As the final block in Segment 1 of the Watchpoint Weekly Summer Series, Overwatch recruits geared up for a final push at the winner-take-all $200 prize. For the student athletes looking for a college esports team to represent, these bi-weekly payouts can assist in future tuition payments. In the process, competitors looking to achieve the segment winning title are consistently growing their in game mastery and communication skills in the process. Players showcasing these skills are who college recruiters typically observe more closely, and as a result connect more frequently with social club invites and scholarship opportunities through Stay Plugged In’s social platform. Teams competing in the Summer Series have already taken the first step in becoming noticed, and in the short term, they had their eyes set on securing the Segment win. The action took place this past Thursday. Let’s dive into the details.
OVERALL RESULTS
A target on the back of the team known as SUBS, as they fly high into Week 2 aiming to replicate the results of their prior [3-0] week. As the only team to accomplish that task last week, that kind of repeat performance would be enough to guarantee the segment win. In the eyes of the challengers BLINN IS LFT (Blinn) and UZUMAKI currently sitting at [2-1], they would need to win out just for a chance to force a tiebreaker, safely assuming based on last weeks numbers that Subs doesn’t drop more than one game. Since the Swiss bracket ensures that teams face opponents with similar records, teams Blinn and Uzumaki would both have to square off with Subs at some point along the way, unless they had lost in a previous round and dropped out of the race already. Both teams were prepared and took care of their initial matches to meet Subs in battle, so let’s break down the results one-by-one.
ROUND 2: UZUMAKI VS SUBS
An impressive run a week prior by a team originally seeded second-to-last to begin the Summer Series. Uzumaki’s [2-1] performance, which included being the lone team to force a Game 3 against Subs, launched them all the way up to the #3 seed for Week 2. As a result, Uzumaki had a much easier Round 1 win this time around. Their confidence was strong heading into Round 2 against Subs, and to the rational viewer, this best-of-three would be the biggest chance to see an upset, and the resulting tiebreaker.
In their Week 1 matchup last week, Uzumaki appeared in Map 1 as a team that could keep up the pace with Subs. Prior to this round, Subs were tearing through teams round-by-round. A few maps were a bit more challenging than others, but ultimately Subs rolled into the match with an expectation to win every map. Uzumaki seemed to stun Subs a bit. Their control point traps were working, their retakes were methodical, and their support targeting was exceptional. They were able to take Map 1 from Subs, but when the map-type changed, Subs were back to their dominant ways.
Uzumaki would need that same strong start against Subs in Week 2. The control map Ilios was the first site for the two teams in their rematch. Recalling the tight team play offered in the control map last week, swag led Uzumaki into battle with a message of positivity. He knew they had an excellent shot to win at Ilios, in which case the team would be awarded two chances at redemption on hybrid and escort maps respectively. However, looming over everybody in comms was a sense that this map was also a must-win, as polished as Subs were on those remaining maps. Subs weren’t about to be caught off guard as they were previously though, they marched out of the gate with a clean two-site, 7-minute clean wipe to silence the enemy. They would carry their (1-0) map lead into Eichenwalde. Uzumaki made a respectable push against the Subs’ stellar defense. The DPS battle was as even as it gets, so the map came down to tank and support play. Uzumaki couldn’t pull it off, as they went down swinging in a 13-minute battle with Subs.
ROUND 3: BLINN VS SUBS
Team Blinn had not yet seen Subs in the Watchpoint Weekly Summer Series up until their Round 3 match here in Week 2. In addition, their run in with Uzumaki in Week 1 didn’t pan out the way they had hoped (0-2). That being said it was the only match that they had dropped through two weeks, and a hot (4-0) start in maps played created a buzz around the match.
Subs shut down control point map gurus Uzumaki on Ilios, and against Blinn they did the same. Off-tank NAT continued to give us flashbacks to the chaos created back when reaching the top 10 mark in North America. Last week’s MVP, BUN, continued to be a hitscan super-star. Ilios was wrapped up in two-sites yet again for Subs, and Eichenwalde would be life-or-death for Blinn’s segment win chances. Map 3 at Havana would never be seen in this one, as Subs march the payload past the needed marker and seal their fate as champions of Segment 1.
Congratulations to SUBS for their impressive 12 wins and just 1 loss over the Segment! The team voted for who deserved the MVP for Week 2. Check out the details below!
PLAYER AWARDS
WEEKLY MVP
Name: NAT
Team: SUBS
Role: OFF TANK
Notes: There is something to be said about a leader who can make all the adjustments necessary to improve, even when the team is consistently winning series. It takes constant improvement to keep the team on top, and this was clear in their adjustments against Uzumaki on the control map. NAT was nominated by the team as your Week 2 Watchpoint Weekly Summer Series MVP.
For more information including rosters, match results, and leaderboards, click here. If you would like to participate in future Watchpoint Weekly Summer Series tournaments, whether you are a new or returning team, you must register here.