Blizzard Entertainment recently dropped the origin story for Echo, a long-awaited Overwatch heroine. The video can be found on all official Overwatch social media channels, including YouTube.

Introducing Echo.

An evolutionary robot programmed with a rapidly adapting artificial intelligence, Echo represents the cutting edge of technology. pic.twitter.com/aStyP5F4Al

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) March 18, 2020

While no official announcements have been made as to when Echo will be playable, following the patterns of previous characters, it is expected that she’ll be in-game in two to four weeks. It is unclear whether Echo is a support or damage character.

Echo is the 32nd hero in the roster, preceded by Sigma. She is the third of the six heroes that Jeff Kaplan mentioned to have been “planned out” during a 2018 Blizzcon interview.

Echo had her first appearance in Jesse McCree’s Reunion short back in November 2018. Then, the only things revealed about Echo was that she was part of Overwatch before its fall, and that she had been inactive since Blackwatch days. The recent video revealed that Echo was the legacy of the original creator of the omnics, Dr. Liao, who suffered an untimely death after a breach in the Overwatch labs.

The post New Overwatch Hero: Blizzard Releases Echo’s Origin Story appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

Yesterday, San Francisco Shock and the Shanghai Dragons moved on to the Winners Finals while Philadelphia Fusion and Seoul Dynasty got sent to the Loser’s Bracket to see who makes it back to the Grand Finals of the Overwatch League Playoffs.

Seoul Dynasty versus San Francisco Shock. (Source: Blizzard)

Dodged A Bullet: Seoul Dynasty vs San Francisco Shock

The first series of the day definitely delivered on the hype as NA’s #1 seed San Francisco Shock took on Asia’s #2 seed Seoul Dynasty. 

Shock, the defending OWL champions, came into the 2020 season with a target on their back. With the addition of returning player Lee “ANS” Seonchang, Shock now had five DPS players. But thanks in part to their talented coaching staff headed by Park “Crusty” Daehee, the team found success. The team thrived, even through a few roster changes mid-season, including the departure of their star player Jay “sinatraa” Won who retired from competitive Overwatch and moved to VALORANT. 

Dynasty came into the Playoffs as the underdogs. While the other three teams were expected to do well in the season, Seoul were overlooked in early season power rankings. Despite this, their results throughout the year proved otherwise. They reached the May Melee Finals where they fought an intense 3-4 match against the Shanghai Dragons, fell to them again in the Summer Showdown for 3rd-4th, and placed 2nd in the Asia Playoffs after routing New York Excelsior 3-0.

Shock easily took the first two maps, getting 2-0 in Oasis and 3-0 in Hollywood thanks to a stellar performance by ANS. Backs against the wall, the whole Seoul roster sparked a fire, started by tank players Jae-hee “Gesture” Hong and Min-seo “Marve1” Hwang who piloted the Roadhog and Hammond combo pretty well. Seoul managed to win in Volskaya Industries 2-1 and Havana 3-0 with their newfound energy, taking the series to a Game 5. However, things crumbled in Busan as Dynasty cracked under pressure and were not able to touch point even with their players alive in both rounds as Shock win the map 2-0, and the series 3-2.

Philadelphia Fusion versus the Shanghai Dragons. (Source: Blizzard)

Not Even Close: Shanghai Dragons vs Philadelphia Fusion

From going winless in the inaugural season of OWL to now being in the Top 4, the Dragons have come a long way. After several roster rebuilds focusing on Korean players, Shanghai have since improved by a lot, particularly in 2020 where they finished 2nd in the Summer Showdown and 1st in the May Melee, Countdown Cup, the Regular Season, and the Asia Playoffs. Coming into the Grand Finals, they were a squad to be reckoned with.

Philadelphia on the other hand, had a chip on their shoulder. All year long they finished 2nd; behind the Dragons in the Regular Season, Paris Eternal in the Summer Showdown, Shock in the Countdown Cup and NA Playoffs, and 3rd-4th in the May Melee. The Playoffs were a chance to redeem themselves. 

However, things looked bleak for Fusion, as once again they played second fiddle to the Dragons, who were on a hot streak. Despite trading rounds in Busan, that would be Fusion’s only round win of the whole series. After packing up Map 1, they easily took control in King’s Row and Volskaya Industries, with the superior double sniper setup on defense, and falling back to their reliable aggressive gameplay on attack. In dominating fashion, they took the series 3-0 and moved on to the Winners’ Finals, where they will face a waiting San Francisco Shock.

