All that work, all that effort the devs took building this monolith of a franchise…all crumbling apart in the span of a couple of years because of greed, it hurts…it just hurts
Its cause they kept getting payed lol. They couldn't really go anywhere else to cast. Apex Legends is dead, People are sleeping watching Valorant esports and CS has such legendary castors OWL couldn't ever get.
This reminds of that Tom Cruise movie they did of trying to kill a certain German dictator (god i hate censorship). In reality, they were a bunch of guys who saw the writing on the wall. They never did a movie of the guy who built a bomb to try and do it, WAY before it became the smart move to do, like it was for Cruise's character. They caught him at the border with the bomb plans (dumb move). They kept him alive in German prison, doing God only knows what to him, finally killing him only when it was certain that the Allies were moving in and taking over. My point being, psychos willing to give up everything are the heroes we don't hear about. Money's invention did a lot to equalize the power of status and heritage that we saw in the feudal system, but defanged us of the brutal savagery that heroism may require.
Amazing how Activision Blizzard managed to take literal game of the year, and turn it into one of the biggest disappointments and overall let downs in video game history.
It's just like anything else, once you've got a hit on your hands, they milk it till there's nothing left and put nothing into it, like farming the same soil year after year without replenishing it.
It had to have some terrible competition in order to get game of the year in the first place, that or the standards have hit a new low. Even Overwatch in its prime can never compete with games that are actually worthy of game of the year. It’s been enjoyable but never game of the year.
@chazmathews1294 I mean, it went up against Uncharted 4 that year, and won. We all know Naughty Dog is the industry's and jornalists' darling company. A multi-player shooter beat a triple A single-player game. Nah. Overwatch 2016 was a special game.
Was none of the players or talents fault that the league was lackluster. Blizzard and everyone involved at the top of the esport sucked the everlasting soul out of the game and the scene to make OWL a reality. Bring back Monthly Melees, Apex, and all the other leagues that made viewing experience so much better.
It's been months since I've uninstalled OW... but it still brings me pain that Blizzard made such a damn good game with so much potential... and just shat all over it.
@@Catbeans99 I learned this word in another video which encapsulates the average Overwatch defender: sunk-cost fallacy (noun) The phenomenon whereby a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that abandonment would be more beneficial. (i.e:the sunk-cost fallacy creeps into a lot of major financial decisions.)
The crew for owl is the only reason the league lasted that long. Their passion and dedication was unmatched. It overcame (partly) some of the most inept management direction I’ve ever seen for nearly any business or enterprise. Imagine if owl management knew even a little about what they were doing… Soe and crew made OWL so much better than it ever should’ve been
Soe fought hard for overwatch I remember her asking hard questions to the devs prior to ow2 launching and you could tell she was concerned for the overall health of the game. They had a great crew and it sucks that it’s time to go. Honestly Esports should always be grassroots and work your way up not immediately be a huge production like the league did.
Its really sad to see that all of this Hard work from the Casters the Production and also the teams to fade away in only 6 years....I watched the League from the first day to the Last day and that Speech from Soe at the end of the Brodcast+ the Goodbye Video hit different...All ruined because of greed ...Wasted potential ...I hope the future will hold something good for Overwatch E-Sports because it could have a bright future if you know how to handle it.
Soe is a gem. She's been so much during her time in OWL. But each time she's on screen she always smiles and delivers joy to the viewers. I hope she goes onto much bigger and better things.
I tuned in to the finals just because i knew it was the last one so i figured id watch. I thought "hey it'll be fun to watch the last finals." Then the moment of Zoe talking legit caught me off guard and made tear up. But poor jake up front legitimately start crying at the end got me. Was NOT emotionally prepared for that dammit!
Why? Soe is part of the reason OWL died. She was the worst. They canned a Black caster (Malik) for her, just because she's a woman. Ridiculous. Her and Matt (Mr. X) ruined this franchise. It used to be on ESPN Live, but because Blizzard went way too far Left after all the allegations the game and community are now known as the worst in video gaming.
They made Overwatch exciting. They made it an amazing experience, the way they hyped the crowd, their energy and passion... I'm really upset to lose this.
I knew this day would come. Finally, it is here. Yes, it's sad, but from the start it was a forced competitive league created by Blizzard and destroyed by Blizzard. They reap that they sow.
@@MansterBear Having a sponsored, funded league was a forced move by blizzard. From my experience playing the game and watching criticism about it, Hero's was made a much more simplistic moba than something like Dota or League, both of which had pretty big competitive scenes. Blizzard, wanting part of this hype and after seeing the success of their most recent game (Hearthstone at the time) tried to force a game in which players were less capable of individually carrying (due to a number of factors like shared team xp, no gold or item snowballing, emphasis on teamwork, ect) into a competitive game. This went poorly for all parties for several reasons. The players didn't particularly like it due to their individual skill not mattering as much, since xp was shared and no one could snowball into a formidable threat, as the whole team was at the same power level at any given time. This also led to boring gameplay from the spectator perspective, as their couldn't be any 1v3 clutches or whatnot as can be seen in csgo, Valorent, or a fed champion in League, as game balance determined that it was impossible even if far ahead. Look ahead today and development for the game has pretty much stopped, and it's comp league lost support from blizzard in 2018, a mere 3 years after the game's launch. tl;dr A game that was not really designed for comp play was given a comp league, and it was terminated within 3 years.
@@MansterBear as compared to something like EVO (fighting game tournament circuit) it was built and inflated to be a major event before it had let’s to stand on. Wasn’t grown over time and took too much overhead vs. how much profit they were bringing in
I was at the Grand Finals with my brother. Happy that my first game was my last in my home town. GGs OWL. Thank you for giving me the memory for a lifetime.
