It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Chinese Overwatch. Starting on November 11, the Aurora Cup, another Chinese tournament, took place on days the Pro-Chaser Association wasn’t competing. The Aurora Cup invited not only Chinese teams, but also Korean, Pacific, and Oceanic teams to participate, including several teams already playing in the PCA. For those teams, especially the ones that advanced into the Aurora Cup playoffs bracket, the past week and a half have been nothing short of exhausting. “I’m so tired,” Jimmy of Raymomo Fishball wrote on Bilibili. “There have been too many matches lately. I don’t have the energy to stream.”
The Aurora Cup ended just today, with the non-PCA teams Once Again and HaeJeokDan facing each other in the finals. (Led by Mag and Viper, HaeJeokDan won in a one-sided 4-0 stomp.) While the tournament was still going on, however, the Aurora Cup matches provided an interesting preview into the relative strength of PCA teams. What does Capere CAT’s 3-1 Aurora Cup win over Team CC mean for next week’s PCA Upper Bracket Final? Have Raymomo Fishball really improved that much? And why is LiGe of Team CC constantly playing Mauga?
Certainly One of the Metas of All Time
Imagine: you are the demon that possesses the Overwatch balance team to release a controversial meta-disrupting patch whenever an esports playoffs is on the horizon. Some of your greatest hits include double shield in 2019, Bastion at the 2023 Overwatch World Cup, and the bizarre Roadhog-Zarya meta that allowed the Washington Justice to place third in the 2020 Overwatch League North America playoffs. Soon, the highly-anticipated OWCS Finals event will be held in Stockholm. What will you do?
If you’ve been following Overwatch esports recently, you already know the answer: buff Mauga.
We are currently in the throes of a Mauga-Reaper rush meta, which came about after the most recent patch on November 12 buffed Mauga’s Overrun ability. So far, Chinese teams in the PCA playoffs have not been adhering to the Mauga composition as strictly as teams from other regions. Aside from Mauga, PCA teams have also run comps featuring Orisa, Zarya and Junker Queen. (Raymomo Fishball avoid Mauga like the plague, probably because Lateyoung’s Mauga isn’t up to par.) We will see whether this trend continues next week, or whether we are destined to watch two Maugas stand and shoot at each other in the PCA Grand Final.
So We Meet Again
On Saturday, Team CC won against Raymomo Fishball in a tense seven-map series, echoing their previous 4-3 victory over Oldest Pro last season. Throughout the series, Team CC generally stuck to the Mauga rush composition, though they occasionally mirrored Raymomo Fishball’s Zarya comp on less rush-friendly maps like Junkertown.
Unlike Team CC, Raymomo Fishball streamed their comms this match, giving viewers a window into their mentality and decision-making. The team had trouble keeping their cool as the match went on, and were perhaps overconfident in their ability to win in the Zarya mirror. After losing Runasapi, rookie main support JY sounded distraught about his poorly-timed Brig ult in the final fight. Veteran flex DPS Jinmu tried to comfort him. “I feel like you’re getting more and more stressed,” Jinmu said. “Everyone has a bad ult from time to time. Just play well normally, and you’ll be fine. There’s no need to think too much about these things.”
(Jinmu may have sounded like a voice of wisdom in that moment, but he also forgot to unmute his mic at the beginning of King’s Row. He only noticed his mistake when his team was halfway through pushing to Point B.)
Ultimately, Team CC were the better and more consistent team that day, but Raymomo Fishball has made a commendable improvement this season. Before the Aurora Cup, Raymomo Fishball released Tomato, a tank player who role-swapped to main support, and picked up JY, formerly of Levi’s Squad. Levi’s Squad, a team composed of players with practically no tournament experience, had been knocked out in the PCA Group Stage after losing every one of their matches, but on Raymomo Fishball, JY proved to be an active shot caller and a solid Brig player. The new-and-improved Raymomo Fishball roster even won 3-1 against Team CC in the Aurora Cup.
Team CC and the Raymomo Fishball core (Jimmy, Jinmu and Lateyoung) are old rivals by now. They have already played against each other in the PCA four times, and once more in the Aurora Cup. They could very well face off again in the Grand Final, but Team CC will have to defeat a formidable opponent in the Upper Bracket Final first — Capere CAT, with its terrifying DPS duo of Apr1ta and Becky, have already beaten Team CC in the Aurora Cup.
Three Stars
In a Mauga rush meta, when a Reaper player can secure Play of the Game by pressing Q inside Juno’s Orbital Ray and Mauga’s Cage Fight, it can be difficult to identify truly impactful players. This week, I tried my best.
Third Star: Estrella (Team XX)
As a hyper-flex player who swaps between tank and DPS, Estrella is a unique addition to the Team XX roster. He showcased his flexibility throughout Team XX’s 4-0 victory over Young Blood, playing Zarya, Mauga, D.Va, and Junker Queen. He also took over Reaper duty in Team XX’s match against Capere CAT. Plus, his in-game tag is 身份证开头310 (“My ID card number starts with 310”), which is hilarious.
Second Star: JY (Raymomo Fishball)
As a young rookie steadily gaining competitive experience through these tournament matches, JY is exactly the kind of player the Pro-Chaser Association was created for. High-level Chinese main supports are few and far between these days, so JY is an exciting new prospect in the Chinese scene. His Brigitte 5k on Runasapi was even featured in the “Top 5 Plays” video the PCA put out for this week.
First Star: Kaneki (Team CC)
Kaneki was dealt a bit of a bad hand last season. During some of his most memorable moments, he was forced into Mei jail and comically, egregiously outclassed by better Mei players like Argon of Team XX. The meta has been kinder to Kaneki this time around, giving him the opportunity to get Dragonblade multi-kills on his signature hero, Genji.
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