Volamel
2017-03-23 02:53:56
July of this year marks quarter three of the financial market and the genesis of Blizzard’s Overwatch League. With one team on a meteoric rise, Rogue is back and streamlined to return to their former glory. Facing little to no rivalry, who can overthrow the French monarchy or will Rogue continue on their path of desolation? The few who pose a threat to this regime of intimidation, have gathered their arms and have declared war on the French rule.
As many of North America’s top teams traveling back from South Korea, “three musketeers” stand steadfast against Rogue. These “three musketeers” represent three of North America’s brightest and best teams in the current landscape, but the question still stands; can the revolutionaries succeed in culling a rising tyranny? Before we can answer that question, let us first look back at the royal rise of Rogue.
La Terreur in French means “the terror”, in historical context this references back to the increased period of violence which sparked the French Revolution of 1830. Take this however you like, let your imagination run while and cast death to the author, but one thing is highly comparable; If you had Rogue in your tournament bracket, they were certainly a terror.
Originally team “MyDong”, they were acquired by the new start-up, team Rogue. This roster would be their birth into a spree of fantastic performances, starting with TaKe.TV’s TakeOver, where they would place first. Only losing one set to Creation Esports, which Rogue would find their rematch in the grand final upsetting them in a best of seven, 4-3. One of the fastest rising stars, IDDQD would be let go from Rogue and KnOxXx from Creation Esports, would take his place following the event.
ESL’s Atlantic Showdown would feature some of the biggest names in Overwatch early on in the life-cycle of the esport. Truly the first international premier level tournament, it was host to a who’s who of Overwatch esports teams -- Team Envyus, Cloud 9, Reunited, Fnatic, Misfits, Complexity and Team Dignitas. But, only one team could take first place and it was Rogue. Winning a close set with Team Envyus and then convincingly defeating team Reunited 3-1, Rogue continued to add to their repertoire of tournament wins.
Rogue’s next major event was Banana Gaming & Media’s APAC Premier 2016 in Shanghai, China. Here they were placed in a group with Korea favorites Lunatic-Hai, whom Rogue would struggle with. However, Rogue did make it out of the group stage, taking second seed. They would then coast over Afreeca Freecs Blue, NGA Club and even their rivals, Lunatic-Hai in the finals. Rogue would take first place, the pride of winning in the east against some of best teams in the world and $75,000.
After disappointing performances during OGN’s APEX Season 1 and ESL’s IEM Gyeonggi, the roster was changed again and Soon and Nico would bring on board as TviQ and Reinforce took their departure and traveled west. Rogue now resides in North America and has continued on their reign of terror. Their last two showings after moving to Las Vegas were at the Overwatch Monthly Melee Series, where they dominated in February and the following March tournament. Gliding without much hesitation to the finals of each month without dropping a set (16-6) only slowing down to one team in particular; Selfless Gaming.
This was Rogue’s road to North American royalty. Showcasing some of the biggest wins in Overwatch history to date and they lay their roots down in the desert of Las Vegas. Their dominance is unsurprising and their confidence meets that same expectation. In a brief chat with AKM, I congratulated him on the recent victories and asked him what he thought about the western scene?
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“I don’t think any of those teams will overthrow us, though. Other teams don’t scare us for now [laughs] including: Envy, Cloud 9 and NRG.”
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His answer was that of royalty, how could I disagree? With the newly flushed out NRG roster, Envy on their way back to the states and Cloud 9’s new coach, these are some serious claims by AKM. After the March Monthly Melee Rogue had some very close sets against Selfless Gaming, I asked him what he thought about the rising upstart. He quickly responded, “...once we figure out how to counter their comp, I think we’re good.”
That confidence is going to guide them straight into the Overwatch PIT Championship where they will face the best of the west and meet the fabled “three musketeers.” The Overwatch PIT Championship will be a defining moment for Rogue leading into the Overwatch League later this Summer. This will be their crucible to see how long their reign will be. With such an iron grasp over North America, there are only three teams that have shown the potential to overthrow the French monarchy.
On the frontlines of the war effort, we have team Immortals, one of the staples of the North American scene at large. Under their belt they have a solid 3rd place finishes at February's Overwatch Monthly Melee and the last major LAN victory, and winning NGE’s Overwatch Winter Premier tournament over Ghost Gaming. Their roster showcases some of the fastest growing talents in the west, with players like GrimReality, Agilities, and star shot caller and IGL (in-game leader) Verbo. In a feature posted to the Immortals website [1] Verbo ends with an inspiring quote:
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“I want to show people they can do anything.”