I remember finding the league in 2017 and falling in love with what the game can be if played right. I started watching you sty after finding about the league, it feels so unreal seeing the league go downhill due to the way blizzard handled the game throughout the years
Not just OWL but the whole Overwatch story is a sad (What could have been) tale. Watching the games decline in real-time is depressing. Blizzard made every wrong decision they possibly could have, totally mismanaged IP.
Yeah i only got in to it in the last couple of years and its bs that its ending now. Activision blizzard getting bought by microsoft and they cant keep the league going?
It just hurts as a veteran player to see this game that was once considered a worldwide phenomenon turn into a shell of it's former self. I quit quite a while ago because I hated where the game was going especially moreso after OW2 (O came back and quit again) but I still kept up to date with the game hoping for things to get better or worse. It just got more worse sadly. It was like a friendship you wanted to get away from but hope that things go back to the good old days so you wait and wait for any sign that it's retaining that former feeling but that doesn't happened. You can't just go back and relive those days no more and that's the sad reality. Goes to show you that the higher you are ontop of the world, the harder you'll fall. It is sad that you cannot fit how many gaming companies fell from grace on your fingers. And the fact that most people including myself almost are just so numb to it at this point is even more sad.
The players killed Overwatch themselves constantly asking for hero changes nerfs buffs They focused too much on competitive and not enough on having fun Overwatch used to be fun now its bland
@@Keliciabrat This is such a weird misplacement of blame. Blizzard were the ones that were more focused on the esports side of things and as a result they listened to the pros about balancing. In most cases your average player had no say in how something was balanced hence why most of the fanbase was always left dissatisfied. Blizzard prioritized the wrong things and wrong people as they were more obsessed with raking in that esports money and forgot who their main audience was. The blame is squarely on Blizzard themselves.
Crazy to think what Blizzard had at one point, and how they just let it fade to black. Overwatch was HUGE and they just let it die through awful decision making and lack of action.
As a player who recently joined the community with OW2 it's so crazy to me that there's essentially no longer a way for me to consume high level content for this game. Even though Nintendo has done their very best to destroy competitive Smash bros i can still consume grassroots content. OW doesnt have that. These players are out of a iob and we're out of a very important content stream. This game deserves to be an esport and the fact that its fumbled this badly so early into the "sequel" lifespan is dreadful.
The league does absolutely nothing for this game, it never has and now it never will. The pros ruined this game for years on end because of the constant bickering behind the scenes pushing hero changes because they werent happy with " the meta". Good riddens!
@@TheChaosTheory cant really agree here because yes pros demand changes that are "anti fun" it was ultimately blizzard's failure to balance the game properly that resulted in where we are now.
esports is only a part of the money focused behavior companies nowadays have. tbh i couldnt care less about owl. its just koreans playing anyway lol. if you want to see grassroots, look to quake champions. these pro guys play month after month for 800 dollars to 3000 dollars. they play because they like the game. i dont know how much money the ow2 pros make but i dont think that they would play for 800 dollars a month. many of the pros dont even like the game, they constantly rant and they only play because they get paid. thats not esports for me. thats making esports into something it isnt. esports is a niche. it crazy that they actually believe it could be sustainable over time, like basketball lol. these guys really think that there would be people following every match and even buying tickets every match when in reality most people will watch 1 - 2 matches live and then never again. it shows how delusional they are. also..wake up guys...we are in a worldwide recession with big problems worldwide. people have less and less money and they wont buy tickets every week even if they want to.
I am sad that it has come to this. I have many fond memories over the main game of Overwatch but with Overwatch League it just hit different. Every time I tuned in, it just felt like home to me, very welcoming. The casters and everyone behind the scenes are just amazing, the diversity of casters was unreal. Big love to all of them, I do hope they go on to more successful journeys. I'm sure this isn't the end 🧡🖤🤍💙
Soe was the Lena Oxton we all needed for the Overwatch League. Loved every single moment she was here. It is sad all of this came to an end when "Overwatch 2" just barely came out compared to the time we spent with the first iteration of the game.
I was never a fan of OWL, honestly ow is so weird, it's super fun to play but a snore to watch. And still, that last speech by Soe had me wrecked, man. 😢
When I first started watching it was very confusing and boring because i didnt know anything. But once you get attached to certain teams/players and learn more about how the game works at that level i found it pretty entertaining and exciting
As much as I do rip on overwatch and everything associated with it, it does suck to see all this happening. I never was super into OWL but in 2018 and 2019 I watched it quite a bit and its unfortunate to see all this happening. Hopefully all the players from the teams find other work and ways to succeed!
To be completely honest, OWL was rushed into being in the first place. OWL was living on life support for YEARS, especially after Blizzard fucked over the fanbase for so long and gave a final fuck you to players by making OW2 so monetized and cutting out content they promised. As you said, "Its always upper management" and until you either get them to realize that they are the problem (they won't) or cut them off for good (but you need their money don't you? Their IP's? Etc?) its going to remain like this.
And now... bluzzard will forever be known as the company who makes pro leagues then lets them die. Star craft 2, world of warcraft, and now iverwatch. They threw them to the side aftermilking as much money as they could from their player base. Even wow is done from home now the only pro scene being world first raids. The pvp scene is gone. Edit: look at riot, still has a pro league that's active and present, and they started WELL before OW you think they would have learned from riots example and made a system comparable that would support the pro league. No they wanted to triple profits by making skins and passes so expensive with little work that they doused their player base and set it ablaze. Stop putting money into the game. OW is dead in 3 years MAX
Damn, Zoye's speech really hurt. You see her and the whole crew fighting the tears :( I haven't played OW since 2020 but I couldn't help to shed a tear and think of the great times past..
