Group play at the Overwatch Winter Premiere has concluded, and four teams are moving on to the finals. The finals will take place at PAX South starting Jan. 27. The format for the finals is best-of-five series with a single-elimination bracket, and the games will be played on the live servers.
I will profile one team each day of the week leading up to the finals. Over the past three days, I have written about Immortals, Team Kungarna, and compLexity Gaming. Now, I will be previewing the fourth and final team to make it to PAX South.
Luminosity Gaming
– Arthur “EISSFELDT” Marx (DPS)
– Alexandre “SPREE” Vanhomwegen (Flex)
– Bastien “SuperPlouk” Klau (Tank)
– Vytis “Mineral” Lasaitis (Support)
– Mikaël “Hidan” Da Silva (Support)
– Toni “Ube” Häkli (DPS)
Luminosity was unable to make it out of their group in the first qualifier as they fell to compLexity 2-0 in the final match of the group. In the second qualifier, Luminosity again failed to make it out of their group, lossing 2-1 to Fnatic in the final match of their group. Luminosity picked it up in the third qualifier when they got revenge on Fnatic and beat them in the final match of the group stage. They beat Splyce 2-1 in the quarterfinals and swept Immortals 2-0 in the semifinals. The team would finish in second place as they lost in a close 3-2 series against compLexity. The team also had a good showing the fourth qualifier when they beat Citizen7 to make it out of their group and swept Team Liquid to make it to the semifinals. Immortals got revenge on Luminosity as they beat them 2-0. Luminosity won the third place match as a result of NRG forfeiting, so Luminosity qualified for the tournament through points, as they were right behind Fnatic.
Luminosity was given an easy start in the first round-robin stage as they beat Citizen7 2-0 in their opening match. They lost in their next series to Immortals 2-1 in close fashion. Luminosity secured their first impactful win in a strong 2-1 victory over Team Kungarna but lost 2-0 to Renegades immediately after their series against Kungarna. Luminosity continued to play teams well with a 2-1 victory over FaZe but then they lost 2-1 against compLexity. Their final series put Luminosity in high spirits when they beat Team Liquid 2-1. The team would advance in fifth place with a 4-3 record and a +1 map differential, showing that although they were positive, most of their series went the distance.
Luminosity had a tough time in the second round-robin stage as they were only able to win two series out of five. The stage started off for them with a 2-0 loss to Team Kungarna on the first day. They lost their second series as well against compLexity, losing 2-0 once again. Luminosity finally got their first win of the second stage against Team Liquid with a sweep of their own, and they were able to earn a win over Renegades 2-1 but fell in a very close series to Immortals 2-1. The team finished with a .500 record at 6-6 and a -1 map differential. The team was tied on record with Team Liquid but advanced ahead of them because Luminosity was 2-0 in the head-to-head matchup against Liquid.
Although Luminosity may have struggled through the two stages of round-robin play, they find themselves in the finals with a chance to win it all. The team is using a stand-in for the tournament, but Ube has fit well with the team and is one of the top players on the squad. Luminosity has not had the same success as the teams it made a trade with, but these finals could be their chance to win a major tournament. The team will most likely not be affected hard by the new patch, as both Eissfeldt and Ube have deep hero pools that extend past D.Va and Roadhog. However, Hidan may need to find a new support because of the nerfs to the hero he has spent 98 percent of his time on, Ana.
Key Player: SuperPlouk
With all the changes brought about by the new patch, one hero remains a rock. Reinhardt is a hero that did not get changed by the new patch and still should be a staple amongst teams for the finals. SuperPlouk is one of the top Reinhardt players at this tournament and his play has been important for the team. With 203 ultimates generated, SuperPlouk is able to have a massive impact with his Earthshatters. The way that SuperPlouk plays will determine how far Luminosity can go in these finals.
The team faces a tough matchup against Immortals in the semifinals. Immortals came out of both round-robin stages as the top team and has looked incredibly dominant during the tournament. Immortals is not unbeatable though, as Luminosity did pick up a series win over Immortals in the third qualifier at the semifinal stage. But, Immortals does hold the overall lead, with 3-1 in series play and a 6-4 map lead. But do not count Luminosity out, as they have strong players that are finding their coordination and are starting to play well as a six man unit.
How far do you think Luminosity can make it at the LAN finals? Share your thoughts below or tweet us @GAMURScom.
Photo credits: Blizzard
