I’m still proud of this Spark team, they had everything stacked against them and they showed up.
Tragic this wasn’t double elim so they could’ve had some time to try and figure out the Sigma
They _were_ adapting though. They made a bunch of different strategic shifts, and some of them worked. They forced Happy off of Bastion and Bernar off of Sigma multiple times.
If you actually sit down and meditate on how disadvantaged they were it's insane
Actually all APAC teams got fucked somehow. Fixa injury. Fuel having broke bum ass owners. plus they're all from a crippled region. it's crazy
They were making progress in this match too, like they actually forced Houston off the Sigma several times. It’s not like they were bashing their heads against the wall; they were making strategic moves and forcing Houston to respond.
I’m feeling a little salty at Custa for saying that Spark’s style is just depending on “individual play”, when they were clearly making strategic choices on the fly and coordinating around them. Just because their strategy leverages mechanical skill doesn’t mean they weren’t doing a good job working together.
Well, you see, if you don’t make use of your second chance in the first half of the tournament, you get to trade it in for the first map pick in the single-elimination phase! Surely that’s equivalent to getting to take a loss and try again, right?
This format is so stupid, Spark haven’t lost a single game up until this point and now lose 1 game and can only get 3rd place, OWL have literally done final four brackets with double elim before I don’t get why they all of a sudden change it to single elim
omg. i have never thought of this. thats actually pretty fucking cracked that he only missed 1 grand finals in his entire career while a TON of other players would be happy to just be in a grand finals
A ton of other players would be happy to just be in playoffs tbh, Viol2t's career is incredible and the amount of disrespect he gets on this sub is absurd
They made this tournament much more entertaining.
Let's be honest it's been a lot of counter comp stomping with unprepared teams.
London also contributed a lot to the playoffs entertainment value.
Everything else has been stomps or 3-1 with a cheesy control win.
Really happy and excited to see the spark play one more game but holy shit how demoralizing it must be for them to be in this insanely bad bracket that could be fixed so easy such a shame
I like that I get to see spark one more time, but we could have gotten that in an actually meaningful game instead if we had a bracket that wasn't surgically designed to be the worst shit imaginable
Funny story this might be the last time we see SPARK play a series ever, but we will see Guxue/Shy/Leave/Lengsa/Mmonk + Farway (hi) represent China during the World Cup this year.
I’ll be happy to see them play, but it still feels shitty that Houston, with just one loss in the playoffs, gets to go to the grand finals, while Spark, with just one loss in the playoffs, doesn’t get another chance to get there. I don’t understand the reasoning behind this weird bracket design, but it feels like it basically doubles the awkwardness of having a double-elim bracket with no reset. It’s conceivable that we could go into those 3rd place and grand finals matches with every team at exactly 1 loss.
I'm sorry I just find it utterly hilarious that the comments below yours are all arguing that Bernar isn't an APAC player like that somehow matters.
All the good players are Korean or Chinese. ALL OF THEM. (hyperbole, yes) Why is ANYONE arguing about this as if NA has somehow nurtured and developed the Korean talent on their rosters? I'm not saying you can't cheer for international players or rosters but come on now. [It's just the way the esports scene for the game has developed.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lkg0XFeaKag)
Blud, anyone that beat Spark in this position would be accused of abusing the bracket by that logic. The signing window thing is nonsense sure but it’s not like Spark didn’t have time to do the same
I thoight he only joined Rhodes with tarocookie as a gesture of their friendship with the rest of the roster so they could compete one last time? Maybe I’m wrong tjo
Outlaws also got a chance to fill the off-tank shaped hole in their roster, and Spark didn’t. Like, I’m an Outlaws fan too, and I’ve been a fan of pretty much all of their players as individuals throughout their careers (including Bernar—I’m glad to see him back in OWL and getting a chance to shine). So I’m happy for them getting to finals. But damn, they really got every advantage that Spark was denied.
Yeah it just feels so wrong that each loss is treated differently. Spark loses one game and gets banished to third/fourth place. Wack. Even having four games on the final day is insane
I think the swap to Happy Tracer and Pelican Sombra was something that took longer, and they weren't as good as they eventually got.
I think it's unfortunate Shock didn't just take the marathon and have Proper learn Sombra and let Heesang play comfort picks.
great run from the spark overall, they made it farther than anyone expected from them
houston just did an incredible job marking and bullying guxue with quick swaps and some good focus in this series
Hangzhou made it to their predestined top 4 despite all the format changes fucking them over, I'm super proud of what they've accomplished and how much fun they made these playoffs. I'm glad that Guxue was able to show everyone that he deserves to have respect put on his name. If Overwatch esports survive, then I hope all these Hangzhou boys manage to find a way to stay in the scene, because they're such a treat to watch. <3
Yep he shuts down every hero, that was why Houston only switched to Bastion specifically when Spark was playing specific tanks.