I remember LemonKiwi crying because she was told she would get to cast the last post season games and then at the last second they told her no. I'm happy she got to be a part of the whole show and even play in the show/talent game this time. Most of the chat was really impressed with both her sleeps and Fareeha's Phara. I'm happy they brought the whole gang together for the final show and let all the talent be there, but I wouldn't have minded a cameo by Bren and Sideshow too why not. It's a sad end to OWL yeah, but I wish the cast and crew and all the fans who watched along with me the best and thanks for keeping me company, in good times and bad (Gladiators fans know both lol).
Part of the problem with Overwatch League was that they tried to make it seem local, with teams named after various cities. but the 9 times out of 10 the teams were all Korean. when every game is just 12 very similar looking Korean dudes facing off. None of whom speak a word of English. Its kind of hard to care about "your" team. Thats why the world cup is always better.
The casters, talent, and people who actively tried to make it a great final season of OWL did such a great job. Soe's speech got me very emotional, and seeing OWL go will be very tough to move forward with. Wishing the best to all the talent!!!
Sad for everyone involved (especially those in the tournament, casters/players/desk/etc.) but you can't astroturf an esport. Blizzard made the same mistake with HoTS. HoTS has started the road to recovery (relatively speaking for how popular it is... anyway), so I hope OW can folloe suit.
watching all of this again made me cry all over again. i have made friends with a lot of the casters including, Soe, Danny, Jonny, Scott, Rosemary, all of them. i won't say good bye. but, i will say good journey to them all. cause they will live on through the journey and open new doorways to other adventures. Good Journey, my friends.
I never cared about the league, until this year when they allowed my country to earn tokens and of course, that's what I wanted, League tokens but then I got invested, Really invested with the teams, with the charismatic casters and players and of course Florida Mayhem, I was EXCITED! it was really good, and now I can't believe it might all come to an end. I just hope the staff don't end up with Valorant or cs2, I can't watch that, but I want to keep up with them, and the players.
So long overwatch league it was a good 6 years of watching , 2019 grand finales were the best watching the shock wipe the floor with the titans "shock the world ".
I’ve not been into overwatch 2 I loved the original but anyone from a gaming back ground will be moved by this, I’m a huge gears of war player, and there is nothing better to bring people from all backgrounds together and that Is gaming, much love to all of you it’s us players that keep us together and moving forward ❤
There was so much heart in this. It hurts to know where we're at now. Thank you to everyone who made it the best game at the time. The feels train on this one.
Day 1 OWL Mayhem fan so for me things came full circle when they won the last season. What you pointed out about the Gilded Gala is very important. It's a real shame, Overwatch esports was indeed special and the community around it was unique.
I really enjoyed watching OWL but I wish that players were recruited from ladder or that players had a way to try out etc . I know the best players come from Korea but as a non Korean speaking american, I couldnt really relate or get into the league too much. I understand that teams wanna win so talent is more important than personality but that’s my feeling and think it would be nice to have seen Americans on the U.S. teams.
I think a reset is a good idea, and not necessarily even a bad thing for the game or the esport in general. From the beginning they probably should have let the competitive scene grow organically, it already was with the GosuGamers and Apex tournaments. OW esports will be back, in another form. Plus world cup is still on for this year! Super excited for that.
Given how badly OWL crashed out, after losing everyone involved 100s of millions each, combined with Blizzard's terrible reputation in general, and the decline of Overwatch in general, there is no way Overwatch will return to esports in a large scale way. At best, you might have community tournaments, but it'll never be a huge draw ever again. GG Blizz, you destroyed one of the greatest games of all time.
Sad moment in esports history. The teams and casters did everything and did an amazing job over the years. I wish them all the best, I’m sorry blizzard put them in such an unfortunate situation. GG’s man..
It's such a shame. I remember tuning into apex (the karaoke segments at the finals were always hilarious) and the early seasons of Overwatch League and there was so much passion and character behind it all. While the talent have always remained strong, the whole scene around them lost all of its vibrancy to the greed of the corporate suits. I've long since dropped watching Overwatch esports and I'm a bit blackpilled on whether the new plans will be any good, but we'll see.
Overwatch died with 5v5 and FTP. It ruined the game for me, everyone on my friends list dropped off and og players in lobbies were gradually replaced by new players with no clue how to play the game. I hung on for PvE but when that died in a matter weeks I eventually gave up on the game too.
I never liked the overwatch league. It was forced instead of just happening naturally. Also the devs balanced the game for the league. Glad it’s dead. I don’t think it has any effect on weather the game lives or dies. I can’t imagine many people watching it who never played the game. I just don’t think esports can be like real sports. And that is probably where blizzard messed up the worst. Also that woman’s speech means nothing to me. Sorry but it’s corny. They are losing a job that pays way to well. Of course they are sad.
Yeah she can say almost anything at that point and it will make people cry. People like her who used to blabber will have no problem making a speech like this on the spot.
I went from playing OW daily to only playing OW2 four times before uninstalling. Watching this has been painful, like watching someone you care about slowly pass before your eyes.
This is awesome! Finally blizzard with focus on actual players to balance the game other than a handful of players. Good! Let the league stay six feet under!!!!!
