Their seed into the semifinals was decided by the third place match between LGD Gaming and Flag Gaming, where LGD Gaming took a decisive victory, 3-1.
As one of two draws to the main event in Guangzhou, Lucky Future Zenith not attending drastically reduces the competitiveness of the tournament as a whole. On the other side of that coin, RunAway -- as of writing this report -- is still set to play in the semifinal against LGD Gaming. But with many reports coming out that all eight members have allegedly signed with the Vancouver franchize in the Overwatch League, RunAway’s priorities could change. With Lucky Future Zenith out and RunAway’s minds elsewhere, this could open NeXT up to some potential upsets that could rock the Overwatch ecosystem. That being said, it is a shame to Lucky Future Zenith go, but they have cemented an incredibly strong legacy as a team and have penned a fitting climax into the lore of competitive Overwatch.
Guxue, the main tank for the 2018 Chinese World Cup team and LGD Gaming was notably absent from LGD as they qualified for the main event for NeXT.
Amateurs Stake Their Claim
While the Chinese landscape shifts through the many players transitioning to Overwatch League, two amateur teams have seriously made their mark during the NeXT qualifiers. Both Fiat Lux and Ambitious Immortals are teams that are both Contenders level teams that are waiting in the wings ready to push into Contenders Trials at any given moment.
For those who are die-hard Chinese Overwatch fans, we’ve seen quite a lot of Fiat Lux in Open Division Season 2 where the team crushed their competition without dropping a single map. Additionally, they nearly advanced through Contenders Trials but were two maps short of the top 4 cut off. When the team attempted to qualify for LanStory Cup Guangzhou, they managed to defeat Moss Seven Club, 2-3 in a close set. When it comes to NeXT, Fiat Lux did not make it out of the group stage but continues to take games off of established Contenders talent like Hero Taciturn Panther. The team is easily Contenders level and I expect to see them test their mettle in Overwatch Contenders Season 3.
Next up is one of the most exciting teams I’ve seen in a long time. Much like Fiat Lux, Ambitious Immortals are a team that continuously beats Contenders level teams, but to a much higher degree and in a very interesting way. For the last few months, the team has been running a Zarya, Brigitte, Sombra, Doomfist strategy centered around their star DPS Shuaiguo piloting the Doomfist. Surprisingly enough Ambitious Immortals took Lucky Future Zenith to game five during the LanStory Cup Chengdu qualifiers. During the Guangzhou qualifiers, they didn’t advance to the main event but demolished LGD Gaming in a stunning upset, 4-1. If I’ve sold this team well enough that you want to catch a quick game of theirs, I’d highly recommend their match against Big Time Ragel Gaming -- I promise it will not disappoint you. While Ambitious Immortals didn’t manage to upset LGD Gaming again, Ambitious Immortals are a team to seriously keep your eye on moving forward and Shuaiguo, in particular, should be an interesting player to follow.
Much like his teammate Guxue, Shy was absent from LGD Gaming's final qualifying rounds for NeXT.
T1w Rising
Last but certainly not least, if we're going to say that there is a power vacuum after the disappearance of Lucky Future Zenith, then the front-runner to claim the Chinese throne have to be T1w Esports—being able to take a map off of Lucky Future Zenith, let alone taking them to five games during the semifinals of Overwatch Contenders Season 2. However, after a strong victory at the LanStory Cup Guangzhou event over LinGan e-Sports, T1w look to be cementing themselves as the team to beat currently. After their star flex DPS player Krystal arrived home from competing with the Chinese national team during the Overwatch World Cup qualifying stage in Bankok, Thailand, T1w cruised through their group without dropping a single map.
After their 3-0 victory over Flag Gaming, they now find themselves in the main event and now are preparing to face off against their proverbial rivals in LinGan e-Sports. Anything outside of a top-two finish for T1w Esports would be an upset, seeing as they’ve been so consistent as of late. If they advance past LinGan, they look to play the winner of the fan favorites from South Korea, RunAway, and LGD Gaming. Either match would be an amazing grand final, but I’d love to see T1w Esports truly tested and pushed to their limits. With potential Overwatch League offers on their minds, a new environment, and T1w’s slightly unorthodox style on certain maps, I can see a world where T1w Esports takes a victory here at NeXT.
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Joseph “Volamel” Franco has followed esports since the MLGs of 2006. He started out primarily following Starcraft 2, Halo 3, and Super Smash Bros. Melee. He has transitioned from viewer to journalist and writes freelance primarily about Overwatch and League of Legends. If you would like to know more or follow his thoughts on esports you can follow him at @Volamel.
Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.
Volamel
2018-09-23 03:12:10