British Esports Championships recap: Week 3 Overwatch matches deliver highs, lows and plenty of excitement

On October 21st 2020, The British Esports Championships week three Twitch broadcast featured a host of thrilling Overwatch games.

Rajan Rai looks back on the action.

 

Broadcast talent

• Host: Vlad ‘Waxen’ Catusanu
• Caster: Terry ‘Servitude’ May
• Caster: Puppeh
• Observer: Harry ‘GKNinja’ Garbutt
• Production: Matthew Stridgen-Prestwood

 

West Suffolk Cobras strike out at GCS Owls

West Suffolk Cobras roster: Syper, Yuuki, Bulletborne, OLukey, SVTKidz, Skrrty
Gower College Owls roster: PapaSmurf, Snowy, CrimsonCreed, Moo, CardiacDuke, Goofy

West Suffolk Cobras – with one win and one loss so far – took on the GCS Owls, who had a 2-0 record so far this season. 

The Cobras started with a flexible and aggressive tank composition, fielding a Hammond and Roadhog aiming for a more pick-based playstyle with Genji, Reaper, Mercy and Ana. 

Meanwhile, the Owls fielded a more traditional tank set up in Zarya and Reinhardt alongside Reaper, Mei, Moira and Lucio providing some more DPS and support.

Map 1 on Nepal saw the Cobras start strongly: OLukey picked up kills all over the control point for his team allowing them to gain map control and work with one another to win team fights.

Skrrty and OLukey combined for the nano blade several times to get those important picks and establish control. The Cobras also executed superb strategy in using their Ana’s anti-heal grenades to give the team opportunity for easier picks and less ultimate usage. 

The Cobras then took the first map, despite the Owls showing fight, with Crimsoncreed pulling off a huge blossom ultimate to wipe the Cobras. This took it to a final control round, but it just wasn’t enough for the Owls.

Map 2 on Hollywood saw a little bit of a composition change, with OLukey taking McCree, an Orisa now in the mix and also Moo on Sombra to try and counter Syper’s Hammond and pull off some important EMPs. 

Although it was close, the Cobras were still too much for the Owls, and with OLukey & Bulletborne pulling off the kills they were, it was always going to be an uphill battle for the Owls. 

On map 3, Skrrty continued to pull off considerably impressive anti-nades allowing his team to push the Owls line back and escort the payload at an increasingly swift pace. 

This was a recurring theme and seemed to be the key as to why Cobras were finding their picks throughout the matchup. 

At the end of the first round, the Owls escorted the payload two thirds of the way on Havana, and they put up a valiant performance on defence, almost securing a win with some huge plays from Moo and Crimsoncreed. But the Cobras’ team synergy and use of tactics were too much for the Owls to handle. 

Result: West Suffolk Cobras 3-0 GCS Owls

MVP: OLukey, West Suffolk Cobras

 

Hotshots face Arthur Terry in game 2

Heckmondwike Hotshots roster: Aominedaiki, Exclip, ChrisNews, PhantyAnime, Jugar, Halo.
Arthur Terry roster: AwkwardBen, HarryGYT11, MrMakkaPakka, HeinzBeans, ChiknNuggets, Madtob1234.

In the second game that took place on the British Esports Twitch stream, top of the league Arthur Terry (2-0) took on Heckmondwike Hotshots (0-1). 

Arthur Terry started this series off with a bang, storming the Hotshots with some notable early picks from Heinzbeans as McCree. Arthur Terry also showed exceptional strategy with the use of Winston as AwkwardBen consistently pushed the back line of the Hotshots for the rest of the team, allowing them to comfortably push up and make picks to win the first map.

Throughout map 2, Arthur Terry maintained their dominance, despite Heckmondwike changing their composite in an attempt to adapt to the matchup. But AwkwardBen was just too much for them, alongside the top DPS output by Heinzbeans and MrMakkaPakka. 

The highlight of the series was arguably AwkwardBen and PhantyAnime having a wholesome moment outside of all the chaos, giving us all something to laugh about… until AwkwardBen was brutally murdered and betrayed by Soldier! 

But Arthur Terry managed to still hold on and take map 2 comfortably, securing a 2-0 lead in the process.

Map 3 on Route 66 saw more dominance from Arthur Terry yet again, with AwkwardBen pushing deep into the front line of Heckmondwike Hotshots and picking up kill after kill. 

MrMakkaPakka also secured numerous important picks as Torbjörn even getting some cheeky hammer kills to add salt to Hotshots’ wounds. 

Early in the game, Hotshots did manage to find a few kills and try to build some momentum but this  was short-lived, as led by AwkwardBen and his swinging hammer, Arthur Terry came back with a vengeance. 

With HeinzBeans using Widowmaker overlooking Arthur Terry as all the chaos ensued, Heckmondwike Hotshots had little chance to recover and it was all wrapped up there with Arthur Terry taking it all. 

Result: Arthur Terry 3-0 Heckmondwike Hotshots

MVP: AwkwardBen, Arthur Terry

 

‘A really good learning experience’ – players’ post-match comments

In the post match interviews, Yuuki explained to Servitude and Puppeh that the Cobras were “all putting in work and practice together” to ensure the aggressive grenades and DPS tactics would pay off.

He also admitted that “there was definitely an added layer of pressure” given that they were live in front of an audience of 2,000 viewers and had a strong leaderboard spot going into the game.

On the other side, CrimsonCreed and CardiacDuke from the Owls explained that it was a “really good learning experience” and that “going for more of an aggressive route” would have paid off more, which they can certainly take into their future games going forward.

Following Arthur Terry’s win, Puppeh and Servitude had the opportunity to talk to Arthur Terry MVP AwkwardBen, who explained that the team started playing together almost three years ago and moved from Xbox to PC last year.

Aominedaiki from Heckmondwike Hotshots was also interviewed post-game. They identified that playing as a team and working on communication could be key to their success in the future.

 

What else happened in the Championships?

Elsewhere in the Overwatch winter qualifiers, competition was rife as Bridgend Cobras swept Ada Overwatch to claim joint first in group 1 alongside Arthur Terry, LLandrilloDragons and Circinaes. 

KeSports secured a series win over Harriers in group 2 which put them just behind Wyke Sixth Form College. They who surpassed Barnsley Sports Academy Griffins in a close 3-2 victory and additionally Kennet Klan 1 did the same against CrosskeyKings to sit at the top of group 2 together.

Coventry Crosshairs and Potoos both triumphed in respective wins against SSC OW 3 and East Norfolk Knights to remain head to head at the top of group 3.

In group 4, Queen Mary’s College 1 swept eXeColl to stay top of the group level with GCS Owls. Basilisk_OW Red also lost in an upset result to Derwentside Steelers keeping the group very competitive and level for all to play for.

The Confetti Arrows conquered Tameside Devastators in a 3-0 win to maintain their first place spot in group 5, with the rest of the group remaining very competitive after Cobras winning on stream, leaving all to play for this season.

Click here to see Overwatch Winter Qualifiers standings, the Rocket League Winter Qualifiers standings and the League of Legends Winter Qualifiers standings so far.

Next week, Rocket League matches will take place on the British Esports Twitch stream. Watch all the action from 4pm BST on Wednesday November 4th!