I think they need to build a more local competitive scene in different regions to build a community. I think that’s why the overwatch World Cup had a lot of hype and anticipation
im happy for being there at the peak of overwatch but sadly all the fall down over the years unfortunately affected the league as well, R.I.P OWL thanks for all the good memories
To the Casting Crew, that was a fitting speech to sign off what is the end of an incredible era. I hope they as well as the team crews and players all go on to bigger and better things, they've got the talent and the passion, no doubt they can do it.
OW2 esport will not be dead, when I take to consider, Hots have still tournaments for prize pools, even when game is officially dead _(no dev team for the game)_ . "Big names" probably will do disappear, but its opportunity for smaller teams to play more accessible tournaments.
FINALLY!! THANK FUCKING GOD!!!! OWL was a huge mistake for the franchise. Nothing but a cash grab attempt on keeping hold of the hype that they had by a poorly execution rush into something that OW wasn't ready for. Now, hopefully, they can steer clear away from that bullshit and finally focus on the game and make it great again.
I loved OWL season 1. I'm a Londoner in real life and ofc I was supporting London Spitfire. There was a meet and greet in London. I've met you there too Sty, I've met with Profit, Birdring the whole Spitfire team, their adorable manager, Suzie Kim, and I got my (back then) comic book hardcover collection signed by all of them! One of the best days of OW for me. Over the years I lost interest and just watched to farm OWL Tokens. Sad that the era is over, curious about what comes next. Aces High!
You can't force an e-sport no matter how much money you throw at it. The game has to be good and it has to be GRASSROOTS. There needs to be a clear, direct path that players can follow from ladder to playing pro and that has NEVER existed. If you DON'T have the community pushing from the bottom the whole things collapses because that is what holds it up.
Congrats blizzard, you’ve only brought it on yourself. Hope the OWL cast go on to have some great futures.
agreed
Hear, hear!
the company is now owned by microsoft
Except for avrl wish the worst for that bloke
When your greatest skill is to click heads, you know you’re in for a rough time.
All that work, all that effort the devs took building this monolith of a franchise…all crumbling apart in the span of a couple of years because of greed, it hurts…it just hurts
Couple years? The game and the league have been dead since 2019.
Couple years? Try 10 months.
@@johnsonspark171you know dead means non existent right? So...your wromg
E-Sports is a dead end. There is a reason Misfits dumped their LoL team and is focusing on "influencers" going forward
Greed? It came to an end because of incompetence. The Overwatch team ran two games into the ground.
Those casters didnt give up on overwatch even when everyone else did. They are the real MVPs
Its cause they kept getting payed lol. They couldn't really go anywhere else to cast. Apex Legends is dead, People are sleeping watching Valorant esports and CS has such legendary castors OWL couldn't ever get.
@@Klemen1xyou're such a cynical little downer it's cliché but I'll say it anyway man I bet you're fun at parties 🎉
Lol that’s what happens when you have bills to pay.
getting checks will do that.
This reminds of that Tom Cruise movie they did of trying to kill a certain German dictator (god i hate censorship). In reality, they were a bunch of guys who saw the writing on the wall.
They never did a movie of the guy who built a bomb to try and do it, WAY before it became the smart move to do, like it was for Cruise's character.
They caught him at the border with the bomb plans (dumb move). They kept him alive in German prison, doing God only knows what to him, finally killing him only when it was certain that the Allies were moving in and taking over.
My point being, psychos willing to give up everything are the heroes we don't hear about. Money's invention did a lot to equalize the power of status and heritage that we saw in the feudal system, but defanged us of the brutal savagery that heroism may require.
Amazing how Activision Blizzard managed to take literal game of the year, and turn it into one of the biggest disappointments and overall let downs in video game history.
It's just like anything else, once you've got a hit on your hands, they milk it till there's nothing left and put nothing into it, like farming the same soil year after year without replenishing it.
It had to have some terrible competition in order to get game of the year in the first place, that or the standards have hit a new low.
Even Overwatch in its prime can never compete with games that are actually worthy of game of the year. It’s been enjoyable but never game of the year.
Gonna disagree there. It was a great game on release.
@@Tung--Yeah nah you're wrong sorry.
@chazmathews1294 I mean, it went up against Uncharted 4 that year, and won. We all know Naughty Dog is the industry's and jornalists' darling company. A multi-player shooter beat a triple A single-player game. Nah. Overwatch 2016 was a special game.
Was none of the players or talents fault that the league was lackluster. Blizzard and everyone involved at the top of the esport sucked the everlasting soul out of the game and the scene to make OWL a reality. Bring back Monthly Melees, Apex, and all the other leagues that made viewing experience so much better.
I don't think Apex is doing any better 😂
@@Trensharo holy shit xD yeah nah I'm not big into the esports scenes.
Disney ruined OWL.
@@TheRealNickG facts
@@Trensharo All their top players went to valorant/apex. Sayaplayer,sinatraa,boostio etc
It's been months since I've uninstalled OW... but it still brings me pain that Blizzard made such a damn good game with so much potential... and just shat all over it.
Yeah not just greed but staggering incompetence. They had a golden goose and they did everything they could to kill it 🤦♀️
So go play something else. Bye!
@@Catbeans99immaculate glazing
@@Catbeans99 I learned this word in another video which encapsulates the average Overwatch defender:
sunk-cost fallacy
(noun)
The phenomenon whereby a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that abandonment would be more beneficial.
(i.e:the sunk-cost fallacy creeps into a lot of major financial decisions.)
@@yenyerkunI'm adding this to my vocabulary, Thank you.
The crew for owl is the only reason the league lasted that long. Their passion and dedication was unmatched. It overcame (partly) some of the most inept management direction I’ve ever seen for nearly any business or enterprise. Imagine if owl management knew even a little about what they were doing… Soe and crew made OWL so much better than it ever should’ve been
Well said.
