The 2018 Overwatch League All-Star Game was the
Overwatch League
The Overwatch League (OWL) is a professional esports league for the video game ''Overwatch'', produced by its developer, Blizzard Entertainment. The Overwatch League follows the model of other traditional North American professional sporting lea ...
's (OWL) first edition of an
all-star game
An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...
that matched the top players in the Atlantic Division (ATL) against those in the Pacific Division (PAC). The game was played on August 26, 2018 at
Blizzard Arena
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and video game publisher, publisher based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, the company was founded on February 8, 1991, under the name Silicon & Synapse, ...
in
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
and was the culmination of the league's All-Star Weekend. The Atlantic took the first All-Star title by defeating the Pacific by a score of 4–1. The game was televised by
Disney XD
Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years ...
and
ESPN3
ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360 and ESPN3.com) is an online streaming service owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications ...
and streamed live on
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...
.
All-Star Game
The All-Star Game was a five-map match between players from the Atlantic Division and Pacific Division using standard competitive settings. All 18 players on each team were required to have play-time, and substitutions were allowed between each map change.
Rosters and coaches
The rosters and coaches for the All-Star game were selected through a voting process. The starters were chosen by the fans, with voting beginning on June 1 and ending on June 17. Out of the two DPS, two tank, two support, and two flex players in each division with the highest
cumulative vote, the top six players with the highest cumulative vote were named their division's All-Star starters. After the starting rosters were announced, an additional 12 players from each division were selected as reserves by Overwatch League players, coaches, casters, and staffers.
The All-Star Game starters were announced on June 22. In the Atlantic Division, four of the six starters were represented by
New York Excelsior
The New York Excelsior (often stylized as NYXL) is an American professional ''Overwatch'' esports team based in New York City, New York. The Excelsior compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region. Founded in 2017 ...
, and in the Pacific, two of the six starters were represented by
Seoul Dynasty
Seoul Dynasty is a South Korean professional ''Overwatch'' esports team based in Seoul, South Korea. The Dynasty compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's East region. Founded in 2017, Seoul Dynasty is one of the league' ...
. The All-Star reserves were announced on July 10.
London Spitfire
London Spitfire is a professional ''Overwatch'' team representing the city of London, United Kingdom. The Spitfire compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region. Founded in 2017, London Spitfire is one of the le ...
had the most reserve players in the Atlantic Division, with four out of twelve of the spots, and
Los Angeles Valiant
Los Angeles Valiant (stylized as VΛLIΛNT) is an American professional Overwatch (video game)#Esports, ''Overwatch'' esports team representing the city of Los Angeles, California, although the team is operated in China. Valiant compete in the O ...
lead the Pacific Division with five out of twelve reserve spots.
:Replacement Player selection due to injury or vacancy
:Injured/suspended player; selected but did not participate
:Retired player; selected but did not participate
:Promoted to starter due to injury/vacancy
:Traded to new team before All-Star Game
Source
Overwatch League
/small>
Game summary
All-Star Weekend
The season's All-Star Skill Matches took place on August 25, 2018.
Lúcioball Showdown
The Atlantic and Pacific teams competed in a 3v3 best-of-three series using standard Lúcioball settings on the Busan Lúcioball Arena map. Each match lasted five minutes; if a match was tied at the end of five minutes, then a sudden death overtime would begin, and the next goal would win.
Mystery Heroes
The Atlantic and Pacific teams competed in a 6v6 Mystery Heroes game using standard competitive settings in a best-of-three series on control maps Nepal, Ilios, and Lijiang Tower. Players are assigned a random hero at the start of each map and a new random hero after each non-self-inflicted death.
Widowmaker 1v1
The coaches of the Atlantic and Pacific Divisions selected their four best
Widowmaker players for this tournament. The four players competed head-to-head to determine one Atlantic and one Pacific champion, which played each other in the finals. Every match-up prior to the finals was first-to-seven eliminations, while the final was first-to-nine eliminations. Eliminations were head-shot only, and automatic firing was disabled. There were no capture points, but after 30 seconds, player locations were visible to both players. A match would result in a draw after five minutes. The matches were played on Castillo (quarterfinals), Necropolis (semifinals), and Ecopoint: Antartica (final).
Talent Takedown
Prior to All-Star Weekend, the Atlantic and Pacific coaches drafted two teams of casters and analysts. The two teams squared off in a 6v6 best-of-three series using standard competitive settings. The match started on Hybrid map King's Row, after which the team that lost the select the second map. If the series were to be tied 1-1, a game of Lúcioball would have been the tiebreaker. Overwatch League players helped call the game along with the casters and analysts not playing.
Lockout Elimination
The Atlantic and Pacific teams squared off in this 6v6 competition using standard
lockout elimination settings. The winner was determined in a best-of-three series. The maps for this mode were Oasis University, Necropolis, and Castillo.
Charity cheer
During the All-Star Weekend, 100% of all "Cheers", a special form of emoticon purchased as a
microtransaction
Microtransactions, often abbreviated as mtx, are a business model where users can purchase virtual goods with micropayments. Microtransactions are often used in free-to-play games to provide a revenue source for the developers. While microtransact ...
, on
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...
while watching any of the Overwatch League channels were donated to
Child's Play, a
charitable organization
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definitio ...
that donates toys and games to children's hospitals worldwide. At the conclusion of the weekend, viewers raised $34,304.37 for the charity.
Broadcasting
The entire All-Star Weekend was televised nationally by
ESPN3
ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360 and ESPN3.com) is an online streaming service owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications ...
and
Disney XD
Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years ...
and live-streamed on
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...
, the
Overwatch League
The Overwatch League (OWL) is a professional esports league for the video game ''Overwatch'', produced by its developer, Blizzard Entertainment. The Overwatch League follows the model of other traditional North American professional sporting lea ...
website, and
Major League Gaming
Major League Gaming Corp. (MLG) is a professional esports organization. MLG is headquartered in New York City, New York and was founded in 2002 by Sundance DiGiovanni and Mike Sepso. MLG has held official video game tournaments throughout the ...
.
References
{{2018 OWL season by team
All-Star
Overwatch League
The Overwatch League (OWL) is a professional esports league for the video game ''Overwatch'', produced by its developer, Blizzard Entertainment. The Overwatch League follows the model of other traditional North American professional sporting lea ...