The ESL Atlantic Showdown, now the second biggest Overwatch tournament with $100,000 prize pool (the biggest, Overwatch Open, has $300,000) has finished its rounds of open qualifiers. 32 teams, 16 for each region of North America and Europe, will compete to reach the top 4 placements of each region in which will qualify them for a trip to Cologne, Germany to compete in the Grand Finals, held during Gamescom.
On the NA side, big dogs EnVyUs and Cloud 9 are probably going to see each other early in the brackets. Though their paths are not as easy as they will also probably face Fnatic and TSM, strong and recently sponsored teams. But it’s too early to write off Splyce, Sodipop, 1SHOT and ohno, which are all grouped to meet in the winner’s bracket.
The other half of the NA bracket will see Luminosity Gaming, Sea Algae (not to be confused with CLG), Team Liquid and Northern Gaming Red. With some roster drama Northern Gaming is facing, Team Delirium might take this as an advantage as they will face off in the first match. Selfless Gaming is also getting stronger performances currently and Colorado Clutch might be able to clutch a few matches. The 1 Percent rounds up the 16 teams in NA.
(Note, the graphics above does not match up to the brackets displayed on the ESL site. The following are based on the brackets displayed on the site)
Moving on to Europe, OWKings will face an early rough match against ANOX that has a lot to prove after their decent showing taking 2nd in the first Overwatch Open qualifiers. Rouge and Misfits are also grouped to meet early in the winners brackets alongside Bringos (formerly Northern Gaming Blue and Gringos), The Gatekeepers, Team Aera and 2sTroNk.
The other half of the brackets is also interesting. Both REUNITED and WEUNITED are placed in the opposite ends, so if we’re going to see the two fight each other for the first time in a public tournament, both teams have to fend off a strong list of teams. SG-1, Prets and Creation eSports are strong contenders to watch out for, and Melty, b.fly and, ahem, Bikini Beach eSports have strong potential.
A pretty solid lineup of powerhouses, dark horses, new entrants with a lot to prove, and of course, silly team names. You can check out the brackets for the North America and Europe regions, and catch the action, starting August 1st, on Twitch.
(brackets picture source: ESL Overwatch Twitter)