Shanghai, China will once again be the location as Blizzard Entertainment and Banana Gaming & Media hold the latest Overwatch Premier Series. Pre-season qualifying is now complete, with four teams joining the eight that had previously qualified from the spring season.
LGD Gaming Look for Revenge
After finishing the spring season of the Overwatch Premier Series in second place, LGD Gaming look to be the favourites heading into the summer event. After initially exiting the group stage in first place following a dominant 9-0 streak, LGD faltered in the Grand Finals as they narrowly lost 4-3 to 1246 in the best-of-seven final. LGD’s dominance was on full display last spring over a myriad of patches, showing they have the framework to once again dominate a lengthy group stage.
Although LGD proved to be the more consistent team overall, 1246 demonstrated they have the ability to peak at the right time. With an ever-changing meta game, including a recent significant buff to Zarya and the addition of a new hero, Doomfist, the team quickest to adapt will thrive – which many believe will be LGD.
Can 1246 Repeat Spring Success?
With last season’s trophy in their cabinet, 1246 will look to replicate their late-season success heading into the summer group stage. The Chinese side struggled throughout the entirety of the group stage, amassing a paltry 3-6 record that barely saw them through to the playoffs. One major shift for 1246 was the consistent use of the Pharah-Mercy combo, and this was the largest factor in their run to the title last season.
Luca’s consistent brilliance on Pharah guided them throughout the playoffs last season, with teams failing to find an answer in such a short timeframe. The concern for 1246 is that teams have had time to both practice more hit-scan heroes; heroes such as McCree, who recently was buffed and will likely see much more play, and Soldier: 76. If at any point their core strategy should fail, it seems unlikely that 1246 will be able to quickly adapt, especially during the playoffs. 1246 do, however, appear to be a momentum-based team. If they show quality performances early, they are unlikely to slow down anytime after.
Lucky Future Another to Watch
Another team that showed promise in the playoffs was Lucky Future, a team that originally finished the group stage at 5-4, good for a three-way tie for fourth. While they were beaten by LGD in the semifinals in the fifth game of a five-game series, Lucky Future then proceeded to dominate Oh My God (the second seed coming out of groups) in 3-0 fashion to claim third place. Not only did LF show promise towards the end of playoffs, but they also did so on a series of champions that appear to still be top tier heading into the summer season. Also using the Pharah-Mercy combo, LF will have the ability to continue mirroring 1246’s strategies that worked so well previously. Coupled with a willingness to play Zarya, prior to the substantial buff she just received, LF appear to be in prime position to contend early and often for an upper seed heading out of the groups.
Oh My God May Have Issues
One side that could struggle to begin next season is Oh My God, the aforementioned team that trended downwards as the season progressed. With no changes in the roster and no substitutes, the same six-man lineup that struggled mightily will once again represent OMG this season. OMG were the best example of a team with an inability to adapt, causing them to quickly fall out of favour as other teams showed their adaptive skills. OMG may perform well early due to the prolonged time to practice this current meta, but should a patch roll around, or perhaps another new hero, OMG could head in a similar negative pattern given their previous inability to identify the new strongest team composition.
1246 showed in the spring season that it is all about making the playoffs. Anything can happen once teams get past the group stage and with no single dominant team, there should be plenty of fireworks ahead.
