HSL Esports has been sent packing from the Overwatch Contenders Gauntlet without a map win after losing 3-0 to XL2 Academy and Talon Esports.
Talon Esports have been tagged the underdogs from the Pacific region that are underrepresented in the tournament.
The Italian side becomes the first team to be ousted on the first day of the tournament.
The game was held at the Giga Arena in Seoul, Korea, with a sold-out crowd. The crowd got value for their time by witnessing the first five matches for the teams in Group A.
Although there was not a whole lot of compositional diversity on display, this was due to the feature of chaos-heavy Orisa and Sigma composition, which was on every map in each series. All in all, it was a day of extraordinary matches that will pave the way for many exciting storylines going forward.
Talon stole the show when they began their day with a close five-map series against Element Mystic that has been rated as one for the tournament favorites.
With 16-year-old DPS sensation Patiphan Chaiwong leading the team, they were able to go toe-to-toe with the Korean heavyweight. As the match draws to a close, the opposing star DPS, Kim “SP9RK1E” Young-han, however, sealed the deal for Element Mystic (EM).
EM that was happy to talk smack about their opposition faced a challenge against Talon and later against XL2 Academy as the North American gave them a run for their money.
The team, however, still progressed as the top seed from their group. They will be hoping that their Doomfist star can continue to carry them forward.
Being the sole representatives from their region, the European squad were swept in consecutive matches against XL2 and Talon, which led to their elimination with a top-10 placing.
This means EM, Talon, and XL2 have moved into the gauntlet.
Gauntlet action will continue tomorrow. It will kick off at 9 pm CT on the Overwatch Contenders Twitch channel. The team competing at the time of filing this report are LGE Huya, Envy, Gladiators Legion, and Gen.
It’s sure going to be an entertaining moment.
Written by: Oladipupo Mojeed
