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Esports
Genji On The Roof
Liam “Mangachu” Campbell is a Canadian Overwatch player who’s quite good, as shown in his use of Eichenwalde’s rooftops to strike with Genji’s ultimate. Campbell is still a free agent, if any teams are still looking to fill out their roster.
By Eric Van Allen Published January 7, 2018 -
Esports
Overwatch APEX Tournament Series Is Over
Ahead of the kickoff week of Blizzard’s Overwatch League, South Korean cable network OGN announced that its long-running Overwatch APEX league is over. A statement from OGN went into the specifics: We did our best and agreed to most of Blizzard’s conditions on continuing the competition, but we were notified that Blizzard was preparing a…
By Eric Van Allen Published January 6, 2018 -
Esports
Blizzard Can’t Leave Mercy Alone
All of the support players in Overwatch League will have a tough time during the first competitive season, slated to start next Wednesday night, and it’s all because of the character Mercy. The angelic healer has undergone multiple makeovers in the past few months, all with the intent to balance her most controversial ability: the…
By Maddy Myers Published January 5, 2018 -
Esports
How Not To Stop Your Nerdy Child From Becoming A Pro Gamer
Pro gaming has yet to become normalized enough for the parents of America to feel proud of their offspring for pursuing it professionally. At least, not until those children defy all expectations and start making hundreds of thousands of dollars in tournament winnings. Parents of pro gamers told the Wall Street Journal all the tactics…
By Maddy Myers Published January 4, 2018 -
Overwatch Fan’s Cairo Map Looks Good Enough To Be In The Game
Overwatch already has one map set in Egypt, but fan Joshua llorente has made a very good case for the addition of another. llorente spent two months creating his own Cairo map from scratch in Epic’s Unreal Engine. “All assets including textures and models are created by me,” he said on Reddit. “No downloaded content.” It’s…
By Nathan Grayson Published December 28, 2017 -
I Just Got A Bunch Of Overwatch Gift Cards, And I’m Terrified To Use Them
Before we went out for Christmas dinner, my mom handed me a small bag stuffed with wrapping paper. I dug into it, expecting to find candy, money, or some mix of the two. I did find those things, but also Overwatch loot box gift cards. I was ecstatic. A day later, however, I’ve realized that…
By Nathan Grayson Published December 26, 2017 -
Junkrat Thinks Overwatch Is A Stealth Game
Watch your back, Solid Snake. Seriously. Junkrat is about as far from a stealth character as you can get in Overwatch, or video games in general, for that matter. He makes things go boom. Also, himself. But there is a certain subtle art to deploying his ult, the explosive riptire. I’ve just never seen anybody…
By Nathan Grayson Published December 21, 2017 -
Esports
Overwatch League Players Keep Getting In Trouble
Overwatch is still young as far as sports go, but if you’re a professional player of anything, whether that means basketball or Russian knight fighting, you’re gonna be held to a higher standard than most. Overwatch League’s players are having trouble with that. There’s still about a month left until Blizzard kicks off the first…
By Nathan Grayson Published December 19, 2017 -
Esports
Overwatch‘s Top 500 Has An Alternate Account Problem
During a recent stream, professional Overwatch streamer aimbotcalvin pointed out four different accounts in the game’s top 20 competitive ranking list that he said belonged to him. Viewers got angry and said he was hogging slots that other deserving players could occupy. “Earn it,” he replied, laughing. Aimbotcalvin isn’t the only Overwatch player with multiple…
By Nathan Grayson Published December 18, 2017 -
EsportsOverwatch Players Are Actually Embracing Moira
It takes Overwatch fans mere minutes to churn out fanart for each newly-released character, but a few long weeks or months to welcome them into their competitive mode teams. But for maybe the first time ever, Overwatch’s newest hero, the mad scientist Moira, has been immediately accepted into the game’s competitive community with wide open…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published December 18, 2017 -
CultureThe Internet Reacts To Hanzo’s New Skin
Overwatch fandom is split on Hanzo’s new skin. Love it or hate it, they can’t stop drawing it and talking about it. Hanzo’s new skin for the Overwatch winter event was inspired by a single panel in last year’s holiday comic, “Reflections.” Some fans were hoping it’d be closer to that illustration, or at least…
By Gita Jackson Published December 14, 2017 -
Top Symmetra Player’s Overwatch Bans Won’t Stop Him From Picking His Favorite Hero
“Report him,” an Overwatch playersaid over team chat last week, referencing a Twitch streamer who goes by Stevooo. It was right after Stevooo hastily locked down the hero Symmetra. In text, the player then politely asked all 12 of the match’s players to report Stevooo “for poor teamwork.” Another player responded: “I did 5 times…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published December 13, 2017 -
Orisa Gets Puppy
The new Overwatch holiday event, Winter Wonderland, has begun. ‘Tis the season for new skins and emotes, now with puppies (!!!). This event’s smorgasbord of skins sees everybody ready to frolic about in the wintery weather… except Junkrat, who looks like he just got back from an excruciatingly long day at the beach, or a…
By Nathan Grayson Published December 12, 2017 -
Esports
What We Liked And Hated About Overwatch League Preseason
Blizzard’s Overwatch League is maybe the most ambitious American esports league ever, and its preseason wrapped up this weekend. The Compete staff, with an assist from our one blogparent that we’re still on speaking terms with, breaks down what went well last weekend and what can be improved for the regular season. The real matches…
Maddy Myers & Eric Van Allen & Nathan Grayson Published December 12, 2017 -
The New Ready Player One Trailer Is Filled With Video Game, Anime, And Comic Book Characters
The first Ready Player One preview had loads of cameos and pop culture references, so it’s no surprise that the latest one does, too. As previously pointed out, the new trailer features Chun-Li and Overwatch’s Tracer. There are also other cameos, with characters from games, anime, comics and more showing up. Let’s have a look!…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 11, 2017 -
Culture
On The Origins Of Sombra
Ben Zhang is a concept artist at Blizzard, where he’s worked on small, unheralded indie projects like Hearthstone and Overwatch You can see more of Ben’s work at his ArtStation page To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine Art is a celebration of the…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 10, 2017 -
Esports
Overwatch Pro Blasts Enemy Team Into Oblivion With Moira
Seoul Dynasty’s Ryu Je-hong is one of the best flex and support players in the world, and he showed that much and more in last night’s Overwatch League match against the Houston Outlaws. Moira, the newest addition to Overwatch, hasn’t been making too much of a splash in the competitive scene. But on a control…
By Eric Van Allen Published December 9, 2017 -
Soon, All That Will Matter In High-Rank Overwatch Matches Is Whether Your Team Wins
Overwatch’s competitive mode has been a source of much wailing, gnashing of teeth, and flogging of one-tricks since its inception, and it’ll probably remain that way until the end of time. On the upside, Blizzard is taking aim at two of its biggest issues. In a new forum post, principal designer Scott Mercer announced that…
By Nathan Grayson Published December 8, 2017 -
Esports
What It’s Like To Watch Overwatch At A Bar
Yesterday marked the official beginning of Overwatch League, Blizzard’s official multi-million dollar pro Overwatch proving ground. To celebrate the occasion, a San Francisco bar called Brewcade played a couple preseason matches on a big screen. Self-described Deadspin “doofus” Patrick Redford and I ventured there to see how the experience stacked up against watching The Big…
Nathan Grayson & Patrick Redford Published December 7, 2017
