The professional players of the Overwatch League influence the “casuals”. New strategies and hero picks are being accepted.
The Overwatch League is in full swing and attracts hundreds of thousands of viewers on Twitch to watch the matches of the pros. Watching the pros with their lightning-fast reactions has an interesting side effect – new strategies are accepted by an ever-growing mass.
Actually, the meta in Overwatch is quite set in stone. If you take a Widowmaker or a Bastion in the attack, you’ll at best be met with mockery, at worst with insults and even threats of being “reported”. But ever since the team of Seoul’s Dynasty took an insane combination of 2 snipers and a Bastion on an attacking payload map, players have accepted attempts to replicate those grand plays.
Sure: In most cases, it goes horribly wrong. But just the fact that the Overwatch League has such an influence on “normal” players is a great thing. A relaxed approach to new ideas and also the courage not to always stick with the same 10 proven heroes will surely benefit the game and the community.
Professionals as role models
Other players, on the other hand, try to completely copy their idols. This was experienced first-hand by player Pine from the team New York Excelsior. Since he made his debut in the League with McCree and shot his way into the hearts of fans, many players have been purchasing this skin for McCree and trying to replicate the miracle themselves.
While this doesn’t always succeed, the excitement generated for these players is almost palpable – even if the hit rate is nowhere near as high as that of the pros. Pine, however, impressed with his lightning-fast reactions and his anticipatory actions – such as in the following moment when he precisely targets the opposing Tracer for a fraction of a second.
Are you following the Overwatch League? Are you inspired by the plays of the pros? Or are you indifferent to the whole event?
Have you already seen that the new map “Blizzard World” finally has a release date?
