Deep within the rolling hills of OGN’s APEX Challenger Season 3, something stirs. Teams from across South Korea have battled for a chance to compete in the post prestigious Overwatch league to date. The five teams that have advanced the farthest have surprised us with their innate ability to adapt and evolve. Each team has acclimated to the environment around them differently, but all five teams share something primal, something we all share deep inside us all: -- the will to win.

We start with the Alpha of the pack--one who has already tasted blood. X6-Gaming has made their intentions clear; they want to be number one and they are proving they have the potential to do so. Recently at the Nexus Cup Qualifiers, they defeated Korean powerhouse Lunatic-Hai in a close set, 2-1. Pinning a beast like Lunatic-Hai is no easy feat for even the most seasoned Overwatch team, let alone a challenger team with no former league placing. X6-Gaming stands far above a majority of their pack, only losing sets to Rhinos Gaming Wings and MVP Space. Going on an absolute tear through the round robin stage, their set record stands at 8-2, with their match record reflecting the dominance at an astounding 25-10.

X6-Gaming does not ride on the back of one player in general. On the contrary, it is a team effort. Each player has the potential to have a standout performance, but it remains to be seen if they are going to need those over performances to break into the professional scene. Across the board, X6-Gaming’s Ana player, BEBE, has impressed me the most. He has shown proficiency with the hero in duels, most notably in their set against Lunatic-Hai from the Nexus Cup Qualifiers he has actually dueled EscA and Whoru a handful of times and won.

X6-Gaming still plays their own style. They’ve rested firmly on their strong tank play and rarely run a double DPS composition. One of the more aggressive Korean teams I’ve seen, X6-Gaming does not hesitate to push in after a bad team fight and look for a split respawn. Leading the charge forward towards the enemy spawn are the “dealers” of this ferocious team. X6-Gaming’s DPS duo of GodsB and TimeBoy leave little to the imagination when it comes to hero pool. Both seem to cover each other's weaknesses while also flourishing on their own comfort picks. Both players have stellar tracking, but a majority of the time GodsB takes up the six-shooter and plays McCree -- whereas TimeBoy favors Roadhog and Tracer to create space through flanks and can punish teams when they misstep.

X6-Gaming are slated to coast into APEX, make no doubt about it. But, If we have seen anything from the short history of Overwatch--you cannot count out anyone or any team. With Envyus shocking the world with a Season 1 win and now RunAway and Meta Athena doing so well, X6-Gaming could easily be upset. One team that has taken a game off of them is next on the food chain.

Rhinos Gaming Wings (RG Wings) are easily the Beta of the challenger pack -- not to say they are weak and undeserving, but they just don’t have the credentials that X6-Gaming does. Terrifying in their own right, they aim to bring honor to their besmirched name as it may seem familiar to some. Previously in Season 1 of APEX Rhinos Gaming Titan, the sister team to RG Wings, had been one of the lower tier teams in APEX and was subsequently relegated. RG Wings are here to show they can and are willing to fight tooth and nail to secure a spot in APEX Season 3.

A large driving factor in why RG Wings is doing so well is thanks to their star hitscan DPS player, OXO. Do not let the name fool you, he does not shoot hugs” nor kisses. OXO’s McCree and Soldier 76 play are impeccable somehow he always finds a fantastic use of his ultimates, knowing the correct timing to use each one. Whether it’s camping a Mercy Resurrect with High Noon or playing interesting flanks with his Tactical Visors, OXO gets the job done. While OXO is RG Wing’s star DPS player, XZW creates the space he needs to enjoy the thrill of the hunt.

You always have to respect the Roadhog because if you don't, you are easily hook-bait. XZW is the offensive barricade that OXO takes shelter behind -- not only in the figurative sense, but at the time, literally. XZW and their other flex player Fury take turns on Zarya, each of them very strong at support allies with barriers and finding superb ultimates to set RG Wings up for success. Having two very skilled flex players that can play a Hero like Zarya at a high level allows RG Wings to take very convincing team fights when their resources are used properly and more often time then not, they are.

Rhinos Gaming Wings are an easy inductee to Season 3 of APEX. The only bump in their road to glory could come at the hands of a team like Conbox Spirit that has shown that they are capable of very solid performances. RG Wings are the half of the Rhinos Gaming family that have shown adaptation and evolution, allowing themselves a terrific chance at a Season 3 birth. One veteran team has shown that even an old dog can learn new tricks; unfortunately, it was at RG Wings expense where they were defeated by LuxuryWatch Red, 3-0.

LuxuryWatch Red (LW Red)  is the sister team to the powerhouse LuxuryWatch Blue (LW Blue) roster and is a likely candidate for APEX Season 3. This team has been on the rise since before Season 2 of APEX had even begun. The reason why LW Blue has gotten so good, so quickly, is due to the fact that half of LW Red’s star DPS duo of Fl0w3r and Pine was split up during IEM Gyeonggi. As NoName moved down to the LW Red roster, he and Pine have been climbing back up the rungs of the APEX ladder to finally take a fair crack at their time in the limelight.