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This is the attitude needed to take down a powerhouse like Rogue. They are not afraid of you; Rogue treats everyone with the same amount of confidence as they do for anyone. With sharp optimism, a fantastic mindset and a seriously scary roster, Verbo are set to lead his troops to the promise land. What is interesting is that Verbo and our next team have some fond history together.
First, we met them as team Bird Noises, then they were Hammers Esports and now they’ve found their way to Luminosity Gaming as LG Evil. Easily contenders for the best team in North America, LG Evil are one-half of the Luminosity Overwatch family. LG Evil are another case of an insanely talented roster that has shown that they can adapt when many thought otherwise. The majority of its core members all come from a competitive background in Team Fortress 2 and former teammate Verbo, now on team Immortals, was no different.
Something that resonates with me about all three of our musketeers is that every single team has such a focused “growth” mindset. They don’t worry about the now, they’re laser focused on hoisting a championship trophy in front of millions. When I asked JAKE, team captain of LG Evil, in a previous interview about how much time he thought was needed to become good at Overwatch he game me this cryptic, yet wise answer:
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“Time invested is relative. If you want to be the best at something, you can either be a prodigy already or work harder than everyone else.”
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Up until recently, LG Evil has gone on a complete tear through the Overwatch Carbon Series. Their set record currently is 9-1 suffering their only loss to Team Liquid in an odd upset. Overall, this leaves LG Evil with a match record at 27-11, which is still a large margin above second place which is team Immortals at a record of 21-16. LG Evil and the rest of the North American teams gunning for Rogue all share similar philosophies on the game. I asked JAKE about how LG Evil was approaching Rogue and how they planned on stopping the French team. A short but powerful answer leaves an apt description of how serious they take this. All JAKE said was “Play perfect Overwatch.” To their credit, they have wounded the French titans before, but taking a game and winning a series are two completely different things. This leaves us with one team left-- the only team to really give Rogue a run for their money.
Selfless Gaming is the young guns of the North American Overwatch scene. The first big showing for Selfless was the March’s Overwatch Monthly Melee where they took Rogue to game 5 in both of their series. Selfless, coming into the grand final, had a 2-0 lead before slowly hemorrhaging and getting reversed swept by the French tyrants. Selfless has gone completely under the nose of major and invite only tournaments as of late while arguably being one of the strongest teams in North America. Their brash and aggressive style is not only exciting to watch but it dazes the enemy, many teams are caught off guard by how aggressive Selfless Gaming is. Spearheading this aggression is Dafran and Sinatraa, two of the most exciting players to grace North American Overwatch.
Leading up to the Overwatch League, this will have been Selfless Gaming’s rookie season. This is their time to cement themselves and NA powerhouses right alongside, if not on top of Rogue. Now, we can sing their praises till cows come home, but they do have a few questions surrounding them. They are aggressive, perhaps to a fault sometimes. If they don’t occur an early lead, they tend to fall flat. But, with how young Overwatch is a strategic entity, they may not need a deep playbook. Their prowess and explosive power could make up for many of their faults. Another question is whether or not they can perform on stage as well as they have on some of their online qualifiers and cups.
This all remains to be seen, but believe me -- this team can hit and they hit hard.
These are your revolutionaries: Immortals, Luminosity Gaming Evil and Selfless Gaming. They stand on the cusp of war and I have nothing but respect for them. This summer, on the road to the Overwatch League there will be a proving grounds for any able bodied men to test their strength along with the “three musketeers.” Rogue will have their work cut out for them. With giant targets on their backs as the #1 contender, you can expect anything from full-fledged counter strategies to gimmicks to help teams close the gap.
The foundation has been laid for tons of explosive matches in the upcoming Overwatch PIT Championship, which will feature all four of the teams featured: Rogue, Selfless, Immortals and LG Evil. This will be a key tournament for any of these teams and a win over Rogue may solidify themselves a spot this summer at the Overwatch League.
Can Rogue stay cool during this summer’s heat or will the unruly mob usurp the throne and forge their own way? Not only will Overwatch League find its staging point this July, but blockbuster storylines pave the battleground on which it will be played. The pathway is cleared and the stage, set. Rogue stand as gatekeepers for any North American hopeful daring enough to end their reign of terror.
Written by: @Volamel
Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment, Rogue, Immortals and @davidchen10
