Over the weekend, a Korean company called Inven broadcast the finals of Korea’s first amateur all-women Overwatch tournament. It was a damn good match.
The “All For Ladies” tournament actually took place earlier this month, but the finals weren’t broadcast until this weekend. Two teams, Pandora Ladies and 1st.Lady, went toe-to-toe in a best-of-five match, and even though Pandora ended up sweeping the scorecards three maps to none, it was a much more competitive match than the numbers indicate.
Those dueling Widowmakers, though. Gotta admire atypical picks like Hanzo and Orisa (!!!), too. Really, the whole first map was a dang rollercoaster ride, punctuated by many an exploding D.Va mech.
As of now, Overwatch’s competitive scene is dominated by men, but tournaments like these can help cultivate a less skewed culture. Kotaku reader J, who reached out about this tournament via email, offered some good perspective. “Some may say that their abilities do not stack up to the (male) pro teams,” she wrote, “but these are amateurs who only practice 3-4 times a week, and some parts of their playing are already better than some pro teams.”