The Road Ahead

San Francisco Shock and Shanghai Dragons will be duking it out in the Winners Finals later today at 5:00PM GMT+8 for a spot at the Grand Finals, while Seoul Dynasty and Philadelphia Fusion fight for their lives in the Lower Bracket. Catch all the action on their YouTube channel, and check out their website for more details.

The post Dynasty get Shocked, Dragons burn Fusion in OWL Winners’ Semis appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

San Francisco Shock took down the Seoul Dynasty at the Overwatch League Grand Finals 2020 to become the league’s first-ever two-time champions.

A strong start in Oasis and King’s Row put SF up 2-0.  In game 3, Shock had a chance to get to match in Hanamura, a map they have not lost in two years, until now. Seoul rallied back with their signature comp featuring the Ham/Sigma tank duo paired with Mercy/Ana and flexible DPS. With momentum on their side, they take Map 4 in Watchpoint: Gibraltar as well. Park “Profit” Joon-yeong stepped up with a surprise Genji pick, and with clutch Nanoblades, managed to hold SF to a full 3-0 hold.

In Map 5, Shock picked Busan, another comfort map for them. With their superior defense around points, they managed to take both points to go up 3-2 for match point. Going to Hollywood for Map 6, Seoul clutched the defense to keep Shock from map completion. Despite their best efforts however, Shock’s defense was too much and fend off Dynasty.

With the win, they go up 4-2 and become the Overwatch League Champions for the second year in a row.

The post Shock Dominate SEO to Become Back-to-Back Overwatch League Champions appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

As a result of the global pandemic that put conventions of all kinds to a halt, this year’s BlizzCon (aptly named BlizConline) was fully virtual and free to watch for everyone. The two-day event concluded yesterday but here’s a recap of announcements from Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and Hearthstone, just in case you missed a thing or two.

Overwatch

The Overwatch 2: Behind the Scenes featurette gave players an update on Overwatch 2 development and how the game has evolved since it was first announced in BlizzCon 2019. Some of these reveals were:

• New locations such as Rome, which is the setting for a map in the new Push mode, and the New York City of Overwatch’s future Earth.
• Fresh looks for original Overwatch heroes like McCree and Pharah.
• Null Sector foe tweaks based on player feedback from the Overwatch 2 demo at BlizzCon 2019.
• Reveal of new Null Sector enemies the Stalker and Breacher.
• A sneak peek at talents, a vital part of the progression system that allows players to customize their heroes’ abilities in the sequel’s all-new cooperative experience.
• An update on Story Missions and Hero Missions.

Until February 25, players can also celebrate the Year of the Ox with seasonal cosmetics (Kkachi Echo, Dragonfire Bastion, and Tiger Huntress Ashe) and an all-new brawl, Bounty Hunter.

World of Warcraft

A blast from the past sees World of Warcraft take players back to the game’s first expansion with the Burning Crusade Classic. Through the launch and over the course of content updates to follow, the recreation will bring back features from the 2007 original, including:

• The Shattered Realm of Outland
• Two New Playable Races—the Blood Elves on a quest to find a new source of arcane power and the Draenei, Outland’s exiles in search of a new home.
• 2v2, 3v3, or 5v5 combat in Arenas such as the Ring of Trials and the Circle of Blood.
• Flying mounts and new hero options.
• 5-player, 10-player, and 25-player dungeons in the Tempest Keep, Karazhan, and the Sunwell Plateau, respectively.

Similar to WoW Classic, access to Burning Crusade Classic will be included in players’ existing World of Warcraft subscriptions at no additional cost. Additional information on Burning Crusade Classic can be found here.

Hearthstone

The start of another exciting year for Hearthstone awaits in the coming weeks with massive set overhauls, hundreds of new cards, and an all-new game mode.

The Year of the Gryphon kicks off its first expansion with Forged in the Barrens which is set for release in March. The Horde-themed expansion will introduce 135 new cards, the Frenzy keyword, and 10 Legendary Mercenary minions (each representing a different Hearthstone class) whose stories will be told throughout the year similar to Book of Heroes.

If you’re out of the loop then it’s about time you know that the Basic and Classic sets will be moved to Wild and will be replaced by the all-new Core Set. We’ve previously discussed the Core Set and Classic Format here.

A new game mode, Hearthstone Mercenaries, was announced to be in the works as well. The single-player game and competitive game mode has been likened to Dungeon Run and Slay the Spire and those claims aren’t entirely off the mark. Stay tuned for our upcoming developer interview story to get a better idea of what Mercenaries is, and it isn’t.

