Let's dive in to everything that's happened in the OWL off-season this week.
Stop-motion animated comedy sketch series put esports in its sights for the first time in the form of an OWL-focused segment, and on Monday, October 7, San Francisco Shock stars Jay "sinatraa" Won and Matthew "Super" DeLisi joined Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show following Shock's first Overwatch League championship.
Vancouver Titans has plenty of talented individual players, and there were multiple instances of a single Titan taking over the map for his team temporarily, but any individual heroic efforts were swept away by the unrelenting, ever-flexibile cohesiveness displayed by the San Francisco Shock, interchangeable parts and all.
San Francisco Shock faces off against Vancouver Titans in one week at the Overwatch League Grand Finals in Philadelphia. However, Shock may have to prepare for its showdown in the Wells Fargo Center without one of its star DPS players.
According to a report by ESPN Esports' Jacob Wolf, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment will be forming its own front office for KSE Esports after mutually agreeing to a parting of ways with Sentinels. The KSE Esports front office will take over managerial duties of the Kroenke group's Overwatch League franchise Los Angeles Gladiators, and will also be in charge of the group's Los Angeles based franchise in the upcoming Call of Duty Global League.
The matchup could not be a more fitting finale to the Overwatch League 2019 season.
If the Valiant is unable to win one of its two matches against the Los Angeles Gladiators and San Francisco Shock at KitKat Rivalry Weekend, the team will fail to quality for Playoffs.
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment has secured a spot in Activision-Blizzard's upcoming Call of Duty Franchise League. Due to Immortals Gaming Club also owning a CoD franchise, the rivalry established between the Los Angeles Valiant and Los Angeles Gladiators in the Overwatch League will have a chance to expand into an entirely different esport.
Choi "HOTBA" Hong-joon joined Inven Global's Nick Geracie for a quick chat about sweeping the NYXL, playing in Stage 3's Atlanta homestand, and the future of Overwatch League.
Overwatch League franchise Washington Justice announced that the organization would be adding Analynn "bawlynn" Dang as the team's General Manager for the 2020 season. Bawlynn was most recently holding the position of Community Manager for Overwatch League franchise Los Angeles Gladiators, as well as retaining duties as General Manager for Team USA during the Overwatch World Cup.
Overwatch League Stage 3 Champions Shanghai Dragons is experiencing its best stretch in organizational history, but playtime for Se-yeon "Geguri" Kim has been scarce. Lara Lunardi sat down with the All-Star Tank to give her a proper re-introduction.
Misfits Gaming, which owns Miami-based Overwatch League team the Florida Mayhem, will work with Gift of Life to educate the public and recruit new marrow and stem cell donors at tournaments and gaming events. Gift of Life registers volunteer bone marrow and stem cell donors to help cure leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell, and nearly 100 other diseases through transplantation.
Kruise joined Inven Global during the 2019 Overwatch League All-Star event to shed some light on Paris Eternal's struggles and share his perspective on what it means to be a professional.
The Korean 19 year old has spent the past year across two season with the Shanghai Dragons as the only female player in the Overwatch League.
The two-day extravaganza was the first of three Weekend Homestands in Season 2 of the Overwatch League along with Atlanta, GA and Los Angeles, CA, which serve as a test run for OWL Season 3's globalization. Players had a lot to weigh in on throughout the event and shared their thoughts and reflections with Inven Global throughout the weekend.
Following NYXL's first loss of the 2019 season, Pine joined Inven Global to discuss the team's flaws in preparation for the week, his personal focus this season, and Nenne's rookie of the year campaign.