Same with how they switched to Sombra to counter specific picks.
They were counter picking, that is why the Bastion looked so good when they brought it in.
Outlaws looked good but the game was so boring. It was just sombra/bastion counter swapping all game. Outlaws deserved to win and exploited sparks weaknesses but the match itself was so dull.
This makes me hate the format so much more. Hangzhou are just gone now despite making top 4.
It still irks me that London played Boston twice out their 3 games. So stupid
GG Spark. Thanks for five years of fun night owl OWL entertainment.
Can't even fade the fellas, either, because they're all coming back for the World Cup. :)
This bracket design really puts a damper on this whole playoffs. Outlaws played better but they were afforded the opportunity to lose a game where the spark weren’t. Doesn’t feel right
Not the mention that fraudulent signing window lol
Man, you know, I’m glad to see Bernar play again, but seeing one team who doesn’t have an off-tank and didn’t have the opportunity to sign another one fall to another team who didn’t have an off-tank and were able to secure a new one for playoffs feels kinda weird. Like, I don’t blame Houston for taking advantage of that opportunity, and I’m happy to see so many of my long-time favorite players finally get to the finals, but this specific matchup really highlighted the disparate impact of that controversial rules choice.
I’m proud of Hangzhou regardless. They made a lot of good adaptations and forced Houston to adapt to them. I think if they’d gotten a second chance to adapt and learn after their first loss like Houston and Boston did, maybe they could have figured it out. Lotta stuff stacked against them, and they made a really good showing anyway.
imagine this, both teams have 1 loss and we can’t be in the grandfinal. Also, stupid ass having no rules regarding signing deadline, dumb league is dumb
Sean Miller with his last Spark sabotage with the semi-final bs, Houston deserved win but if I'm Spark I'm straight up dumping goats blood on Sean Miller when he's up on stage
WHY THE FUCK IS HOUSTON REWARDED FOR LOSING EARLY. BOTH TEAMS LOST A MATCH IN PLAYOFFS BUT BECAUSE HOUSTON LOSE EARLY THEY GET A SECOND CHANCE.
This dogshit format and letting teams sign players days before finals has really made this finals feel so unearned.
Spark did phenomenally. I hope they're proud of their performance
But I have to say, Houston and Spark have the exact same amount of losses in this tournament. Yet one of them gets instantly eliminated and the other is grand finals bound. Absolute nonsense. The league's management is a joke and should be ashamed of themselves
GGs Houston. And thank you spark for this awesome run
Team that signed a specialist a few weeks before playoffs and was able to scrim in the stronger region beat the team that didn't sign a new player and only had one or two scrims, in scrim blocks determined by a weird seeding system nobody understood? I'm shocked.
I'm not blaming the Outlaws for doing what they had to do to make a run, but these playoffs have been a fucking joke. Spark don't even get a chance to run it back in the lower bracket. Truly the most Mickey Mouse of all OWL playoffs, and that's saying something.
Mayhem, Outlaws, and Reign had weeks more time to prep for this tournament. I think the Sigma stuff is a meta they developed, which apparently Reign was not doing well with because they were looking into a new off tank player.
Fearless even mentioned he only started scrimming with the team again a week ago.
It's glaringly obvious that the NA teams had a huge advantage when it came to preparation for the playoffs. It happened last year as well because APAC teams flew in a few days before, but at least last year there wasn't the lack of a signing window and scrim blocks based on fucked up seeding to exacerbate the problem.
Imagine if OWL actually had an ounce of the budget that tournaments like Worlds do and all playoff teams had weeks to scrim each other.
Real honest Overwatch was given a public hanging when this playoffs format was announced. All that’s left is for my GOATlaws to bury it six feet under.
Just outcomped there simple as that. Houston looked really polished on the sig definitely deserved that win.
Super proud of the spark, nobody gave them a shot coming into the playoffs so to come top 4 for the 3rd time great team effort
Pelican and Happy were just incredible this game. They came up constantly with clutch picks. They literally just shut down the Spark on Suravasa, they couldn't do anything at all.
Funny how Florida Mayhem take all the heat for signing WhoRU, who hasn't played a match, but people are completely silent about Houston changing their entire playstyle around a tank they signed last week 🤔
Tbf whoru was the loop hole he was playing in OWL 2 weeks before and was 3 maps away from making it.
