Overwatch is coming home!….okay, so Overwatch didn’t originate in England, and London Spitfire is made up of entirely South Korean players, but after our crushing World Cup Semi Final disappointment i’m claiming a victory for England dammit!
London Spitfire claimed the spoils, the £763,000 prize money and the title of the inaugural Overwatch League Champions with a dominant display against Philadelphia Fusion.
Fusion—who were the fan favourites by a country mile—took the first map but were then completely outclassed for the remainder of the contest as London Spitfire won six maps in a row to win the first set 3-1 and the second set 3-0. London Spitfire’s DPS player, Profit, was named MVP after some frankly ridiculous plays.
If anyone was doubting player interest in the Overwatch League, and its potential as an eSport, then the event put any doubts to bed. The final sold-out the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York with an estimated 11,000 fans in attendance. Evidently though, Overwatch players don’t have too much interest in musical act DJ Khaled, who looked awkwardly out-of-place as he continuously tried to get the disinterested crowd to sing along to his music. There was a great reaction, however, to Overwatch legend and gaming-rockstar Jeff Kaplan when he appeared on stage.
Blizzard’s first foray into eSports territory has been a success and it will hopefully continue to grow in the next season, with expansion already planned and new teams rumoured to be joining.
That being said, hopefully next seasons grand final will be slightly less one-sided, and it would appear that London Spitfire’s “Bdosin” agrees with us; after their victorious grand final performance, Bdosin said “Next year I hope we play against a stronger team”.
Ouch.
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