HGC 3v3 Overwatch tournament results

[vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″ el_class=”articlebody” css=”.vc_custom_1523270772654{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”5221″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css=”.vc_custom_1529563885150{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_row_inner content_placement=”middle” css=”.vc_custom_1523350157423{margin-left: 20px !important;}” el_class=”cat-tag”][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1523351002838{background-position: 0 0 !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;}” offset=”vc_hidden-xs”][vc_custom_heading text=”News” font_container=”tag:h3|font_size:12|text_align:left|color:%23ffffff|line_height:1″ use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1524480392987{margin-top: 0px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-image: url(https://esportscentral.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Rectangle-26.png?id=2528) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”HGC 3v3 Overwatch tournament results” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:28|text_align:left|color:%23ffffff” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1529563030840{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #262631 !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”Jayson ‘Trinoc’ van Kerckhoven” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1529562976714{margin-top: 0px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #2a2b37 !important;}”][vc_separator color=”custom” css=”.vc_custom_1523350609771{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}” accent_color=”#3b455a”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529659099474{margin-top: 0px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;}”]“Heroes never die”, a quote all too well associated with Overwatch, and the infinite respawns the game provides. Except, in this case, the heroes could die, and the stakes were all the more real. In the three versus three environment of the HGC tournament, a hero’s death was mostly permanent. Their only hope for survival was a sneaky revival by an angelic Mercy, however, this was rarely the case.

Overwatch tournament structure

The name “Overwatch” brings to mind the typical six versus six all-out battle to capture a control point or payload. Instead, we saw the HGC Tournament take on a three versus three format, throwing all conventional ideas about competitive Overwatch out the window. The three versus three game mode is an arena game mode normally found in Overwatch’s Arcade, most commonly known as Lockout Elimination. In it, teams of three select various heroes and try to eliminate the opposite team before a control point unlocks. If you win, the heroes you used will be locked and you’ll have to decide on new ones. What makes this mode all the more challenging is that during rounds, you are unable to change heroes. Instead players head into each round with great trepidation, wondering if their picks will counter the enemy team – or be countered themselves.

The recent HGC 3v3 tournament was exactly that: an all-out three versus three elimination fight to the death. The tournament was organised by the Competitive Overwatch South Africa community (COWSA) in partnership with the Heroes of Games and Comics store (HGC). The prize was a limited edition Funko Pop for each of the members of the winning team. In total, sixteen teams entered the tournament in an elimination format. The teams would face each other in a best of three scenario, with three points needed to win on each map. The stage was set for it to be quite the spectacle, and only one team could emerge victorious.

Q&A with TheBarnical

I managed to discuss the tournament with co-organiser Chris “TheBarnical” England, and apart from some minor issues with regards to load shedding, Chris was satisfied with the overall result of the tournament. He also expressed interest in hosting another tournament in the near future, but was unable to elaborate on when it would be. His hope is that there would be a tournament hosted every two to three months.

Were you happy with the outcome of the tournament and the participation by the COWSA community?

Yes, I am very happy with the overall tournament. There were more teams entering than expected and a greater viewership of the stream.

What was the intended purpose of the tournament?

The purpose of the tournament was to have something that was not only competitive, but also touched on the fun side of Overwatch. 3v3 is very different to 6v6, and I think it showed a lot with the outcomes of many of the teams. We were also hoping to raise a bit more awareness of Overwatch and the local community by HGC advertising the event in store.

How did you approach HGC about the tournament and to what extent were they involved with the tournament and its organisation?

HGC has a member in the discord. Nova and I have been in contact for a while about getting something going. Nova got hold of me about two months ago with regards to running something and we were able to put this all together.

Did the results surprise you and were you happy with the number of teams that entered the tournament?

I think all the teams surprised us. It’s great to see the difference the game mode has on the players which we expected to win. We were hoping for a few more teams to enter that were not previously part of the community, but we will be hosting more of these. Overall the turnout was amazing and barring the two to three teams who withdrew on the 11th hour, all sixteen teams were ready when their time came which was amazing.

Results discussion

As for the results of the tournament, it was a decisive victory by the team Masallah Steak Gatsbys. The team was made up of Phoenix Rising members GeneralSound and Hami, and Prodigy members Arecsne and Fak3. Unfortunately, Hami had to drop out due to technical issues and Arecsne was brought in to take his place. The team comfortably won all the matches they played. Their semi-final match against OG Dominance, saw them take the match 2-0, a result they were able to replicate in the final. Their final opponent, Oh Hi Mark, a team composed of WRG regulars, Patches, Jo3b, and Cr4ckens, had a less comfortable road.

Oh Hi Mark’s semi-final match was one of the tightest matches of the tournament. Their opponent, Nacho Cheese Torpedo, fought furiously. With 1-1 on the scoreboard, the final map saw both teams winning two rounds each. Tensions rose in the final round, as a capture point unlocked. The teams needed to get onto the point and hold it, if they stepped off for even a moment it would be game over. It was a closely contested point, a hero emerged, and Patches on the Bastion saved the day, taking Oh Hi mark to the final. Here they faced down the unstoppable juggernaut of Masallah, and it proved just a bit too much for them as they lost the match 2-0. Masallah Steak Gatsbys were declared the winners of the tournament, the Funko Pop was theirs.

The team wasn’t the only victor though. In a successful attempt to increase viewership of the tournament, HGC generously provided an extra Funko for one lucky viewer to win. To the victor the spoils, and Visions walked away with the viewer Funko Pop. All in all, the tournament was a great and fun experience for the teams and viewers. Congratulations to all the teams, viewers and organisers involved. We wait with bated breath for the next one.

Final Thanks (Added 21.06.2018)

A huge thank you to all the teams who participated, as well as the organisers in COWSA and HGC. A special mention needs to go out Cloudburst and Donimay, the two hero casters of the day. Under the threat of load shedding, and the ever present beast of Saturday laziness and procrastination, they persevered. The two casters gave up seven hours of their day to make sure the viewers at home could watch all the action live. Without them, the tournament would have drifted by, unnoticed and forgotten until the next one. We look forward to what these casters bring to our doorsteps in the future.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″ offset=”vc_hidden-xs”][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”” style=”pagination” items_per_page=”8″ show_filter=”yes” element_width=”12″ gap=”10″ order=”ASC” filter_style=”dropdown” filter_default_title=”Matches” filter_align=”right” filter_color=”blue” item=”2271″ initial_loading_animation=”none” grid_id=”vc_gid:1529659092782-b1d4bc09-f397-10″ taxonomies=”71, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92, 94, 110″ filter_source=”category” el_class=”results” css=”.vc_custom_1527564819677{background-color: #30303d !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”ALL MATCHES” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:10|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1523611106929{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 5px !important;background-color: #30303d !important;}” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fesportscentral.co.za%2Fall-matches%2F|||”][vc_empty_space][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”” style=”pagination” items_per_page=”8″ show_filter=”yes” element_width=”12″ gap=”10″ filter_style=”dropdown” filter_default_title=”Results” filter_align=”right” filter_color=”blue” item=”2271″ initial_loading_animation=”none” grid_id=”vc_gid:1529659092782-92aeaa89-7fce-6″ taxonomies=”76, 85, 87, 89, 91, 93, 95, 111″ filter_source=”category” el_class=”results” css=”.vc_custom_1528177085357{background-color: #30303d !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”ALL RESULTS” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:10|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1523611113209{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 5px !important;background-color: #30303d !important;}” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fesportscentral.co.za%2Fall-results%2F|||”][/vc_column][/vc_row]