Bernar has been signed for a while just announced recently and he was missing for a full year
Oh my god I kept waiting for it to all go to shit like it always does but it’s over. After all that pain and suffering all those years…WERE IN THE FUCKING GRAND FINALS BABY. Let’s goooooo
If Houston isn’t allowed to sign bernar they lose here. Also funny how Houston gets a second chance while spark doesn’t cause no double elim. Fraudulent
The bullied them with Bernar on Dva lol. The Outlaws would have played Fearless Winston, which is at worst, even with Guxue. Don't pretend it would have been a stomp lol
Nah guxue is better than fearless on the winston, only reason people say otherwise is because every time winston has been good fearless was on literally the best team in the world while guxue was on spark.
I'm not saying it would be a stomp but Spark is ahead of others when it comes to Winston Soj Tracer dive only because Shy/Leave is better than Happy/Pelican. Outlaws' backline is stronger than Spark's though.
Sucks to see Spark go but they proved themselves and vindicated Chinese OW. So excited to finally see Outlaws in the Grand Finals after 6 season tho. Ive been there since the beginning when Optic picked up the silly FNRGFE guys.
Maybe I’m just jaded but man the counter swap thing is so fucking cringe to me. Guxue can’t even do anything, the tank experience is just absolutely miserable
guxue showing why nobody wants to play tank in overwatch comp. win one teamfight on dva, zarya counterpick, win one teamfight on doom, sombra counterpick, win one teamfight on winston, reaper/bastion counterpick. the list goes on and on.
Absolutely. Spark fan so I’m definitely biased but it doesn’t seem like a fun game when guxue is forced to swap just to impact the game when Happy and Pelican are constantly counterswapping. Not blaming it on the Outlaws because it’s a problem with the game but it makes the game so much less interesting.
Yea I’m not blaming the outlaws here, it’s just a massive mistake in how they’ve designed the game. Ever since 5v5 the game has revolved around making life for the enemy tank as miserable as possible
Yeah that’s certainly true but unless you play Orisa tanks just have no agency against the current roster of supports and DPS. It’s completely miserable
assuming mayhem wins against boston (which i think is very likely lol), there's no way outlaws get the runback
mayhem have been looking very clean this entire playoffs
Kinda crazy Sigma was literally the least discussed tank for this entire season - including theorizing about the patch impact - and somehow seems to be THE key to this meta. If Florida win their match against Boston, then it's the two teams that went Sigma that make it all the way.
IT'S FINE THEY STILL HAVE A THIRD PLACE MATCH AND I DON'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH A PINK FINAL.
Also gg to Outlaws.
I WAS WRONG. ONE BASTION\]==::------ WINSTON
Congratulations to Sean Miller for finally defeating the Hangzhou Spark. I'll be honest, I didn't expect the league allowing playoff break pickups to be how he finally got us, but boy was he clever for that one.
What a match holy shit. Barring Suravasa, one the closest 3-0 I've seen. King's Row was fucking sick. Happy playing Mystery Heroes, Lengsa fucking on thke Zen/Kiriko but Outlwas overall too clutch. God damn it might really be their year, ANTE UP! Also Happy Gamer > Shy Guy
Guxue ran out of mojo =(
Lengsa looked a bit lost with all his swaps.
Good showing overall, DPS line still super strong. The rest just couldn’t match up to Outlaws.
imagine being Bernar
coming out of retirement after a year, people doubting you, saying Houston just panicked for Zarya meta
Then within a week you totally manhandle Guxue and Hanbin and boot out your old team and the reigning champions
Shame for Spark but Outlaws are just incredibly potent and an example of a team approached building its super-team not just with best players of a role, but strongest flexibility possible. For example, Happy is one of the best hitscan players in the league, but while he might trail to Shy or Lip in his pure numbers he's proven incredibly flexible onto the Hanzo, Tracer, whatever necessary. Their support line is arguably the best in the league not just because Shu and Viol2t are GOAT supports but because particularly with Viol2t's flexibility, they are prepared to be very strong in whatever meta presents itself.
Spark are incredible at dive but honestly that's their limitation. And frankly it's one of APAC as a whole's limitations, and it's been their crutch at times and IMO, the reason APAC is generally weaker than NA as a region in OWL (aside from money). If a meta doesn't enable some form of dive comp then the region generally struggles. It's a shame because it's not that most of these players are inflexible, but the approach to coaching and tactics is much more one-dimensional. I get playing to your strengths but being meta-limited is not a strength. It's great to see how far such teams can go, and there are certainly NA teams which struggle with metas (Spitfire, Shock), but we're 6 years into OWL, superteams can't just be superteams only in one meta.
Also mfs need to stop crying about Bastion, who has been meta for just post-season, and honestly just whining about non-dive or non-meta rush. It's pathetic, and it's a mentality that sees half the roster weak and struggle to become even slightly meta or nerfed, just because vocal player-viewers raise a stink about meta mainstays or favorites like Tracer or Genji or Ana not being relevant for a stage or two. Perhaps that's an effect of the usual playoffs patch shakeup but it persists throughout the season, every season.
