Rogue, Cloud9 one step closer to ELEAGUE after second Overwatch Open quals

Two Overwatch teams are one step closer to playing the game on television, after the second set of qualifiers for FACEIT and ELEAGUE’s Overwatch Open this weekend.

In North America, Cloud9 scored the automatic berth, beating Splyce, Fnatic, and the former Luminosity Gaming roster to secure the second spot in the NA Regional finals. The team managed to avoid Team SoloMid, who have beaten them in their past few matches, thanks to an upset victory by a new look Team Liquid lineup. But Liquid fell to Luminosity, leading to Cloud9’s 3-0 sweep in the final.

Just two automatic qualifying spots remain now that Cloud9 and EnVyUs, who qualified last week, are into the regional. Four spots will be determined by points earned based off qualifier results. Currently, the former Luminosity lineup leads the standings with 36, followed by SoloMid at 30, and Splyce and Sodipop with 16. Fnatic and Liquid skipped the first qualifier, leaving them with 14 points apiece after their semifinal appearances this weekend.

In Europe, Rogue put together a strong showing to qualify, surviving the hardest bracket by beating ANOX, Creation eSports, and REUNITED in order to score a berth in the EU Regional Finals, where they will be joined by last week’s winner, Misfits.

Ranking at the top of the points standings in Europe are ANOX and REUNITED, who both have 30 points to their name. The ANOX team, featuring Quake legends Anton “Cooller” Singov and Alexei “Cypher” Yanushevsky, surprised the field by reaching the finals last week, beating both REUNITED and Rogue, but this time Rogue proved superior. REUNITED looked like a contender by reaching the final this week, but if there’s one team in Europe you’d expect to make it through next week, it’s probably Creation eSports, who have 28 points to their name. Creation lost in the semifinals to the eventual winners in each of the last two qualifiers, meaning they’re a bit unlucky to be ranked below ANOX and Reunited through two qualifying weeks. Rounding out Europe’s point standings are the new Luminosity (formerly 2sTroNk) with 22 and Finnish fighters SG-1 with 16.

Two more qualifying weeks remain, so if you want a chance to compete for part of the $300,000 in prizes and even to win your way onto primetime television, head over to the Overwatch Open website to register.