The popularity of eSports is a worldwide phenomenon that is growing at an incredible pace. Blizzard’s team-based shooter Overwatch is among the most popular titles in eSports, and The Overwatch League is the premiere league for competitive action, with teams based in cities all over the globe. Now is your chance to meet Canada’s own Overwatch superstars, the Vancouver Titans in-store on August 18th!
When: August 18th from 1 to 3 PM
- lineup begins starts at 12:30 PM
Where: Vancouver Best Buy on Cambie
Read below to learn about the game Overwatch, the Overwatch league, and to learn more about this opportunity to meet some of these amazing players.
What is Overwatch?
It is difficult to imagine that there are many even casual gaming hobbyists who aren’t aware of the massive hit Overwatch. However for the uninitiated, Overwatch is a 2016 team-based first person shooter from publisher Blizzard Entertainment. Upon its initial release, Overwatch instantly garnered huge acclaim among both critics and players alike and ultimately received numerous accolades and “Game of the Year” awards from many of the biggest publications and websites in gaming.
Overwatch features various game modes, but each centers around two teams of six facing off in direct competition. Players can choose from more than two dozen characters drawing from three distinct class types, each with unique special abilities. This dynamic leads many to classify Overwatch as belonging to the more specific sub-genre of “Hero Shooter”.
What makes Overwatch such a perfect candidate for eSports is its dependence on teamwork and communication. Since each class must perform its role and adapt to specific situations, verbal strategy, cooperation, and on the fly adjustments are tantamount to victory.
The success of an Overwatch team does not depend solely on an individual player’s mastery of their specific Overwatch character. It also relies heavily on each team member’s capacity to compliment their teammate’s style, and make split-second decisions that will impact the group dynamic. This is a big part of why Overwatch matches are so much fun to watch, and a huge factor in the success of Overwatch League.
The Overwatch League
The Overwatch League is the premier professional eSports league for Overwatch. It is produced by the game’s developer itself, Blizzard Entertainment. Its inaugural season took place in 2018, and over 3.5 million USD was awarded among its participants.
The Overwatch League is truly a global institution. It features twenty teams from six different countries spread across three separate continents—North America, Europe, and Asia. Canada is currently home to two professional Overwatch League squads—the aforementioned Vancouver Titans, as well as the Toronto Defiant.
Each team roster features up to twelve players. Six players naturally start a match, but up to six additional players may make up the full roster. Bench players may sub into a match between maps at the coach’s discretion.
Like other professional sports leagues, the Overwatch League does not restrict team membership by region. This means that teams can compose their roster from players of any nationality. Only a team’s ownership must be directly based in its namesake location.
Competition format
The Overwatch League plays in a seasonal format. Each season consist of non-ranking pre-season match-ups, divisional-ranking regular season play, and finally a single-elimination post-season. The regular season is divided into five stages, with the top ranking teams of each stage helping to determine the final playoff ranking structure.
Teams play a total of 28 matches during the course of the regular season. Matches take place both within as well as outside of a team’s respective division. At the end of a season divisional champions will receive a bye into the first round of the playoffs. Additional playoff contenders as well as wild card contenders are also determined based on regular season ranking and performance.
The playoff stage will then ultimately determine an overall champion for the season. Teams share a prize pool dependent on both their regular season and playoff performance, with the top prize ultimately going to the final playoff champion.
In 2018 the Overwatch League Grand Finals took place at Barclays Center in New York. The London Spitfire defeated the Philadelphia Fusion to become the inaugural league champions. This years Grand Finals will take place in Philadelphia on September 29th. Currently the Vancouver Titans are in the #1 seed position leading into the playoffs!
Meet the Vancouver Titans at Best Buy Cambie
It’s true—the 2019 Overwatch League playoffs are fast approaching, and Canada’s own Vancouver Titans currently own the best record in the league! Now is your chance to meet your favourite Vancouver Titan superstars. Best Buy Cambie in Vancouver will be hosting the Vancouver Titans from 1pm – 3pm on Sunday August 18th.
During the event the first 200 fans in line will have the opportunity to meet and take a photograph with members of the Vancouver Titans. They will also receive a free autograph card for the Titans members to sign. The line-up will start at 12:30pm, and additional meet and greet opportunities will be dependent on timing.
Vancouver Titans players appearing at the event will include:
- Jooseok “Twilight” Lee
- Sang-beom “Bumper” Park
- Min-soo “SeoMinSoo” Seo
- Chung-hee “Stitch” Lee.
Also joining the team will be their coach, Harsha “Harsha” Bandi. Make sure you show up early to ensure yourself a free autograph and photo op with these Overwatch pros!
During the even participants will also be able to check out the latest PC gaming gear at the HP PC Gaming Station. This will include a glimpse at some the the latest tech from presenters HP Omen and Nvidia. Both the Vancouver Titans meet and greet and the PC Gaming Station will be entirely open to the general public on a first-come basis!
Don’t miss your chance to see the 1st place Vancouver Titans and check out the latest PC gaming tech
This is a one day appearance, so don’t miss your opportunity to greet the Vancouver Titans! With the way their season is going, they have a great chance at becoming the next Overwatch League champions. And if you are an aspiring eSports superstar yourself, you’ll want to check out the HP PC Gaming Station to take a look at all the latest gear the pros are using.
Who is your favourite Overwatch League eSports competitor? Let us know in the comment section below!
This is pretty cool, too bad I won’t be in the Vancouver area until the following weekend.
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