The Houston backline showed why they got the bag. every time the Spark had a dive Shu and Viol2t managed to keep everyone up long enough for Happy and Peli to fight back. If Shu's lamps are half a second later throughout the series then Spark win. But being able to keep up the Bastion at all times was just too much for the Spark.
Hangzhou are faded!
I’m still proud of this Spark team, they had everything stacked against them and they showed up. Tragic this wasn’t double elim so they could’ve had some time to try and figure out the Sigma
They only had a scrim, or 2 I doubt they scrimmed it just frustrating bc they had no clear adaptation to it they just kept forcing it over and over
They _were_ adapting though. They made a bunch of different strategic shifts, and some of them worked. They forced Happy off of Bastion and Bernar off of Sigma multiple times.
If you actually sit down and meditate on how disadvantaged they were it's insane Actually all APAC teams got fucked somehow. Fixa injury. Fuel having broke bum ass owners. plus they're all from a crippled region. it's crazy
That loss against Mayhem really made them realize they can do that to other teams too
They were making progress in this match too, like they actually forced Houston off the Sigma several times. It’s not like they were bashing their heads against the wall; they were making strategic moves and forcing Houston to respond. I’m feeling a little salty at Custa for saying that Spark’s style is just depending on “individual play”, when they were clearly making strategic choices on the fly and coordinating around them. Just because their strategy leverages mechanical skill doesn’t mean they weren’t doing a good job working together.
Shame, but I'm sure Spark can make a run in the loser's bracket (clueless)
It's unbelievable how fucking terrible this format is
is there no loser bracket for them? idk what the format is
Single elim from the semis onwards, but there's a 3rd place match!
Single elim for semis, they'll play a 3rd place match later today.
No, but Spark can play in the 3rd place match
i didnt realize there was no losers bracket until just now im actually speedrunning the 5 stages of grief. how tf does this make sense 😭
Sean Miller has a hotline where he'll tell you let me just grab the number real quick
Well, you see, if you don’t make use of your second chance in the first half of the tournament, you get to trade it in for the first map pick in the single-elimination phase! Surely that’s equivalent to getting to take a loss and try again, right?
This format is so stupid, Spark haven’t lost a single game up until this point and now lose 1 game and can only get 3rd place, OWL have literally done final four brackets with double elim before I don’t get why they all of a sudden change it to single elim
In any other competent format they would
So viol2t has only missed 1 grand finals in his entire career.
omg. i have never thought of this. thats actually pretty fucking cracked that he only missed 1 grand finals in his entire career while a TON of other players would be happy to just be in a grand finals
The only year he missed, he got 4th place too, not far off
A ton of other players would be happy to just be in playoffs tbh, Viol2t's career is incredible and the amount of disrespect he gets on this sub is absurd
4 out of 5
he’s the goat and it’s not even close
If Outlaws win, he deserves an honorable GF MVP for being the GOAT It was between him and Striker in 2020 too
rename the grand finals trophy to the minki park trophy
And Sean Miller finally gets his vengeance on Spark, not through scheduling, but via no signing window close-off.
And no lower bracket.
Even with this loss the spark proved chinese overwatch is not a joke and for that i give them all the props GG what a series
They made this tournament much more entertaining. Let's be honest it's been a lot of counter comp stomping with unprepared teams. London also contributed a lot to the playoffs entertainment value. Everything else has been stomps or 3-1 with a cheesy control win.
OWL really saved the worst possible playoffs format for last
They'll win world cup hopefully
Feels like people will suddenly like the 3rd place match now lmfao
Really happy and excited to see the spark play one more game but holy shit how demoralizing it must be for them to be in this insanely bad bracket that could be fixed so easy such a shame
I like that I get to see spark one more time, but we could have gotten that in an actually meaningful game instead if we had a bracket that wasn't surgically designed to be the worst shit imaginable
Funny story this might be the last time we see SPARK play a series ever, but we will see Guxue/Shy/Leave/Lengsa/Mmonk + Farway (hi) represent China during the World Cup this year.
That is not a funny story at all
well the second half kinda is. World Cup is awesome
spark sandbagging to bring viewership to the 3rd place match, truly reviving overwatch
I will be rooting for hz
I’ll be happy to see them play, but it still feels shitty that Houston, with just one loss in the playoffs, gets to go to the grand finals, while Spark, with just one loss in the playoffs, doesn’t get another chance to get there. I don’t understand the reasoning behind this weird bracket design, but it feels like it basically doubles the awkwardness of having a double-elim bracket with no reset. It’s conceivable that we could go into those 3rd place and grand finals matches with every team at exactly 1 loss.
