The Overwatch League, the first ever geolocated league to grace the world of esports, has had an incredible first season featuring the best competitive Overwatch talent across the globe. Just ahead of the Grand Finals, we spent a few minutes with Chris Puckett, esports veteran and host of the Overwatch League, to talk about highlights from the season and suggest ways for newcomers to join in on the action.
Considering your storied career in esports, what do you think makes the Overwatch League so special? How does it stand apart from other esports tournaments that you’ve witnessed in the past?
Chris Puckett: I feel like this is one of the biggest undertakings we've seen in esports yet. It’s the first time we’ve ever seen a city-based esports franchise model, and has really proven audiences are willing to go hard for their hometown squads. On top of that, it’s also certainly the biggest esports production I've ever worked on in my fifteen years in the business.
Looking back at the season, what do you think have been some of the league’s greatest successes?
Chris Puckett: It was awesome to see the teams evolve and witness the coaches take already fantastic players and carve out new roles for them. In my opinion, that's the best way to allow their pro players to find success. As a result, we saw teams from all over the leaderboard end up in the playoffs; I don't think anyone was accurate with their pre-season predictions.
Given that OWL is such an unprecedented league in esports, what do you think have been the greatest challenges the league has had to learn to overcome?
Chris Puckett: I think the biggest one was figuring out how to bring a global group of players together and have them compete in the same rotation throughout the season. I was really impressed with how the league managed the players’ transitions into a new lifestyle and put in effort to cultivate ideal living conditions. I feel like the audience is given access to the absolute best playing in Overwatch that we've seen yet, and it’s in large part because of the environment they've created.
Can you name some memorable moments or interactions you’ve had with fans throughout the season?
Chris Puckett: I know so many fans by name at this point. It’s kind of amazing. For instance, there’s a whole family of fans—a little boy, a little girl, and their father and mother—who once came out to an event all dressed up as Junkrat. We have Tyler, the Sacramento Shock fan, who would fly down from the Bay area multiple times a month just to cheer on his team. You can always hear him cheering during Shock matches, and he’s become famous in the arena for being so loyal.
The fans are what makes hosting so fun for me. I’m constantly performing in front of a live audience, and I can feel the intensity in the room. While most fans are seasoned Overwatch viewers and always know what's happening in the game, even people who are coming for the first time can feed off of that energy and contribute to everyone having a great time.
How would you recommend fans, who want to get into OWL before the Grand Finals on July 27th, go about catching themselves up? Which pivotal matches would you recommend they watch?
Chris Puckett: Oh man. You've got a lot to cover—no one else outside the New York Excelsior was really consistent.
My favorite has to be the Philadelphia Fusion, because you never know what to expect with their squad: whether it’s gonna be nail-biter that lasts the entire game or whether they'll completely stomp out their opponent. If you wanna catch up with that team, you're gonna wanna go back and watch them play against the New York Excelsior during the Stage 2 Finals. That was one of the best all season.
Go back and watch the “Battle for LA” in Stage 4 between the Los Angeles Gladiators and the LA Valiant. They are the top performers to step foot on stage and have some of the biggest fan bases in the league, especially during region matches.
Finally, I think it’s worth it to go back to the beginning of the season, starting with the London Spitfire versus the New York Excelsior during the Stage 1 Playoffs. These are two teams that were expected to be in the Grand Finals before the regular season even kicked off, and that day they proved that they could both put on a tense match.