The post BlizzCononline Rundown: Overwatch 2, WoW Burning Crusade Classic, Hearthstone Year of the Gryphon appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

The Overwatch team gave players a first look at PvP changes coming to Overwatch 2 in a special live stream held on Twitch and Youtube earlier today. The most notable change? Overwatch PvP will be transitioning from 6v6 play to 5v5, removing a tank slot in the process.

Overwatch game director Aaron Keller explains that the team has always wanted to make “combat easy to read and understandable,” and that “removing [two players] simplifies everything as and it allows players to understand everything that’s happening around them and make better choices because of it.”

GET ON THE PAYLOAD!

Group up with the Overwatch team (along with some friends) for a live look at Overwatch 2’s PvP gameplay. The fun starts RIGHT NOW!

https://t.co/Dtu4YTuU0h
https://t.co/03WKGQ6iUs pic.twitter.com/bsz7pjh6vx

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) May 20, 2021

For this change to happen, tank mains will draw the shorter end of the stick.

The developers further explained that the change sought to change the core of current Overwatch combat that relied too much on tanks. One less tank meant players will be incentivized to do things other than just keeping their tanks alive and instead come up with creative ways to flank and take objectives.

It’s a big change that was met with harsh criticism from the community but with Overwatch 2’s release date yet to be announced, the words “it’s too soon to tell,” will echo on for much longer.

The post Overwatch 2 removes second tank slot for 5v5 PvP transition appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

As the six-week long Summer Game Fest 2021 kicked off, many game announcements, updates, and reveals were made by game developers. Blizzard Entertainment’s Aaron Keller is no exception. Aaron is the Game Director for Blizzard’s much anticipated Overwatch 2. He explained that with the format changing from the 6 vs 6 that players of Overwatch are familiar with, to Overwatch 2’s 5 vs 5, it “requires a fresh look at all of our heroes… it should feel new yet familiar to fans of our strategic team based combat.”

Aaron stressed how passionate his team was in updating the look of the world of Overwatch, and of course this included heroes. During the livestream, he showed the updated look that the heroes Baptiste and Sombra would get.

via Blizzard Entertainment

He illustrates how this update to Baptiste’s wardrobe “gives that medic or surgeon vibe to him.

via Blizzard Entertainment

For Sombra, he boasts about the small details that they embedded on her clothing like the circuitry and nodes. Aaron also expressed that Sombra’s design was challenging for them to update, given her asymmetric design.

Overwatch 2 is expected to come out on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC, with no confirmed release date yet.

The post Blizzard Reveals New Look for Baptiste and Sombra in Overwatch 2 appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

Thailand’s prodigal Overwatch son returns back to his roots. X10 Crit’s Patiphan “Patiphan” Chaiwong has left VALORANT in order to return to playing Overwatch.

After 4 years, finally i’m back home #ShieldsUP https://t.co/5rMcFyj2Uu

— Patiphan (@itsPatiphan) December 15, 2021

The announcement was made via Los Angeles Gladiators’ Twitter. “We’re proud to welcome @itspatiphan back to Overwatch and to the Gladiators!” the LA-based Overwatch team said.

Prior to this announcement, rumors about Patiphan’s departure from the VALORANT scene were prevalent even before Champions rolled around.

pic.twitter.com/4Gsj4F8GTz

— Patiphan (@itsPatiphan) December 12, 2021

He ultimately confirmed this rumor by tweeting a video of him exiting the VALORANT client, a dramatic metaphor for his retirement.

Patiphan’s esports career started in Overwatch as he used to compete for OneShine, Xavier, Talon, Eternal Academy, and WGS Phoenix respectively. Primarily known as a DPS player, Patiphan had an illustrious Overwatch career as he was once considered as arguably the best player in all of Southeast Asia, at 15 years old, while being the ace of Thailand’s team for the 2018 Overwatch World Cup.

The post X10’s Patiphan leaves VALORANT for Overwatch comeback appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

via Blizzard Entertainment

Overwatch 2 just hit the live servers today, and it’s not off to a good start. Several people have gone off on Twitter, expressing their disbelief in Activision-Blizzard’s Overwatch 2 servers. 

The Overwatch 2 Experience pic.twitter.com/8ndVLl106R

— Frogger (@FroggerOW) October 4, 2022

Overwatch 2 players right now pic.twitter.com/jE1dEgOyf1

— BRO YOU WACK (@BroYouWack) October 4, 2022

Me when I find these 50,000 people ahead of me in the Overwatch 2 queue #Overwatch2 pic.twitter.com/38G52aBzU1

— TheeImoutoBreeder (@ItzZaY232) October 4, 2022

Several people expressed their frustrations regarding the overly long queue times for Overwatch 2. When players try to log on to the game, they are greeted with a prompt that tells them how many people are queueing up with them.