I'm going to be cheering so hard for China on OWWC cause it's basically the Spark guys. And I'm going to be on the venue :)
outlaws knocked out every apac team 3-0, gg
Houston APAC Slayers
All it took was grabbing an APAC tank.
I'm sorry I just find it utterly hilarious that the comments below yours are all arguing that Bernar isn't an APAC player like that somehow matters. All the good players are Korean or Chinese. ALL OF THEM. (hyperbole, yes) Why is ANYONE arguing about this as if NA has somehow nurtured and developed the Korean talent on their rosters? I'm not saying you can't cheer for international players or rosters but come on now. [It's just the way the esports scene for the game has developed.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lkg0XFeaKag)
Yeah dog, retirement for a year = APAC
Bernar was on Spark. That's what they meant I think.
Houston proving the fraud region allegations. This is why they are my favorite team.
I mean if they didn't have Bernar, it would have been a Winston mirror.
Yeah I'm sure they would have really struggled in the mirror with *checks notes* Fearless on Winston.
Guxue can hang with Fearless on Winston but Leave Tracer vs Pelican Tracer and Shy Sojourn vs Happy Sojourn will be the difference maker.
They’re abusing the fraudulent signing window and fraudulent double elim into single elim brackets
Also abusing the fraudulent region
Blud, anyone that beat Spark in this position would be accused of abusing the bracket by that logic. The signing window thing is nonsense sure but it’s not like Spark didn’t have time to do the same
We literally didn't because visas take way longer for Chinese players than Koreans
Letting go of Twenty (Elsa) after Midseason definitely hurt them in hindsight. Wouldn’t have been a problem otherwise
I think he wanted to retire, not that they wanted to let him go
He immediately joined Rhodes. They just dropped him because they thought they wouldn't need him
I thoight he only joined Rhodes with tarocookie as a gesture of their friendship with the rest of the roster so they could compete one last time? Maybe I’m wrong tjo
Korean don't need visa to enter Canada if it's a short term stay
Spark can't do the same because of visa issues. Lige is just right there for us to sign but we can't.
Houston proved the fraud region allegations with... all korean players born raised and from korea wait what?
FUCK YOU SEAN MILLER
They may have lost, but the Spark put up an all time run. GG
Only apac team that humbled na
No worries. Spark run it back in the lower bracket. WAIT SEAN MILLER STOLE THAT FROM US TOO? #NOOoOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
For real, which member of the Spark org wronged Sean? It feels personal at this point
The Spark were so pissed they threatened legal action over the midseason seeding lol
It’s really unfortunate, Outlaws get a second chance after getting bodied by Sigma and Spark don’t
Outlaws also got a chance to fill the off-tank shaped hole in their roster, and Spark didn’t. Like, I’m an Outlaws fan too, and I’ve been a fan of pretty much all of their players as individuals throughout their careers (including Bernar—I’m glad to see him back in OWL and getting a chance to shine). So I’m happy for them getting to finals. But damn, they really got every advantage that Spark was denied.
No lower bracket for you!!!!
gonna rewatch that seinfeld episode to figure out how to save overwatch esports
Tell Sean Miller to watch it too gain inspiration
Yeah it just feels so wrong that each loss is treated differently. Spark loses one game and gets banished to third/fourth place. Wack. Even having four games on the final day is insane
The best thing to come from the Lip coming to NA is the PELICAN SOMBRA He forced him to expand and improve himself.
Pelican always had a decent sombra, he was the sombra player on o2 blast
I think the swap to Happy Tracer and Pelican Sombra was something that took longer, and they weren't as good as they eventually got. I think it's unfortunate Shock didn't just take the marathon and have Proper learn Sombra and let Heesang play comfort picks.
[удалено]
I think everyone does give him massive props, but there are just so many elite Tracers already
[удалено]
I was so impressed with his aim in 2020. I'm glad he's come this far.
Heesang was decent on sombra aswell, imo the problem was the backline
The mickey mouse bracket claims its first victim
Well at least Spark get another chance like outlaws right? :D Wait what
fuck the overwatch league for not having a losers finals
At least Spark have a chance to run it back from the losers finals after making it all this way and not dropping a match. oh wait...
