The FPS-style game OVERWATCH has been gaining popularity worldwide. The world's first esports league, the Overwatch League, had its inaugural season in the United States. This upcoming August will be the 3rd annual Overwatch World Cup--a world championship version (1/21)
In preparation for the World Cup next month, the Japanese Overwatch community held an official Blizzard event called FLASH OPS TOKYO 2018 SUMMER on July 22nd at the LFS Ikebukuro Arena. (2/21)
This event consisted of 2 parts. The first introduced the OWWC Team Japan players, and showed their skills in an exhibition match.
In the second half, participants were able to take part in their own matches and other workshops (3/21)
In the second half, participants were able to take part in their own matches and other workshops (3/21)
Players that were confident in their skills were able to test themselves in 1v1 and 3v3 matches in Arcade Mode. For those looking to hone their skills more, there was a workshop where you could work 1 on 1 with one of the pro players from Team Japan (4/21)
Although the event was capped at 80 people on a pre-registration basis, there were still plenty of people waiting outside in case of any last-minute cancellations. This first official event seems to have attracted a great number of Overwatch fans (5/21)
The stage opened with the MC Shinichiro and Team Japan's Community Lead, Mizuiro. The event officially kicked off with greetings from the team's general manager Jerophilip, and their head coach XQQ. (6/21)
The qualifying group that Team Japan will be participating in has strong teams from countries like South Korea and Finland. Nonetheless, all the players expressed their enthusiasm. "We think it'll be a tough fight, but we'll do our best to get to the main stage!" (7/21)
Meanwhile, MC Shinichiro and Mizuiro talked about the latest Overwatch news while the players were setting up for their exhibition match.
This match was a 3-round game against the strong Korean team [Monster Shield KR] (8/21)
This match was a 3-round game against the strong Korean team [Monster Shield KR] (8/21)
Early into Round 1 [a control point map], the team was pushed into a corner by the fierce attack of Monster Shield KR's ace Crazy. However, after some minor adjustments Team Japan was able to turn it around for a victory. (9/21)
Round 2 was the escort map Rialto. This map was just added last April, with the key being to stay on the payload as long as possible. Dep, a player who is new to the team this year, helped carry the team to victory. (10/21)
Team Japan held their momentum the whole round, and resulting in their win. Participants in the crowd were cheering throughout the game, with a wave of unity washing over the whole venue. (11/21)
Although Team Japan managed to take 2 rounds for the overall victory, Monster Shield KR showed their stubbornness in Round 3 [Hybird map, King's Row]. Monster Shield was able to advance with great vigor with their ace Crazy taking charge. (12/21)
Even with Team Japan given time to regroup and set up, Monster Shield was able to take the round.
In spite of the final round loss, Team Japan defeated their strong opponents 2-1. There's high expectations for them going into the OWWC (13/ )
In spite of the final round loss, Team Japan defeated their strong opponents 2-1. There's high expectations for them going into the OWWC (13/ )
After the match, the 2nd half of the event involved other exhibitions + a chance to meet with the players. At the 1on1 booth, Team Japan's ace ta1yo and coach XQQ played against fans. In an unexpected turn-of-events, XQQ was defeated, prompting laughter in the venue (14 /21)
There were even some pretty heated matches in the 3v3 booth, where some people already came as a team. Since there were prizes at stake, players collaborated and fought seriously (15/21)
Other popular workshops included coaching from Team Japan players themselves. When asked why they were participating in this booth, fans either said they wanted to personally talk to the players, or they wanted professional coaching to get better. (16/21)
The venue itself allowed participants and staff to intermingle with each other, creating an atmosphere of a successful official event that's said to be a benefit of medium-sized events where there's less than 100 people. (17/21)
Towards the end of the event, MC Shuichiro and Mizurio returned to the stage for a rock-paper-scissors contest. Official goods that weren't for sale were put up, and the contest was held (18/21).
Afterwards, the team surprised their player kenmohororo with a cake to celebrate his birthday! "I didn't think there would be a surprise, so I'm really happy about it," he commented. Participants blessed the team with lots of applause (19/21)
Finally, Team Japan's captain CLAIRE firmly announced that the team would definitely win OWWC 2018, and for the fans to please continue supporting them. The event officially concluded with MC Shinichiro saying he'll see everyone next time. (20/21)
Community Lead Mizuiro said he hopes to have more events like this in other places in the future, and to draw more people into the appeal of Overwatch.
With the OWWC 2018 coming up next month, surely Overwatch will become a hot topic. (21/21)
With the OWWC 2018 coming up next month, surely Overwatch will become a hot topic. (21/21)
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