I hope Soe gets more work. She more or less was the interviewer equivalent of Jeff Kaplan for Overwatch League. Such an amazing caster.
She really wasn't the equivalent of Jeff Kaplan. I do not mean that as an insult, she was so much better.
She was the Sjokz of Overwatch
@@MoonShockedi see what you mean you mean that she suppressed Jeff
@@yveltalsea sjokz is actually likeable though...
@@MFWb00bi3s Yeah sjokz is very down to earth and funny, soe is very nice though
Soe fought hard for overwatch I remember her asking hard questions to the devs prior to ow2 launching and you could tell she was concerned for the overall health of the game. They had a great crew and it sucks that it’s time to go. Honestly Esports should always be grassroots and work your way up not immediately be a huge production like the league did.
I barely watched OWL but that speech from Soe was amazing and I loved seeing all the casters and desk analysts etc. standing together.
Great speech honestly, sad to see it end like this
Same man. Was nostalgic for something I barely ever watched.
Its really sad to see that all of this Hard work from the Casters the Production and also the teams to fade away in only 6 years....I watched the League from the first day to the Last day and that Speech from Soe at the end of the Brodcast+ the Goodbye Video hit different...All ruined because of greed ...Wasted potential ...I hope the future will hold something good for Overwatch E-Sports because it could have a bright future if you know how to handle it.
It’s still surreal to look back on how devoted and excited I felt about OW, and how fast it all fell apart.
Soe is a gem. She's been so much during her time in OWL. But each time she's on screen she always smiles and delivers joy to the viewers. I hope she goes onto much bigger and better things.
She is likely to be unemployed for a short time.
have i missed something? she never had to deal with hate or anything, she was just pregnant. everyone else had the same expierience?
It’d be cool to see her on RLCS. I just say that bc that’s the only other esport I closely follow and they seem to have a nice quality production.
All of them
@@youknowme2003 she took time off to go back to take care of her dad then her cat almost died after eating something wrong
I tuned in to the finals just because i knew it was the last one so i figured id watch. I thought "hey it'll be fun to watch the last finals." Then the moment of Zoe talking legit caught me off guard and made tear up. But poor jake up front legitimately start crying at the end got me.
Was NOT emotionally prepared for that dammit!
Jake trying his best to hold it together 😭😭
Soe’s speech made me tear up man… it was a great 6 years, sad to the the end of an era
Why? Soe is part of the reason OWL died. She was the worst. They canned a Black caster (Malik) for her, just because she's a woman. Ridiculous. Her and Matt (Mr. X) ruined this franchise. It used to be on ESPN Live, but because Blizzard went way too far Left after all the allegations the game and community are now known as the worst in video gaming.
@@LeDoomfistJamesI thought she was a good caster
@@LeDoomfistJamesBased. There’s too many foid worshippers here.
i didn't see much problem with her and idk about her being a diversity higher, ive heard nothing about that
@@gorillagroddgaming using sexism to combat racism 💀
They made Overwatch exciting. They made it an amazing experience, the way they hyped the crowd, their energy and passion... I'm really upset to lose this.
I knew this day would come. Finally, it is here. Yes, it's sad, but from the start it was a forced competitive league created by Blizzard and destroyed by Blizzard. They reap that they sow.
Very similar thing happened with Heroes of the Storm, forced comp league ended up getting shut down
What do u mean forced comp league?
Like just having a league was an idea that was forced? Or do u mean something about the league in general?
@@MansterBear Having a sponsored, funded league was a forced move by blizzard.
From my experience playing the game and watching criticism about it, Hero's was made a much more simplistic moba than something like Dota or League, both of which had pretty big competitive scenes. Blizzard, wanting part of this hype and after seeing the success of their most recent game (Hearthstone at the time) tried to force a game in which players were less capable of individually carrying (due to a number of factors like shared team xp, no gold or item snowballing, emphasis on teamwork, ect) into a competitive game.
This went poorly for all parties for several reasons. The players didn't particularly like it due to their individual skill not mattering as much, since xp was shared and no one could snowball into a formidable threat, as the whole team was at the same power level at any given time. This also led to boring gameplay from the spectator perspective, as their couldn't be any 1v3 clutches or whatnot as can be seen in csgo, Valorent, or a fed champion in League, as game balance determined that it was impossible even if far ahead. Look ahead today and development for the game has pretty much stopped, and it's comp league lost support from blizzard in 2018, a mere 3 years after the game's launch.
tl;dr A game that was not really designed for comp play was given a comp league, and it was terminated within 3 years.
@@MansterBear as compared to something like EVO (fighting game tournament circuit) it was built and inflated to be a major event before it had let’s to stand on. Wasn’t grown over time and took too much overhead vs. how much profit they were bringing in
Jeff Kaplan warned the suits too that he wanted to start organically 🤷🏽♀️
I guess owl skins will just be relics of a bygone era.
More like now the only way to get them is to actually buy the tokens with cash.
I was at the Grand Finals with my brother. Happy that my first game was my last in my home town. GGs OWL. Thank you for giving me the memory for a lifetime.
The writing was on the wall the moment Jeff left. They heroically tried to carry on, but it was just a matter of time.
I remember finding the league in 2017 and falling in love with what the game can be if played right. I started watching you sty after finding about the league, it feels so unreal seeing the league go downhill due to the way blizzard handled the game throughout the years
Soe is an absolute gem of a human being.
Not just OWL but the whole Overwatch story is a sad (What could have been) tale. Watching the games decline in real-time is depressing. Blizzard made every wrong decision they possibly could have, totally mismanaged IP.