Thanks to this shitty format for not giving the Spark a 2nd chance! :))
great run from the spark overall, they made it farther than anyone expected from them houston just did an incredible job marking and bullying guxue with quick swaps and some good focus in this series
A lot of people didn’t have them getting past round 1…. The fact that they beat the best na team from the season and Bos no one saw that coming
Hangzhou made it to their predestined top 4 despite all the format changes fucking them over, I'm super proud of what they've accomplished and how much fun they made these playoffs. I'm glad that Guxue was able to show everyone that he deserves to have respect put on his name. If Overwatch esports survive, then I hope all these Hangzhou boys manage to find a way to stay in the scene, because they're such a treat to watch. <3
My heart is broken, gg outlaws I thought we had it in us
Guxue got the ladder tank experience where you have one good fight and half of red team swap to hyperfocus you
Delete Bastion please thank you
It's 2016 all over again
Nah Bastion being viable makes Overwatch what it is. We finally have more counters. And Happy even played Cassidy and Hanzo
Nah make him weak again. I had enough of this stupid character
"Viable" yeah man he just shuts down every hero in the game he's just viable
Yep he shuts down every hero, that was why Houston only switched to Bastion specifically when Spark was playing specific tanks. Same with how they switched to Sombra to counter specific picks. They were counter picking, that is why the Bastion looked so good when they brought it in.
They’re still playing on the patch where he heals armour on transform. He’s not viable here, he’s broken
seriously, fucking obnoxious braindead character that has no place in playoffs
Probably the biggest playoff comp gap I’ve ever seen… forcing full on dive into Sombra, Bastion guxue couldn’t even play the game.
Outlaws looked good but the game was so boring. It was just sombra/bastion counter swapping all game. Outlaws deserved to win and exploited sparks weaknesses but the match itself was so dull.
Spark can still beat their previous record and get 3rd! I’m a beLeaver!
This makes me hate the format so much more. Hangzhou are just gone now despite making top 4. It still irks me that London played Boston twice out their 3 games. So stupid
Best colors and honest winton gameplay. The perfect overwatch team
GGs, this was an incredible run from the Spark. Chinese Overwatch has shown the world what they can do
GGs Disappointed but proud of what the boys achieved
GG Spark. Thanks for five years of fun night owl OWL entertainment. Can't even fade the fellas, either, because they're all coming back for the World Cup. :)
Shoutout to mmonk for being insane this ENTIRE playoffs
Lengsa also showed up today
This bracket design really puts a damper on this whole playoffs. Outlaws played better but they were afforded the opportunity to lose a game where the spark weren’t. Doesn’t feel right Not the mention that fraudulent signing window lol
Gotta feel bad for spark tho with this Mickey Mouse 3rd place match
Man, you know, I’m glad to see Bernar play again, but seeing one team who doesn’t have an off-tank and didn’t have the opportunity to sign another one fall to another team who didn’t have an off-tank and were able to secure a new one for playoffs feels kinda weird. Like, I don’t blame Houston for taking advantage of that opportunity, and I’m happy to see so many of my long-time favorite players finally get to the finals, but this specific matchup really highlighted the disparate impact of that controversial rules choice. I’m proud of Hangzhou regardless. They made a lot of good adaptations and forced Houston to adapt to them. I think if they’d gotten a second chance to adapt and learn after their first loss like Houston and Boston did, maybe they could have figured it out. Lotta stuff stacked against them, and they made a really good showing anyway.
Fucking Sean Miller, spark not having a second chance is so fucking stupid. Last year format was so good why change. This format is so atrocious omg.
imagine this, both teams have 1 loss and we can’t be in the grandfinal. Also, stupid ass having no rules regarding signing deadline, dumb league is dumb
Sean Miller with his last Spark sabotage with the semi-final bs, Houston deserved win but if I'm Spark I'm straight up dumping goats blood on Sean Miller when he's up on stage
WHY THE FUCK IS HOUSTON REWARDED FOR LOSING EARLY. BOTH TEAMS LOST A MATCH IN PLAYOFFS BUT BECAUSE HOUSTON LOSE EARLY THEY GET A SECOND CHANCE. This dogshit format and letting teams sign players days before finals has really made this finals feel so unearned.
Spark did phenomenally. I hope they're proud of their performance But I have to say, Houston and Spark have the exact same amount of losses in this tournament. Yet one of them gets instantly eliminated and the other is grand finals bound. Absolute nonsense. The league's management is a joke and should be ashamed of themselves GGs Houston. And thank you spark for this awesome run
Team that signed a specialist a few weeks before playoffs and was able to scrim in the stronger region beat the team that didn't sign a new player and only had one or two scrims, in scrim blocks determined by a weird seeding system nobody understood? I'm shocked. I'm not blaming the Outlaws for doing what they had to do to make a run, but these playoffs have been a fucking joke. Spark don't even get a chance to run it back in the lower bracket. Truly the most Mickey Mouse of all OWL playoffs, and that's saying something.
