With $3,000 USD on the line and eight of the top teams vying for their share of the pot, the ONOG Overwatch Invitational is not to be missed this upcoming weekend. In anticipation of the event, we asked Ben “FishStix” Goldhaber to break down where he saw each team stacking up or falling short.

Before we dive into the rankings, we wanted to offer up a free giveaway as well. Retweet for a chance to win one of three Battle.net gift cards. GLHF!

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The IDDQD Tier [1]

>IDDQD

You shouldn’t be surprised by this pick. Let me rephrase: if you have paid even the slightest attention to any tournaments or showmatches over the last 8 weeks, you shouldn’t be surprised by this pick.

IDDQD is on a ridiculous tear (55 match wins & 0 losses) right now, exhibiting unprecedented dominance over both North America and Europe’s best. They are GosuGamer’s #1 ranked team, and, frankly, there is no end in sight to their success.

Now, they clash for the biggest prize pool they’ve played for yet, and all eyes turn to them as the team to beat. The chances that any competitor can take them in a double elimination bracket, though, are remote.

 

Video by OneAmongstMany

The Contenders [2-4]

>EnVyUs

I find it odd that I’m having to make a case to people that, in fact, the nV squad is still one of the best Overwatch teams on the planet. Yes, they are still figuring out their 6th man. Yes, they haven’t been entering as many tournaments as other teams. But believe me when I say Envy is the real deal with the work ethic and raw talent to carry them far.

>Reuinited.GG

Reunited has been on the up and up, performing better and better in the 3-4 weekly tournaments they enter nearly every week. And they may have just had their best performances ever this week, beating powerhouse Cloud9 3-1 in the GosuGamer NA Weekly on Sunday, and just barely losing to IDDQD in the GosuGamers EU Weekly 3-2.

Reunited has stuck together as long or longer than any other team in the game, and it shows. There is no weak link on this team.

>Cloud9

Raw talent. Meta-shifting strategies. Teamwork on point. This squad has been at the forefront of competitive Overwatch since they were picked up by Cloud9 one month ago and, at least in the minds of many folks in the scene, could be the best team in North America. They did however suffer defeat to Reunited this last week, so they have a lot riding on this one.

 

Video by GosuGamers

The Underdogs [5-6]

>FlatEarth

FE is almost definitely the third best team in Europe, which means they’re a great team. But this is a step down from where they were one month ago when they were in hot contention with Reunited.

Can FlatEarth return to form and make it deep into the ONOG Invitational? Will the recent pick up of Re1nforce as their main tank help or hurt them long term? Only time will tell.

>Luminosity Gaming

Luminosity has fans. Lots of ‘em, probably more than any other team, mostly due to the fact that they feature the most prolific streamer in Overwatch: Seagull.

That said, to say that LG has struggled in the second phase of the beta is an understatement. In several weeks of tournaments, they have only managed to take one match off any team mentioned above (2-1 vs. Cloud9), and even Seagull admitted that they may have gotten a little lucky.

Nonetheless, you can’t count LG out. Their wealth of competitive experience playing with and against each other in TF2 and persistence in the face of adversity might make for some major upsets.

 

Video by OverwatchTV

The Pretender [7]

>The Life of Hanzo

Life of Hanzo is definitely one of my favorite teams in the scene and have made a name for themselves only in the last couple of weeks. They have players hailing from competitive TF2, Quake, and Counter-Strike. But they are incredibly green, unproven, untested, and rumors have it, their roster might be changing prior to the event. They are the major underdog, but have nothing to prove. Any wins for TLOH should be counted as a major victory.

 

 

But wait, that’s only 7 teams?

Unfortunately, Melty has dropped out of the tournament and we’re actively trying to find a replacement. We should have an update on that soon and we will be adjusting this post when we have solidified a new addition.

 

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