Gigantti make a playoff push against Cloud9 while EnVision keeps a perfect record in Overwatch Contenders

Joe "Storm" Nowasell

Sep 10, 2017

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Week 4 Recap (Day 1) (Day 2)

Europe

Misfits (5-0) vs Bazooka Puppiez (0-5)

Oasis – Misfits

King’s Row – Misfits

Hanamura – Misfits

Watchpoint: Gibraltar – Misfits

Misfits may have lost their first individual matches of the season to GamersOrigin earlier this weekend, but with one of their toughest matchups out of the way, they were looking to finish out week four in style. Being that Bazooka Puppiez is one of two teams in Europe without any series victories, they certainly had nothing to lose heading into this match as they looked to play spoiler.

As the analyst desk mentioned before the start of the game, rather than this being a battle of the DPS players from one team to another, it was a matter of which Misfits DPS player would outperform the other. Andreas “Logix” Berghmans and Kevyn “TviQ” Lindström have made waves all season long and would have no issue dealing with Bazooka Puppiez’ Hugo “Sharp” Sahlberg and Toni “Ube” Häkli.

Hanzo makes an appearance

In all seriousness, Ube showcased his Hanzo with Metehan “Mete” Aksüt’s Zarya on King’s Row, hoping to open up the game with an early advantage. Much like Renegades against EnVyUs in Saturday’s matchup, Bazooka Puppiez brought their A game. While Misfits were keen on running a Sombra both offensively and defensively, it played right into the hands of Bazooka Puppiez as Tim “Manneten” Bylund struggled to find high uptime on EMP.

You can never truly count anyone out when it comes to the Overwatch Contenders. A team like Misfits may be on another level, but the individual players throughout the league are of similar skill level meaning there are opportunities for them to make big plays and come out on top. For Bazooka Puppiez, they created opportunities on all maps other than Hanamura in an attempt to break Misfits.

Although this was another textbook match for Misfits, I don’t believe anyone expected Bazooka Puppiez to perform as well as they did, showing us their inner Renegades. Again, they have nothing to lose this late in the season so they can afford to play anyway they want with any composition they want. Misfits will finish out with games against 123 and eUnited as they look for a perfect season.

Cloud9 (2-2) vs Team Gigantti (4-1)

Lijiang Tower – Cloud9

King’s Row – Gigantti

Volskaya Industries – Gigantti

Watchpoint: Gibraltar – Gigantti

All pressure was on Cloud9 moving into their week four game since they were sitting at 2-1 record and yet to play both GamersOrigin and 123, two teams Team Gigantti had already defeated. This is crucial given they are both making a big push for the postseason and a win would nearly secure their position.

As expected Gigantti and Cloud9 kept it close in the early stages of the series, with Gigantti’s Tuomo “Davin” Leppänen and Cloud9’s Michael “MikeyA” Adams keeping us on the edge of our seats wondering who will stick the next big Pulse Bomb. A few bad timings on ultimate abilities gave way for Cloud9 to capitalize on their opponents’ mistakes to secure an early edge.

Things began to heat up on King’s Row

Gigantti made Cloud9 work for every inch of distance covered with the payload as they uncharacteristically were stopped just shy of the second checkpoint thanks to the Reinhardt hammer of Joona “Fragi” Laine. After a swap of sides, Gigantti pushed the pedal to the floor, dismantling Cloud9’s attempt at a defense. They have Jiri “LiNkzr” Masalin’s Hanzo and Davin’s Tracer to thank for that.

Andreas “Nevix” Karlsson let his Doomfist loose on Volskaya Industries, knowing well it would be met with resistance from Gigantti’s Sombra. One stall after another, Cloud9 were stopped short as some well timed EMP’s came through to help ensure defensive stability for Gigantti, ultimately making sure the Doomfist had little impact on the fights.

The nature of assault didn’t work in Cloud9’s favor, as a Point A hold on from their defense would have been a map victory. Gigantti powered through in the final seconds to buy themselves another four minutes, most of which wouldn’t be needed as they steamrolled their way through the rest of the map.

In Cloud9’s final attempt their triple DPS composition of Tracer, Genji, and Soldier: 76 failed horribly as Davin and LiNkzr tore them apart with the support of Joonas “zappis” Alakurtti’s D.va at their backs. This made things easy for Gigantti to clean up and put another win in the books, keeping them at the top alongside 123 in the standings. For Cloud9, this loss hurts knowing they will need to win at least two of their final three matches against GamersOrigin, 123, and Team Singularity.