I only started watching overwatch league this year, and I'm very very sad that it's just now over so soon
This game still had this owl thing going on??
And what...? why would you even start now?
Bah, you missed nothing good.
@@mohamedab9033 what
@@mohamedab9033why not
Yeah i only got in to it in the last couple of years and its bs that its ending now. Activision blizzard getting bought by microsoft and they cant keep the league going?
It just hurts as a veteran player to see this game that was once considered a worldwide phenomenon turn into a shell of it's former self. I quit quite a while ago because I hated where the game was going especially moreso after OW2 (O came back and quit again) but I still kept up to date with the game hoping for things to get better or worse. It just got more worse sadly. It was like a friendship you wanted to get away from but hope that things go back to the good old days so you wait and wait for any sign that it's retaining that former feeling but that doesn't happened. You can't just go back and relive those days no more and that's the sad reality.
Goes to show you that the higher you are ontop of the world, the harder you'll fall. It is sad that you cannot fit how many gaming companies fell from grace on your fingers. And the fact that most people including myself almost are just so numb to it at this point is even more sad.
The players killed Overwatch themselves constantly asking for hero changes nerfs buffs
They focused too much on competitive and not enough on having fun Overwatch used to be fun now its bland
@@Keliciabrat Guess who decided to only listen to pro players for feedback though
@@Keliciabrat This is such a weird misplacement of blame. Blizzard were the ones that were more focused on the esports side of things and as a result they listened to the pros about balancing. In most cases your average player had no say in how something was balanced hence why most of the fanbase was always left dissatisfied. Blizzard prioritized the wrong things and wrong people as they were more obsessed with raking in that esports money and forgot who their main audience was. The blame is squarely on Blizzard themselves.
Crazy to think what Blizzard had at one point, and how they just let it fade to black. Overwatch was HUGE and they just let it die through awful decision making and lack of action.
Just seeing the Fusion team in the montage gives me big feels. Fusion will be missed, OWL will be missed.
As a player who recently joined the community with OW2 it's so crazy to me that there's essentially no longer a way for me to consume high level content for this game. Even though Nintendo has done their very best to destroy competitive Smash bros i can still consume grassroots content. OW doesnt have that. These players are out of a iob and we're out of a very important content stream. This game deserves to be an esport and the fact that its fumbled this badly so early into the "sequel" lifespan is dreadful.
Contenders is pretty high level
The league does absolutely nothing for this game, it never has and now it never will. The pros ruined this game for years on end because of the constant bickering behind the scenes pushing hero changes because they werent happy with " the meta". Good riddens!
@@TheChaosTheory cant really agree here because yes pros demand changes that are "anti fun" it was ultimately blizzard's failure to balance the game properly that resulted in where we are now.
@@yourdoom301mhm
esports is only a part of the money focused behavior companies nowadays have.
tbh i couldnt care less about owl. its just koreans playing anyway lol. if you want to see grassroots, look to quake champions. these pro guys play month after month for 800 dollars to 3000 dollars. they play because they like the game. i dont know how much money the ow2 pros make but i dont think that they would play for 800 dollars a month.
many of the pros dont even like the game, they constantly rant and they only play because they get paid.
thats not esports for me. thats making esports into something it isnt. esports is a niche. it crazy that they actually believe it could be sustainable over time, like basketball lol. these guys really think that there would be people following every match and even buying tickets every match when in reality most people will watch 1 - 2 matches live and then never again. it shows how delusional they are.
also..wake up guys...we are in a worldwide recession with big problems worldwide. people have less and less money and they wont buy tickets every week even if they want to.
I am sad that it has come to this. I have many fond memories over the main game of Overwatch but with Overwatch League it just hit different. Every time I tuned in, it just felt like home to me, very welcoming. The casters and everyone behind the scenes are just amazing, the diversity of casters was unreal. Big love to all of them, I do hope they go on to more successful journeys. I'm sure this isn't the end 🧡🖤🤍💙
It's been the only esports league I've really cared much about. I hope it goes all Altered Beast and something rises from its grave
I was really tearing up when all the broadcaster’s came together on the stage for their final goodbye. OWL will truly be missed…
I didn't know who those people were until that broadcast, and that made me tear up. I feel my heart softening just thinking about it.
No it won't, Blizzard has been doing a pretty bang up job destroying Overwatch
HhahahHHaaa😂
In the memory of Overwatch League (2017-2023)
the sad end of overwatch as a whole... was like 3 years ago
how do people not see this? Not having hero bans just ruined this game
Soe was the Lena Oxton we all needed for the Overwatch League. Loved every single moment she was here. It is sad all of this came to an end when "Overwatch 2" just barely came out compared to the time we spent with the first iteration of the game.
I was never a fan of OWL, honestly ow is so weird, it's super fun to play but a snore to watch.
And still, that last speech by Soe had me wrecked, man. 😢
When I first started watching it was very confusing and boring because i didnt know anything. But once you get attached to certain teams/players and learn more about how the game works at that level i found it pretty entertaining and exciting
As much as I do rip on overwatch and everything associated with it, it does suck to see all this happening. I never was super into OWL but in 2018 and 2019 I watched it quite a bit and its unfortunate to see all this happening. Hopefully all the players from the teams find other work and ways to succeed!
To be completely honest, OWL was rushed into being in the first place. OWL was living on life support for YEARS, especially after Blizzard fucked over the fanbase for so long and gave a final fuck you to players by making OW2 so monetized and cutting out content they promised. As you said, "Its always upper management" and until you either get them to realize that they are the problem (they won't) or cut them off for good (but you need their money don't you? Their IP's? Etc?) its going to remain like this.
