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Overwatch caster Jace takes a look back on the Overwatch esports finals at Insomnia 68 in Birmingham on the weekend.
Hello there ENUK readers, Jace here.
Insomnia’s return was greeted by three Overwatch finals, each featuring some of the most recognisable names currently still residing in the UK.
For the BYOC event that was entirely played out over the Easter weekend event, there were even players such as Theomatic and Dannedd jetting in to play for their respective teams.
In this short wrap up article, you will find a quick summary and some general thoughts of all the Overwatch that took place this weekend.
Belong Arena Spring 2022 Finals: Stratford Spartans vs Manchester Swarm
Casters: JacePT_ and Rhael
Belong Arena wrapped up its Overwatch spring 2022 split finals at Insomnia on Friday morning as the Stratford Spartans played the Manchester Swarm. I got to witness this game first-hand as I was on the mic for it alongside Rhael.
We saw the Spartans lift the trophy thanks to some great performances from the entire team in clutch moments. Jarew, who went on to win the BYOC tourney in his usual role, gave way to the main tank spot for Ailiseu.
Stratford’s Ball composition was so well executed thanks to Ailiseu in tandem with Disclosure’s lethal Zenyatta and Kurama’s tracer constantly finding value. When the aforementioned three were quelled in a fight, Tred, Moonsong and Jarew would just take over instead.
The Spartans ran away 3-1 winners in five maps as the deserved champions. Shoutout to Manchester who fought incredibly well – especially on Anubis and Havana. Jix and ADS clutching the overtime stall 2v6 should go down as one of the greatest plays the Belong Arena clash has ever seen.
Check out our full Belong Arena Clash winners roundup at Insomnia68 here.
NSE Campus Clash Spring 2022 Finals: Portsmouth Paladins vs Warwick Angels
Casters: Hopx and DaringHardOX
Anyone familiar with NSE will already know how these two teams are powerhouses – and they fought once again in the grand finals. The Portsmouth Paladins were looking for their 3peat whilst Warwick – with their unorthodox compositions led by Rosden and Meta1 – tried to dethrone the dynasty.
It went all the way to the end with five maps and overtime on the last control point.
With all the marbles and their pride on the line, Portsmouth rolled out on 6 Man for Nepal Village. Demonstrating an excellent understanding of objective control and tempo, the Paladins completed the three-peat denying the reverse sweep away, even forcing Hog OTP Rosden off the piggy in the dying moments.
Again, credit to the runners up – Meta1 and Rosden played suboptimal heroes delivering exceptional plays time after time again. But in the end… the synergy differential was real. This Portsmouth Paladins roster have been playing together in NSE and other tournaments for three years now and, honestly, it was going to take a miraculous achievement to knock them off their perch. Warwick almost did it.
Go back and watch this one here on the NSE Twitch channel. I thoroughly recommend it.
Read more about the NSE esports finals at i68 here.
Insomnia BYOC Overwatch: African Typhoon vs Mind Goblins
Casters: Legday and Gottmoxi
After three straight days of competing from the BYOC section, living off Nando’s and Subway, both African Typhoon (AT, pictued, top) and Mind Goblins rematched in the grand finals, as AT knocked MG into the lower bracket in the winners finals the day before.
These two were far and away the best two teams at the entire tournament. Unfortunately for Mind Goblin, the experience of African Typhoon individually managed to overcome the synergy Mind Goblin had with their entire roster present.
Ending in a 4-1 to AT, this final was again filled with so many micro battles. Strebor vs Sobek, HolyPig vs Condi and of course many hamster hostilities between Theomatic and Jarew as they faced off on Wrecking Ball in almost every map where it wasn’t a grief pick.
The dive compositions for both teams made for some great Overwatch on all four maps in this series. I hope to see the African Typhoon compete again together at another event. They looked clean.
I also want to shout out Mind Goblin and their team overall. It was great meeting them and hanging out for a few hours on the Saturday.
Closing thoughts on Overwatch at i68
Overall, I can say with confidence that if this is the last ever LAN event for Overwatch 1 here in the UK, then Insomnia and its co-existing events (Belong and NSE) did a great job with their competitions.
Thanks for reading this quick i68 Overwatch roundup, be sure to follow Esports News UK on Twitter for any and all things esports on our little island.
Take care and cya at i69. Nice.
Insomnia esports coverage powered by AGON by AOC – see the AGON League of Legends monitor here and more i68 esports news and coverage here
