Preseason was a nice addition to the first season of the Overwatch League, but this season is different. Instead of games just for show, the people in charge decided to make this season’s “preseason” much more engaging and fun. One key factor to this is the name: the Community Countdown.
Starting today until the last day before the league starts, we have plenty of events happening involving these new and remolded teams. For the first two days, they are showing us practice scrimmages for each team. To make it more interesting, it isn’t all being hosted on the Overwatch League Twitch channel. Changing each day, they’re cycling between popular Overwatch streamers and coaches. This includes Jayne, an assistant coach for the Dallas Fuel, as well as casters from North American Contenders.
But these practice games aren’t all that’s being shown. Ana and Ashe Paintball 1v1 are making their debuts. Essentially, this new preseason is similar to the All-Star games from last season.
This is a much better idea than a regular preseason for hyping up the start of the season. It not only gives fans of new teams a taste of their team, but it gives fans of older teams a new look at their rosters. Whether you’re a fan of the newly formed Toronto Defiant, or a Shanghai Dragons fan, this Community Countdown will make the preseason a lot more fun. Having a more relaxed view and watching the players have fun before the season starts makes it more fun. To end this article off, here is the schedule of the Community Countdown, leading to the start of the league on Valentine’s Day.
Feb. 9
Practice Scrimmages: New York Excelsior vs. Paris Eternal, Atlanta Reign vs. Boston Uprising, Toronto Defiant vs. Philadelphia Fusion, Washington Justice vs. San Francisco Shock, and Florida Mayhem vs. Houston Outlaws
Feb. 10
Practice Scrimmages: Dallas Fuel vs. London Spitfire, Vancouver Titans vs. Los Angeles Gladiators, Guangzhou Charge vs. Los Angeles Valiant, Hangzhou Spark vs. Seoul Dynasty, and Chengdu Hunters vs. Shanghai Dragons
Feb. 11
Ashe 1v1’s contestants: Guard (London Spitfire) vs. Kyo (Chengdu Hunters), Pine (NYXL) vs. Surefour (Los Angeles Gladiators), Danye (Paris Eternal) vs. Diya (Shanghai Dragons), Alemao (Boston Uprising) vs. Bunny (Los Angeles Valiant), and Sayaplayer (Florida Mayhem) vs. Eileen (Guangzhou Charge). Five eliminations to win.
Ana Paintball 1v1’s contestants: Asher (Toronto Defiant) vs. Moth (San Francisco Shock), Snillo (Philadelphia Fusion) vs. Twilight (Vancouver Titans), Masaa (Atlanta Reign) vs. IDK (Hangzhou Spark), Rawkus (Houston Outlaws) vs. Unkoe (Dallas Fuel), and Fahzix (Washington Justice) vs. Zunba (Seoul Dynasty). One shot eliminations, five to win.
Feb. 12
6v6 Capture the Flag matches. Atlanta Reign vs. Chengdu Hunters, Paris Eternal vs. Guangzhou Charge, Toronto Defiant vs. Hangzhou Spark, and Washington Justice vs. Vancouver Titans.
Feb. 13
6v6 Showmatch: A full match between casters and community members.
In this match, the league is featuring a home team consisting of Robert “hexagrams” Kirkbride, Chris Puckett, popular Twitch streamer Fran, Matt “Mr X” Morello, popular YouTuber Stylosa, and former Overwatch pro player Lee “LEETAEJUN” Tae Jun.
The away team consists of Salome Soe Gschwind Penski, popular YouTuber and streamer KarQ, former professional Overwatch player and popular streamer Jeff “emongg” Anderson, Mitch “Uber” Leslie, streamer CowboyBeBAMF, and former RunAway player Jung-min “Mirage” Bae.
Clearly, both these teams have a healthy mix of ex-professionals, casters and personalities, and streamers/YouTubers who play Overwatch.
Are you excited for the Community Countdown? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned for more Overwatch news from Daily Esports!
