Ah, the C9 LUL.
Once an Overwatch in-joke, the C9 LUL has become a ubiquitous Twitch meme. Here’s where it started. During OGN Overwatch Apex season two in multiple matches between Cloud9 and Afreeca Freecs Blue, Cloud9 left the capture point uncontested while in overtime during otherwise winnable situations. It didn’t only happen once. It happened a few times throughout the course of the series, and Cloud9 ended up losing to Afreeca Blue 3-1.
C9 LULs happen all the time in competitive Overwatch, but they’ve been a plague at Overwatch Contenders. One Redditor put together a compilation to celebrate the meme in its Overwatch Contenders glory. (And it starts off with the original C9 LUL, too.)
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A couple of C9 LULs are missing, but they’ve got the best few. One of the more massive gaffs was during the Immortals vs. Rogue. While pushing the payload forward, Immortals had mere meters to reach the checkpoint. In overtime, players can’t leave the cart—and that’s exactly what Immortals did. All three players that were pushing the payload forward split from the cart at the same exact time, and the clock ran out.
The next few were a product of this weekend’s past Overwatch Contenders matches, where we got C9 LULs in both North America and Europe. First up, GamersOrigin C9 LULs in a match against Cloud9 themsevles on Numbani. But then—Cloud9 C9 LULs on Hanamura.
Lastly, over in North America, EnVision C9 LULs on Volskaya Industries against Team EnVyUs.
The week five Overwatch Contenders matches, despite being rife with C9 LULs, pushed the tournament forward into its sixth week. No team has been technically eliminated, but scores thus far have determined which teams have earned spots in the tournament playoffs. In Europe, Misfits and Team Gigantti have proved themselves worthy of a playoff spot, while Bazooka Puppiez are now unable to move on.
For North America, Team EnVyUs and FaZe Clan have earned playoff spots. EnVision, Rogue, and FNRGFE are left to fight for the last two spots, while Kungarna, Immortals, and Renegades are mathematically eliminated.
Overwatch Contenders resumes Sept. 22 with a full day of European Overwatch. It continues throughout the weekend with both Europe and North America.
