by JR Cook - 7 years ago     show comments

Team EnVyUs adds another trophy to their display case

Jonathan “Harryhook” Tejedor lined up the perfect headshot on Russell “FctFctn” Campbell, toppling the last standing player of FaZe Clan. With only five seconds left, there was no hope to reignite the overtime fuse on Temple of Anubis. As the countdown came to a sizzling close, lights in the colosseum strobed with blinding enthusiasm—EnVyUs reigned as champions of the MLG Vegas Overwatch 2016 Invitational. The best of seven barely cut the hour mark in the most one-sided series of the tournament. EnVyUs’s 4-0 clean sweep took the stadium by surprise as FaZe Clan proved capable of dominating the other Overwatch competitive heavyweight, Fnatic, in the semifinals.

Rivals go tit for tat, Fnatic misstep results in unexpected upset

The semifinals were what the finals should have been—a back and forth spar of tactical prowess and clever instinct. In a best of five, Fnatic and FaZe Clan played the more adrenaline-inducing games in the three-day tournament. Fnatic, the crowd favorite, led the series 2-1 and was ready to take their expected place at the finals. But FaZe had other plans. On Watchpoint: Gibraltar and Nepal, the underdogs struck back and turned the tide of defeat into wave after wave of victory. Feeling their grip slip, Fnatic tried everything to regain the upperhand. The team deviated from their four-tank strategy in favor of the older meta standard 2-2-2 setup. Notably, Fnatic player Hafthor “Hafficool” Hakonarson traded in D.Va mech for mechsuit-clad Pharah to shatter FaZe Clan’s solid defense. However, FaZe Clan was able to mirror Fnatic’s changed comp but do it better. George “ShaDowBurn” Guschcha and Jared “zombs” Gitlin used the Pharah Barrage and Zarya Graviton Surge combo to destroy Fnatic’s roster for a 3-2 victory.

Rocky road to finals

While EnVyUS had a flawless final series, they did not have a clean start. The team’s DPS player, Timo “Taimou” Kettunen, missed his flight to the tournament due to issues processing his passport. Instead of disqualifying the team, compLexity agreed to work with MLG to postpone their matches and rework the schedule so that EnVyUs could perform in the tournament. Despite being afflicted with a fever and sleep-deprived, Taimou managed to play impressively throughout the tournament. As Roadhog, he tormented opponents with clutch hooks and one-shot combos to give his team a numbers advantage.

“I struggled so much with this [sic] that now everything’s done so unless I die before I land I will [sic] make sure I win this tournament,” said Taimou in a tweet.

And win they did. This is the second large win for EnVyUs this month who won the Overwatch APEX Season 1 tournament just two weeks prior. The team, formally known as Team Hubris, signed with EnVyUs in June earlier this year. Since then they have secured eight first place trophies out of the 10 competitions entered, placing silver in the Overwatch Open and bronze in the 2016 ESL Overwatch Atlantic Showdown – Gamescom.

As the season continues will EnVyUs continue to reign supreme or will another team rise to take their place?