Valorant First Strike commentators diss the Overwatch League

Olivia Richman Published 03/12/2020

The Valorant First Strike EU quarterfinals have been entertaining fans all day.

But a lot of viewers have taken to the Twitch chat to voice their preference for North American Valorant players. This might be due to that region’s larger list of big personalities, including Matthew “Wardell” Yu and Yassine “Subroza” Taoufik on TSM, former Overwatch League MVP Jay “sinatraa” Won, and Andrej “babybay” Francisty on FaZe Clan.

Their flashier playstyle has led to more exciting moments and montages, but Europe shouldn’t be counted out just yet. Team Liquid’s Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom created an impressive highlight reel of headshots during the squad’s match against Heretics.

But a lot of the attention during that back and forth match went to the commentators. Lauren “Pansy” Scott has been especially entertaining throughout the broadcast, not afraid to hold back her strong opinions about the action. Some of her opinions, however, have been a little too spicy for other casters.

BROOOO LMAO @pansy pic.twitter.com/1759pLWO6U
— SIMO (@simowastaken) December 3, 2020

During Team Liquid and Heretic’s close second game, Pansy was reminded of sinatraa and mentioned how he’d properly utilize Sova on a specific map. The other caster claimed he wasn’t aware who sinatraa was.

“You don’t like that other game?” Pansy joked, hinting at sinatraa’s previous career with San Francisco Shock in the OWL.

The other caster quickly said “no.”

“You don’t play? I don’t think many people do,” Pansy added.

Valorant vs. Overwatch debate continues

Valorant has consistently been compared to Overwatch, since the first-person shooter seems to have borrowed Overwatch’s use of abilities. Many Overwatch League pros were also quick to move to Riot Games’ new title, most likely seeing a lot of promise even before an official competitive scene was announced.

Former Overwatch League player Felix “xQc” Lengyel was quick to point out the similarities when the Valorant closed beta first started. The controversial streamer noted that “washed up” Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players wouldn’t stand a chance against Overwatch players. But CSGO veterans have started to prove that statement wrong, winning most of the game’s cash prizes since the game’s debut.

While CSGO players seem to have the upper hand mechanically, Overwatch players appear to have a better grasp on ability usage, which has made them just as entertaining to watch.

Is Overwatch dying?

Overwatch is not as much a dead game as Pansy hinted at. The game boasted 10 million monthly users in a recent Blizzard report. Still, the OWL saw a huge viewership drop in 2020. The peak match this year had a little over 183,000 viewers at its peak.

Viewership comparison of Overwatch League 2020 & 2019. #OWL @overwatchleague
Statistics exclude Chinese platforms. TOP matches: 2020 – @SFShock vs @SeoulDynasty 2019 – @SFShock vs @VancouverTitans Read more in our new blog:https://t.co/FqW59GpRoX pic.twitter.com/FnhPQUGRqs — Esports Charts (@EsportsCharts) October 22, 2020

While this is definitely low compared to other esports, First Strike has seen about 30,000 average viewers for the quarterfinals thus far. So maybe it’s a little quick to throw punches at Overwatch League.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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