Corporate greed ruining the hard work of everyone involved.
Ironically the opposite of greed. Too ambitious of a project after dumping millions into it without much financial stability.
As someone who stopped playing due to the release and handling of OW2 (never even installed it) - the writing was on the wall and obvious.
This has to be one of the saddest moments of gaming. Feels like a good dream has ended.
Never cared for it but I feel bad for the people who loved it
Don't.
@@yutro213?
And now... bluzzard will forever be known as the company who makes pro leagues then lets them die. Star craft 2, world of warcraft, and now iverwatch. They threw them to the side aftermilking as much money as they could from their player base. Even wow is done from home now the only pro scene being world first raids. The pvp scene is gone.
Edit: look at riot, still has a pro league that's active and present, and they started WELL before OW you think they would have learned from riots example and made a system comparable that would support the pro league. No they wanted to triple profits by making skins and passes so expensive with little work that they doused their player base and set it ablaze. Stop putting money into the game. OW is dead in 3 years MAX
Damn, Zoye's speech really hurt. You see her and the whole crew fighting the tears :(
I haven't played OW since 2020 but I couldn't help to shed a tear and think of the great times past..
I hope it comes back in some form. Genuinely felt sad with that closing speech.
I remember LemonKiwi crying because she was told she would get to cast the last post season games and then at the last second they told her no. I'm happy she got to be a part of the whole show and even play in the show/talent game this time. Most of the chat was really impressed with both her sleeps and Fareeha's Phara. I'm happy they brought the whole gang together for the final show and let all the talent be there, but I wouldn't have minded a cameo by Bren and Sideshow too why not. It's a sad end to OWL yeah, but I wish the cast and crew and all the fans who watched along with me the best and thanks for keeping me company, in good times and bad (Gladiators fans know both lol).
I'm surprised it lasted that long considering OW hasn't been relevant in years and it's currently on it's last life line.
the streams consistently had 100-200k people watching live across youtube and twitch lol
@@Cravior 50k at best in the last few months
Part of the problem with Overwatch League was that they tried to make it seem local, with teams named after various cities. but the 9 times out of 10 the teams were all Korean. when every game is just 12 very similar looking Korean dudes facing off. None of whom speak a word of English. Its kind of hard to care about "your" team. Thats why the world cup is always better.
The casters, talent, and people who actively tried to make it a great final season of OWL did such a great job. Soe's speech got me very emotional, and seeing OWL go will be very tough to move forward with. Wishing the best to all the talent!!!
I never watched owl but it brought so much life to the community. Sad it's gone.
Same here man same here the game doesn’t feel like a community anymore
OWL inspired many of us to become the best players we could be. The commentators truly made the entire package so cozy and welcome.
Greed...Boy is it a dangerous thing 😢
Sad for everyone involved (especially those in the tournament, casters/players/desk/etc.) but you can't astroturf an esport. Blizzard made the same mistake with HoTS. HoTS has started the road to recovery (relatively speaking for how popular it is... anyway), so I hope OW can folloe suit.
watching all of this again made me cry all over again. i have made friends with a lot of the casters including, Soe, Danny, Jonny, Scott, Rosemary, all of them. i won't say good bye. but, i will say good journey to them all. cause they will live on through the journey and open new doorways to other adventures. Good Journey, my friends.
Good riddance they did WAY TOO MUCH harm to the game than it was worth.
I used to watch owl on my TV back in the day, I sure do miss old overwatch lack of content and all.
I never cared about the league, until this year when they allowed my country to earn tokens and of course, that's what I wanted, League tokens but then I got invested, Really invested with the teams, with the charismatic casters and players and of course Florida Mayhem, I was EXCITED! it was really good, and now I can't believe it might all come to an end.
I just hope the staff don't end up with Valorant or cs2, I can't watch that, but I want to keep up with them, and the players.
Is that a Hakos Baelz fan I see?
@@NavyNexus_ We have agents in every corner of the internet
So long overwatch league it was a good 6 years of watching , 2019 grand finales were the best watching the shock wipe the floor with the titans "shock the world ".
man, blizzard are really trying their hardest to butcher any remnants of what made overwatch lovable
I’ve not been into overwatch 2 I loved the original but anyone from a gaming back ground will be moved by this, I’m a huge gears of war player, and there is nothing better to bring people from all backgrounds together and that Is gaming, much love to all of you it’s us players that keep us together and moving forward ❤
Overwatch league has to be one of the worst esports viewer experiences I can remember. I cant believe they kept it going for as long as they did.
I was there live it was so sad Soe’s final words were beautiful will miss owl ggs to the all the players and teams throughout the years
There was so much heart in this.
It hurts to know where we're at now.
Thank you to everyone who made it the best game at the time.
The feels train on this one.
I never got into OWL but I'm happy to see some people did and had a great time
I remember you at the beginning with c9/spitfire and them winning the first season.
Kinda crazy how much great talent they have in this scene. Blizzard continues to fumble, like HELL.
Insane that it only lasted 6 years. When it started, I thought that it would be the model for esports leagues. Not even close.
They scrapped PvE for the sake of OWL, only for it to immediately shut down, what a dumpster fire :/
Everything this game could've been, everything it once was, is all fallen apart. Genuinely so sad that so much potential was wasted.
Bren big-brained it when he left for Valorant
Day 1 OWL Mayhem fan so for me things came full circle when they won the last season. What you pointed out about the Gilded Gala is very important. It's a real shame, Overwatch esports was indeed special and the community around it was unique.
