Overwatch League is back with a bang – but can it keep it up for 2019?
The controversial 'Goats' strategy was on everyone's lips as hundreds of thousands tuned in for the opening weekend of the multimillion dollar jewel in Blizzard's esports' crown.
IT'S no secret that Overwatch League needs and wants to grow its audience.
It has already made it onto TVs across the globe as well as being streamed directly to the PCs and phones of millions of fans online.
Franchises have been sold for millions of pounds, while sponsorship is coming in from huge brands like Toyota, Coca-Cola and T-Mobile.
Those franchises have been snapped up by owners of other major sports teams -- and Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers mascot, showing up to lead their sister team the Philadelphia Fusion out for their opening game demonstrates how seriously they're taking it.
But money has to follow money, and the more cash that is staked on the league the more demand there is for a return on that investment.
That means there need to be more fans, and those fans need to watch for longer and be more engaged.
That's where the problem comes in. Tactics for all sports go in cycles, and right now Overwatch League is in a funk.
TACTICAL CHANGE
It's gone from a high-octane first season of amazing individual plays to a a game dominated by close-knit defensive postures.
This is because the combination of extra healing and extra defensive skills negates the strengths of damage-dealing heroes, as they simply can't do enough damage quickly enough to get through without opening themselves up to a counter attack.
Making this strategy work requires a lot of co-ordination and teamwork, because it is the combined strengths of the various heroes' abilities as they work together that make it work.
It also generally requires very precise positioning and for players to be in very close proximity to each other.
The result is something akin to Italian football of the 1990s played by Stoke City of 2009. It gets the job done, and you admire the grit of the players involved -- but it's a system that makes stars of no-nonsense defenders and leaves the Eden Hazards and Lionel Messis of this world twiddling their thumbs.
PARKING THE BUS
London's Jae-hui 'Gesture' Hong described it as a "low skill" strategy in the wake of their defeat to the Philadelphia Fusion -- and on an individual level, he's right.
On the most basic level, it's a set-up which rewards the team who make the fewest mistakes in their defensive posture, with creative attacking play being penalised.
It may have some adherents who enjoy that more technical play, but for new fans and people who don't play the game at a high level, it isn't nearly as fun to watch.
MOST READ IN GAMING
That one undeniable fact is why it has to change, and change soon.
Overwatch boss Jeff Kaplan has made it clear he doesn't see the current tactics as a problem because they don't affect the vast, vast majority of players, while Overwatch League commissioner Nate Nanzer told Sun Online before the season started that he wasn't worried about the impact of these tactics given how fast the game tends to move on, and gamers' general habits to find fault with any given prevailing situation.
Over the opening weekend, there were hints at teams developing tactics that might mean we'll see the back of this bus-parking, but it remains to be seen if they'll do it quickly enough.
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