Pine, like his counterpart Fl0w3r, has proficiencies at a majority of the Overwatch roster. From game to game, you can see him switch to anything his team needs.

Projectile? Hitscan? None of it matters. Pine can and has done it all.

Not only is he incredibly strong in his own right, Pine is accompanied by a new rising talent, ADIOS. With this new and very strong DPS pairing, LW Red attempt to mimic the success of their twin LW Blue. At the backs of such a strong DPS duo, veteran NoName aids in their aggressive endeavors and sets them up for success.

As we advance forward in the history of Overwatch, we’ve seen many star DPS players really leave an impression. But, as Overwatch continues to grow, we see more and more great tank and support players start to rise through the ranks. NoName is one of the few that I speak of. NoName is on the front lines of every push piloting Zarya and dishes out a surprising array of damage. While NoName does set his DPS duo up for success, there are times where he steals the limelight, getting resources allocated to him. NoName never fails to impress and is a very integral part of why LW Red look so fearsome.

LW Red are actually right hairs behind X6-Gaming in terms of score. They both share a record of 8-2, but LW Red has lost one more game than X6 at 25-11. That being said, LW Red look to advance out of Super Week and are looking towards meeting up with their sister team early in APEX Season 3. However, I would not say they are a shoe in. If we have learned anything from Overwatch thus far it's that anything can happen. It is entirely plausible that LW Red very well could stay the gatekeepers of the Challenger scene. If I was a gambling man, I would say LW Red is a safe bet. Bringing up the rear is the plucky and creative ROX Orcas.

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“Never fight fair with a stranger, boy. You'll never get out of the jungle that way.” - Arthur Miller

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Coming in as the strangest teams I’ve seen to date, ROX Orcas are in a league all their own. The approach they take to Overwatch is a little more unorthodox, but rest assured, they are not to be trifled with. The ROX Orcas roster is deep and has some interesting components that we have not seen in a top level Overwatch team to date. That same creativity and ingenuity, unfortunately, have spelled disaster for this team as they seemed to have barely missed the Super Week Promotions. ROX Orca’s finished their Challenger season at 6-4, which put them around the middle of the pack. The reason why I added them to my preview over a team like MVP Space, is because of just how interesting this team is.  

Overwatch has not seen a main tank player flex into projectile DPS. Leg1end is the first that I can recall that brings life to that role. Allowing his flex players, Guardian or Melee to fill as a Winston or D.va, it is very possible to see Leg1end take flight as Phara or Genji. It’s that confidence and creativity that really shine with the ROX Orcas line-up. It has shown with how many people know of them over a team like MVP Space. ROX Orcas have quickly become a staple of rising teams in Korea, for good reason--they’re simply good.

Backing up such an unorthodox frontline tank is the star support duo, Try and Aloha. Much is not known when it comes to the leadership of this team, but make note -- Aloha is quite good. His zoning on Lucio allows some of the creative strategies to really form and hold weight. Having a really consistent support line is something that is repeated through most of the top tier Overwatch rosters and ROX Orcas have some of the best amateur talents. Try, on the other hand, has had some incredibly clutch Sleep Darts in the past and is just a solid Ana player. With two rock steady supports throwing heals and supportive buffs from the backline, ROX Orcas have tons of resources at their disposal.

Unfortunately, ROX Orca’s will not make the Super Week Promotion tournament as they finished their season at 6-4 and had a respectable match record of 25-17. They will, however, secure their spot next for next years challenger series. If ROX Orcas can iron out some of their approaches to hybrid and payload maps, we definitely could see them in the future! Hopefully, we can look forward to more creative and innovation from ROX Orcas in Season 4.

I believe Axl Rose meant something different when he said this famous quote, but the similarities stand:

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“You know where you are? You're in the jungle, baby. You're gonna die.”

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MVP Infinity, Afreeca Freecs Red, Conbox Spirit and Flash Lux all have their work cut out for them as they approach the jungle -- that is, religation. It is very likely that we will not see half of these teams return from their own respective tests. Some of Korea’s rising stars are ready, willing and definitely able to lift the veil on some of the strongest teams in the current Overwatch landscape.

Deep within the rolling hills of South Korea, they stand itching to stake their claim and prove their worth. If you have a flaw, they will find it and they will exploit it. This same jungle bred the genius that is Meta Athena and toughened the hide of RunAway. There will be more of these teams who have survived this crucible and will reach full bloom.

These are your APEX Predators-- the few that challenge the Alphas of the professional pack.

Written by: @Volamel

Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment, OGN,  X6-Gaming, Rhinos Gaming, ROX Orcas and LuxuryWatch.