Feel bad for the casters and players. The company needs a real wake up call
Until battle pass purchases dry up they wont. OW2 players deserve this.
I really enjoyed watching OWL but I wish that players were recruited from ladder or that players had a way to try out etc . I know the best players come from Korea but as a non Korean speaking american, I couldnt really relate or get into the league too much. I understand that teams wanna win so talent is more important than personality but that’s my feeling and think it would be nice to have seen Americans on the U.S. teams.
I think a reset is a good idea, and not necessarily even a bad thing for the game or the esport in general. From the beginning they probably should have let the competitive scene grow organically, it already was with the GosuGamers and Apex tournaments. OW esports will be back, in another form. Plus world cup is still on for this year! Super excited for that.
Given how badly OWL crashed out, after losing everyone involved 100s of millions each, combined with Blizzard's terrible reputation in general, and the decline of Overwatch in general, there is no way Overwatch will return to esports in a large scale way.
At best, you might have community tournaments, but it'll never be a huge draw ever again.
GG Blizz, you destroyed one of the greatest games of all time.
Agreed!
This game has disappointed me so much I’m now relishing in its down fall; which it did to itself.
this made me so sad....
Sad moment in esports history. The teams and casters did everything and did an amazing job over the years. I wish them all the best, I’m sorry blizzard put them in such an unfortunate situation.
GG’s man..
Soe and the crew were actually why I enjoyed watching OWL. Yes, the games were fun too, but the crew made it FUN to watch/listen for hours ❤
It's such a shame. I remember tuning into apex (the karaoke segments at the finals were always hilarious) and the early seasons of Overwatch League and there was so much passion and character behind it all. While the talent have always remained strong, the whole scene around them lost all of its vibrancy to the greed of the corporate suits. I've long since dropped watching Overwatch esports and I'm a bit blackpilled on whether the new plans will be any good, but we'll see.
Overwatch league was bleeding money for years, kinda happens when they abandon ow 1 for like 3 years
Blizzard is lucky they didn't get sued for fraud with how they suckered orgs into buying league spots. I'll just leave it at that
Overwatch died with 5v5 and FTP. It ruined the game for me, everyone on my friends list dropped off and og players in lobbies were gradually replaced by new players with no clue how to play the game. I hung on for PvE but when that died in a matter weeks I eventually gave up on the game too.
I never liked the overwatch league. It was forced instead of just happening naturally. Also the devs balanced the game for the league. Glad it’s dead. I don’t think it has any effect on weather the game lives or dies. I can’t imagine many people watching it who never played the game. I just don’t think esports can be like real sports. And that is probably where blizzard messed up the worst.
Also that woman’s speech means nothing to me. Sorry but it’s corny. They are losing a job that pays way to well. Of course they are sad.
Yeah she can say almost anything at that point and it will make people cry. People like her who used to blabber will have no problem making a speech like this on the spot.
I went from playing OW daily to only playing OW2 four times before uninstalling. Watching this has been painful, like watching someone you care about slowly pass before your eyes.
This is awesome! Finally blizzard with focus on actual players to balance the game other than a handful of players. Good! Let the league stay six feet under!!!!!
I think they need to build a more local competitive scene in different regions to build a community. I think that’s why the overwatch World Cup had a lot of hype and anticipation
Ngl I'm glad, OWL was a massive mistake. you can't force An Esport,
^^^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^^ I knew it was over when OWL's two best casters jumped ship to Valorant
This is what happens when you try to force something on your players which can be quite unstable, and needs to be driven by the fans.
Good riddance
im happy for being there at the peak of overwatch but sadly all the fall down over the years unfortunately affected the league as well, R.I.P OWL thanks for all the good memories
WE LOVE TO SEE IT . REST IN PISS OWL. WILL NOT BE MISSED
To the Casting Crew, that was a fitting speech to sign off what is the end of an incredible era. I hope they as well as the team crews and players all go on to bigger and better things, they've got the talent and the passion, no doubt they can do it.
What a damn shame. RIP 💀
OW2 esport will not be dead, when I take to consider, Hots have still tournaments for prize pools, even when game is officially dead _(no dev team for the game)_ .
"Big names" probably will do disappear, but its opportunity for smaller teams to play more accessible tournaments.
FINALLY!! THANK FUCKING GOD!!!! OWL was a huge mistake for the franchise. Nothing but a cash grab attempt on keeping hold of the hype that they had by a poorly execution rush into something that OW wasn't ready for. Now, hopefully, they can steer clear away from that bullshit and finally focus on the game and make it great again.
I loved OWL season 1. I'm a Londoner in real life and ofc I was supporting London Spitfire. There was a meet and greet in London. I've met you there too Sty, I've met with Profit, Birdring the whole Spitfire team, their adorable manager, Suzie Kim, and I got my (back then) comic book hardcover collection signed by all of them! One of the best days of OW for me. Over the years I lost interest and just watched to farm OWL Tokens. Sad that the era is over, curious about what comes next. Aces High!
Yes! I'm on the picture of the Guilded Gala :D
League was boring anyway without dafran
5:50 y’all had to be there in the stadium! The sound system was booming! Guxue’s Doom punches were insane to hear over the speakers
i'm very sad right now in general, and when this was happening, it just, i can't not cry. it's emotional overall
I always wanted to go there in real life but it appears that will never happen
You can't force an e-sport no matter how much money you throw at it. The game has to be good and it has to be GRASSROOTS. There needs to be a clear, direct path that players can follow from ladder to playing pro and that has NEVER existed. If you DON'T have the community pushing from the bottom the whole things collapses because that is what holds it up.