Current Standings

North America

EnVision Esports (4-0) vs Kungarna (2-2)

Nepal – EnVision

Eichenwalde – EnVision

Hanamura – EnVision

Watchpoint: Gibraltar – EnVision

A battle for the third seed? Perhaps.

With how good FaZe Clan has looked as of late, EnVision and Kungarna need to lock up some wins to avoid a first round date with EnVyUs come postseason. EnVision came into this match warmed up after their first place victory at Dreamhack Montreal earlier this weekend, securing a share of the $15,000 prize pool.

On the side of EnVision, Anthony “Goliath” Pietro came in for Riley “Fahzix” Taylor during their match as he had surgery earlier in the week. Goliath, mostly known for his time spent with East Wind and Evil Geniuses, has been listed as a substitute for multiple weeks now for EnVision.

Things got off to a rough start for EnVision who looked to be lacking in sufficient pressure to deal with Kungarna’s Michael “mykL” Padilla on the Tracer. However, after reconvening in between rounds they were able to get their feet back underneath themselves to grab a crucial early lead.

EnVision found themselves with an abundance of time on Eichenwalde with limited opportunities to find a clean entry for a team fight. Kungarna made it tough early on for Caleb “McGravy” McGarvey who struggled to get into the backline and land Pulse Bombs, but one misstep was enough to enable both him and Jason “Jaru” White. Punishing them at every turn, EnVision pushed Kungarna back into their spawn to make an incredible hold.

Excellent execution from EnVision’s front line and DPS had Kungarna fumbling to catch themselves on Hanamura. Goliath showed himself as a reliable threat for the team, giving more proof that this team is the real deal.

Everything was going right for EnVision with all six members of the team stepping up to the task and doing their part. This is quite often something you don’t see from teams, where they have two or three players doing the bulk of the work. This is what makes EnVision such force to be reckoned with.

After securing their playoff spot, all eyes are set on their match with EnVyUs in week five. Even though EnVyUs are on another level, you never who is going to show up to make the plays for EnVision.

As for Kungarna, something may need to change. Andrej “babybay” Francisty’s Widowmaker was phenomenal on Watchpoint: Gibraltar, but unfortunately for him he lacked a potent partner to back him up. They’ll need to come prepared to their final three games against Rogue, FaZe Clan, and Immortals, as none of those teams will be easy takes. With Rogue still pushing to beat them out for the postseason, nothing is guaranteed for this squad.

Immortals (0-5) vs FNRGFE (2-2)

Oasis – FNRGFE

Numbani – Immortals

Volskaya Industries – FNRGFE

Dorado – FNRGFE

A rattled Immortals team put George “Hyped” Maganzini back in the starting lineup for their week four game against FNRGFE. With Kungarna losing 0-4 to EnVision, there was still an opportunity for FNRGFE to make the postseason cut with some key wins and a little help from other teams.

FNRGFE’s Christopher “Bani” Benell was most impressive in week three and the EMP potential was brought into the fray right from the beginning. One pick after another made it difficult for Immortals to find a proper engagement, but with Casey “Buds” McIlwaine maintaining control of the skies as Pharah, it was tough for Brady “Agilities” Girardi to keep up.

FNRGFE’s aggressively playstyle didn’t allow for Agilities and Christopher “GrimReality” Schaefer to get much going for Immortals on their early offensive Numbani attempt. It wasn’t until GrimReality went to Soldier: 76 that Immortals found a way to stand tall and hold their ground.

An unlikely second attempt overtime push from Immortals showed some signs of life after a lackluster performance through the earlier stages of the match. With GrimReality’s Tracer finally making an impact on the game, they made an incredible stand in the final moments to tie up the series.

Volskaya Industries is such a fitting map for Sombra and both teams utilized her throughout. While both teams were on the verge of securing full holds on their Point A defense, only FNRGFE were able to follow through with full map completion.

Immortals’ would get a breath of fresh air by substituting in Lee “envy” Kang-Jae for Agilities in their final attempt on Dorado. Shortly after their initial push it was fairly easy for Buds and Matt “Clockwork” Dias to figure out his Doomfist and stop the payload right in its tracks.

Both teams looked rather spotty from game to game, but Immortals’ Hyped didn’t make the impact I think many of their fans expected. Bringing in envy in the middle of the series was also questionable, but knowing this was their final opportunity for the postseason, I can see the reasoning. I’m anticipating major roster adjustments for Immortals moving forward, especially since they hold a spot in the Overwatch League and can use the remaining two weeks of Overwatch Contenders as practice grounds.

Current Standings