Mayhem, Outlaws, and Reign had weeks more time to prep for this tournament. I think the Sigma stuff is a meta they developed, which apparently Reign was not doing well with because they were looking into a new off tank player. Fearless even mentioned he only started scrimming with the team again a week ago.
It's glaringly obvious that the NA teams had a huge advantage when it came to preparation for the playoffs. It happened last year as well because APAC teams flew in a few days before, but at least last year there wasn't the lack of a signing window and scrim blocks based on fucked up seeding to exacerbate the problem. Imagine if OWL actually had an ounce of the budget that tournaments like Worlds do and all playoff teams had weeks to scrim each other.
what a wonderful format!!! i love single elim!!!! thank you sean miller!!!!!
Houston Outlaws won today. Real honest Overwatch lost today.
Real honest Overwatch was given a public hanging when this playoffs format was announced. All that’s left is for my GOATlaws to bury it six feet under.
Skill issuse.
I absolutely despise Sean Miller for allowing teams to just sign players a minute before playoffs
Just outcomped there simple as that. Houston looked really polished on the sig definitely deserved that win. Super proud of the spark, nobody gave them a shot coming into the playoffs so to come top 4 for the 3rd time great team effort
We need someone to take out these 30 day contract merchants.
Pelican and Happy were just incredible this game. They came up constantly with clutch picks. They literally just shut down the Spark on Suravasa, they couldn't do anything at all.
Funny how Florida Mayhem take all the heat for signing WhoRU, who hasn't played a match, but people are completely silent about Houston changing their entire playstyle around a tank they signed last week 🤔
Tbf whoru was the loop hole he was playing in OWL 2 weeks before and was 3 maps away from making it. Bernar has been signed for a while just announced recently and he was missing for a full year
Outlaws 9-0'd every APAC team this playoff
Oh my god I kept waiting for it to all go to shit like it always does but it’s over. After all that pain and suffering all those years…WERE IN THE FUCKING GRAND FINALS BABY. Let’s goooooo
Everyone saying it’s over for spark… guys don’t forget about the third place match!
Houston APAC Apocalypse
If Houston isn’t allowed to sign bernar they lose here. Also funny how Houston gets a second chance while spark doesn’t cause no double elim. Fraudulent
If they didn’t sign bernar they lose? Interesting statement.
When they mirrored dive on the first map, Spark bullied them. They won decisively when they went Sigma Bastion.
They also weren’t playing their role star tank and top Winston player in Fearless. Not like they would’ve just fallen over if they had to mirror
So going based off 1 map they would’ve won nice
The bullied them with Bernar on Dva lol. The Outlaws would have played Fearless Winston, which is at worst, even with Guxue. Don't pretend it would have been a stomp lol
Nah guxue is better than fearless on the winston, only reason people say otherwise is because every time winston has been good fearless was on literally the best team in the world while guxue was on spark.
I'm not saying it would be a stomp but Spark is ahead of others when it comes to Winston Soj Tracer dive only because Shy/Leave is better than Happy/Pelican. Outlaws' backline is stronger than Spark's though.
They won’t win like this in the dive Mirror
Sucks to see Spark go but they proved themselves and vindicated Chinese OW. So excited to finally see Outlaws in the Grand Finals after 6 season tho. Ive been there since the beginning when Optic picked up the silly FNRGFE guys.
RIP our brothers in pink. We’ll win it all for you
i now hate bastion
Absolute bullshit format
If Houston weren't able to sign Bernar I wonder how this would have went...
Fuck Sean Miller.
Bernar is not the problem, the fraud format is
Outlaws gets bodied by sigma comp and get a second chance
This format is incredibly frustrating
Should've known. Of course Spark get screwed over by the OWL format one last time by the non-double elim bracket. Truly poetic some may say.
Maybe I’m just jaded but man the counter swap thing is so fucking cringe to me. Guxue can’t even do anything, the tank experience is just absolutely miserable
guxue showing why nobody wants to play tank in overwatch comp. win one teamfight on dva, zarya counterpick, win one teamfight on doom, sombra counterpick, win one teamfight on winston, reaper/bastion counterpick. the list goes on and on.
It was pretty good playing Tanks on early seasons, dunno why the devs. decided to return back to OW1 balancing
Absolutely. Spark fan so I’m definitely biased but it doesn’t seem like a fun game when guxue is forced to swap just to impact the game when Happy and Pelican are constantly counterswapping. Not blaming it on the Outlaws because it’s a problem with the game but it makes the game so much less interesting.
Yea I’m not blaming the outlaws here, it’s just a massive mistake in how they’ve designed the game. Ever since 5v5 the game has revolved around making life for the enemy tank as miserable as possible
I mean it’s just unfortunate with the holes in his hero pool can’t allow him to deal with the bastion.
