This week’s Overwatch League News Rundown is highlighted by the emergence of new hero Hammond, NYXL’s $10,000 fan tournament and misconduct by one of the members of the L.A. Gladiators
1)NYXL Announces Fan Tournament
The league-leading NYXL have announced a fan-tournament that will take place in New York City during the week of the Overwatch League Grand Finals. The event will take place on July 26th at Sony Hall in New York and run from 4 pm EST until midnight. There will be a number of activities taking place throughout the event, starting with a panel featuring industry professionals including commentators Semmler and Hex and hosted by cosplayer Mica Birton.
Following the Q and A, the actual tournament will take place, and it will pit eight NYXL players against eight top-ranked New York area Overwatch League players for a shot at a $10,000 cash prize. In order to qualify for the competition, players have to live within 75 KM of Manhattan and register for one of the two qualifiers which will take place at 2:00 PM on July 8th and 15th respectively. After the tournament, the afterparty will kick off and feature live DJ’s as well as giveaways and arcade cabinet competitions. The event looks like it will be a great way to kick off the Overwatch League Grand Finals although the atmosphere will probably vary depending on if the NYXL have been eliminated yet or not.
2) Hammond Joins the Fray
Even though the newly announced hero Hammond won’t be making his debut until the second season of the Overwatch League, players are already giving us a taste at the insanity that this new character will bring. Most notably is Branden ‘Seagull’ Larned, who has embraced the new hero wholeheartedly, and created some great moments along the way.
a) The swinging-est hero in Overwatch.
b) Hamster on fire.
c) Never C9 again!
3)iRemiix Fined
L.A. Gladiators Main Tank player Luiz ‘iRemiix’ Galarza Figueroa has been fined $2000 for using homophobic slurs on stream. The L.A. Gladiators announced the suspension on their official Twitter and went on to reinforce that the team is committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment for all fans.
This is not the first time that Overwatch League players have been fined for exhibiting homophobic behaviour on stream, but this is the first time that a player hasn’t been suspended for their actions. That being said, seeing as iRemiix hasn’t had much of any playing time since the arrival of stellar tank player Chan-hyung ‘Fissure’ Baek in Stage 2, a suspension wouldn’t have any effect anyway. Shortly after the incident iRemiix posted a letter of apology which is featured below.
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