These long queue times are due to the influx of players coming in to try the new game. Overwatch 2 is free-to-play, a change made by Activision-Blizzard to attract more players. This change in direction proved effective, as more than 40,000 players queued up, waiting to play the game.

Activision-Blizzard is yet to release a comment regarding the server issues as continue to experience long queue times.

The post The Overwatch 2 hype might die off and I still can’t play the game appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

After its 3-year long break, Blizzard has confirmed the return of one of its biggest annual esports tournaments, the Overwatch Cup, back and promised to bring a bigger competition than ever before.

A post from Blizzard’s official website featured the roadmap of the competition, which consisted of 3 major stages detailing the tryout programs to the Group Stages in Fall 2023. The details are as follows:

STAGE 1: January 2023

For the coming January, Blizzad will select the 36 regions and countries that will be competing in the 2023 Overwatch World Cup. The month will also see the application period for the competition committees of the Overwatch Cup. These competition committees are tasked for organizing tryouts for their country and region under the advisory of Blizzard.

STAGE 2: February – June 2023

Aside from the regular tryouts, players can compete for a spot on their team through the open tournament, the World Cup Trials, that is to launch on Feburary 2023. Victors of the World Cup trials are afforded a direct spot of the tryouts for the team.

The month of March marks the beginning of the regular tryouts hosted by the chosen competition committees and also the final selection of the country or regional team chosen to compete for the Overwatch World Cup 2023. Blizzard ensures that the team choices will uphold the competitive integrity of the tournament.

In June, the  Overwatch World Cup qualifiers will take place through a regional online competition, narrowing down 36 teams to 16 for the next phase of the tournament. 

STAGE 3: Fall 2023

The 16 qualifier teams will proceed to the LAN (local area network) Group stage playing against each other in a round robin format. The top 8 teams will compete in a single elimination bracket and then crown the first Overwatch World Champion and Medallists since 2019.

Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard has assured that the Overwatch World Cup Group Stage will still follow COVID-19 regulations to ensure a safe playing environment for all its participants and audiences.

Image via Twitter

The Overwatch World Cup was the biggest Overwatch annual event. At its peak, it garnered 2.1 million viewers that established the game as a major esports title for Blizzard. However due to the worldwide lockdown caused by the pandemic, Blizzcon and other such events were put on hold indefinitely. The Overwatch World Cup 2023 will be the first international tournament for the title post- pandemic.

The post Blizzard to bring back Overwatch Cup in 2023 appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

After a month-long tryout period, Team Philippines has announced its starting lineup for the upcoming Overwatch World Cup Asia-Pacific Conference. 

• Adriel Robin “Pugbutt” Ong – Tank
• Juan Vito Carlo “Redux” Yap – DPS
• John Ferdinand Solis “Wucked” Angeles – DPS
• Marcus Allen “CHONLEE” Singson – Support
• Joshua Anthony Anacta “Grandeesauto” Ogame – Support

Introducing Team PH’s roster for Overwatch World Cup 2023!

Some familiar and seasoned players in our roster, this is gonna be an exciting mix! #TeamPH #OWWC2023 #OWWC pic.twitter.com/RE4NEmXogM

— Team Philippines OW (@TeamPH_OW) April 13, 2023

Redux and Grandeesauto were members of the Philippines team that competed in the 2019 Overwatch World Cup Preliminaries, while Pugbutt, CHONLEE, and Wucked will be making their international competitive debuts in June. Another member of that 2019 roster, Axel Jansen “Rebirth” Lusuan, comes in as Team Philippines’ Head Coach. He is backed up by Assistant Coach Paul John “pjMCCX” Tiope with Camie “Yumie” Tafalla returning as Social Media Lead.

“There’s a lot of great established and strong regions in our group on the road to [the Overwatch World Cup at] Blizzcon but I’m confident we’ve assembled the best roster to represent the Philippines and hopefully we can put up results for the community to be proud of,” says General Manager David “Neep” Viray in an exclusive interview with Esports INQ.

Introducing your Team Philippines Committee for the Overwatch World Cup 2023!

Social Lead: @yumieqt
General Manager: @lolNeep
Head Coach: @Rebirthzzz

We’ll definitely give our all in this journey, so we hope you can support us till the end! #LabanPinas#OWWC23 pic.twitter.com/JGyoJrPQIZ

— Team Philippines OW (@TeamPH_OW) February 15, 2023

Team Philippines joins Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea in Group A of the Asia-Pacific Conference qualifier. Only the top three teams from the group will move on to the Overwatch World Cup 2023 Main Event later this year.

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