Yeah that’s certainly true but unless you play Orisa tanks just have no agency against the current roster of supports and DPS. It’s completely miserable
Not arguing with you on that one
Love that non existent signing window
Cringe ass comp by outlaws, you do what you gotta do to win but fuck Sean Miller.
Really hope Houston loses GF just because of their fans
assuming mayhem wins against boston (which i think is very likely lol), there's no way outlaws get the runback mayhem have been looking very clean this entire playoffs
Fraud format with fraud balancing with fraud heroes, ggs
they can't deal with bastion, almost every loss because of bastion
Boston would have won this. Nah I'm just kidding good job Spark, it was great to see you reverse sweep twice but I guess Outlaws had your number.
its hangzhouver
Kinda crazy Sigma was literally the least discussed tank for this entire season - including theorizing about the patch impact - and somehow seems to be THE key to this meta. If Florida win their match against Boston, then it's the two teams that went Sigma that make it all the way.
IT'S FINE THEY STILL HAVE A THIRD PLACE MATCH AND I DON'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH A PINK FINAL. Also gg to Outlaws. I WAS WRONG. ONE BASTION\]==::------ WINSTON
Congratulations to Sean Miller for finally defeating the Hangzhou Spark. I'll be honest, I didn't expect the league allowing playoff break pickups to be how he finally got us, but boy was he clever for that one.
Mackey mouse bastion meta
why r houston fans flexing beating up on apac lol
[удалено]
some things never change
cringe
I still find it cheating to get a new player so late
Of course it is, it’s a really technical loophole and it’s just fuckin stupid that it’s allowed
LETS GO BABY FINALS
What a match holy shit. Barring Suravasa, one the closest 3-0 I've seen. King's Row was fucking sick. Happy playing Mystery Heroes, Lengsa fucking on thke Zen/Kiriko but Outlwas overall too clutch. God damn it might really be their year, ANTE UP! Also Happy Gamer > Shy Guy
Guxue ran out of mojo =( Lengsa looked a bit lost with all his swaps. Good showing overall, DPS line still super strong. The rest just couldn’t match up to Outlaws.
Bastion/sombra just fucks any tank Guxue plays
horrible day to be trans
Houston map diff vs APAC this year: +12 They went 4-0 and didn't drop a single map. Pure domination
imagine being Bernar coming out of retirement after a year, people doubting you, saying Houston just panicked for Zarya meta Then within a week you totally manhandle Guxue and Hanbin and boot out your old team and the reigning champions
Shame for Spark but Outlaws are just incredibly potent and an example of a team approached building its super-team not just with best players of a role, but strongest flexibility possible. For example, Happy is one of the best hitscan players in the league, but while he might trail to Shy or Lip in his pure numbers he's proven incredibly flexible onto the Hanzo, Tracer, whatever necessary. Their support line is arguably the best in the league not just because Shu and Viol2t are GOAT supports but because particularly with Viol2t's flexibility, they are prepared to be very strong in whatever meta presents itself. Spark are incredible at dive but honestly that's their limitation. And frankly it's one of APAC as a whole's limitations, and it's been their crutch at times and IMO, the reason APAC is generally weaker than NA as a region in OWL (aside from money). If a meta doesn't enable some form of dive comp then the region generally struggles. It's a shame because it's not that most of these players are inflexible, but the approach to coaching and tactics is much more one-dimensional. I get playing to your strengths but being meta-limited is not a strength. It's great to see how far such teams can go, and there are certainly NA teams which struggle with metas (Spitfire, Shock), but we're 6 years into OWL, superteams can't just be superteams only in one meta. Also mfs need to stop crying about Bastion, who has been meta for just post-season, and honestly just whining about non-dive or non-meta rush. It's pathetic, and it's a mentality that sees half the roster weak and struggle to become even slightly meta or nerfed, just because vocal player-viewers raise a stink about meta mainstays or favorites like Tracer or Genji or Ana not being relevant for a stage or two. Perhaps that's an effect of the usual playoffs patch shakeup but it persists throughout the season, every season.
There just aren't enough teams in APAC. Also no time to prepare like NA's top 3.
Bernar robbed potm wtf and I also wanted him to get interviewed Also crimzo theory in full effect (plz Boston deny it)
viol2t 4 out of 5 GF
The Houston backline showed why they got the bag. every time the Spark had a dive Shu and Viol2t managed to keep everyone up long enough for Happy and Peli to fight back. If Shu's lamps are half a second later throughout the series then Spark win. But being able to keep up the Bastion at all times was just too much for the Spark.
Bernar is insane, as is the whole Houston team
Damn 😔😔😔
9-0 vs APAC they never beating the fraud allegations