The Birdman – Seagull’s debut with EnVyUs went as planned early this morning as they brushed fourth seed FNRGFE aside to advance into the finals of the Overwatch Contenders Season 1 for North America. Subbing in for Mickie,  Seagull marked his first official EnVyUs appearance on his trademark Pharah on Oasis and along with Taimou on McCree and Effect in the lineup, saw a triple DPS setup from the Boys in Blue.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09XBzYaPmZs&w=560&h=315]

Seagull’s second map appearance was even more impressive as less than five seconds in, he took out Suds right out of the sky with a direct hit. This encapsulates how EnVy has improved exponentially just by the addition of a projectile specialist and it is hard to see beyond them for North America’s greatest hope at the upcoming Overwatch League.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09XBzYaPmZs?start=393&w=560&h=315]

Some may worry for Mickie’s place in the team but we are confident that Seagull isn’t a replacement of him, but rather an option to keep their opponents guessing. The unpredictability of the EnVyUs lineup following Seagull’s inclusion casts away the EnVyUs of old who were pretty rigid in their approaches. Chips who ran a Pharmercy combo with Seagull should not be forgotten as his brilliant positioning and game sense ensured Seagull remain dominant in the skies while Effect and Taimou cleaned house.

As it stands, EnVyUs (or Dallas Fuel) is currently the best non-Korean team in the professional scene at the moment. North America finally have a fighting chance against Lunatic-Hai and Cloud9 KongDoo.

In the other Contenders Playoff match for North America, FaZe Clan will be the team standing in EnVyUs’ way in the final as they brushed aside Envision esports despite losing the first map. Convincing wins on Hollywood, Volskaya and Route 66 locked in a 3-1 win and a shot at the $40,000 prize as champions. The last time EnVy met FaZe Clan, EnVy walked out comfortable winners at 3-1, only surrendering the sole point to FaZe clan via overtime play on Hanamura. With Seagull on board, we see that scenario repeating itself, if not better in EnVy’s favor.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SaWoG8v8fQ&w=560&h=315]

No surprises on the EU side of things as both Misfits and Team Gigantti lived up to expectations to move on to the finals. However, C9 didn’t make it easy for Misfits as they forced a fifth map to decide their tie by defying the odds and tying the score 2-2 with a win on Watchpoint Gibraltar. Misfits who only lost two points in the entire regular season found themselves in a situation foreign to them – actually staring at a potential defeat – but managed to pull everything together to secure an easy win in the deciding map on Ilios.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EjlUdciInE&w=560&h=315]

Team Gigantti vs 123 was a much tighter affair than the 3-0 score suggested as both teams didn’t give an inch to their opponents but in the end, Gigantti’s collective chemistry and experience won them the day. They will meet the only team to have defeated them all season in Misfits who earlier showed some vulnerability in their match against C9.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McE4hWq7rVM&w=560&h=315]

The final match for Overwatch Contenders Season 1 for NA and EU takes place tomorrow morning (Kuala Lumpur/ Singapore/ HK) and you can catch it live on Twitch.

First up will be Misfits vs Team Gigantti which will start about 1AM Kuala Lumpur/ Singapore time.

Next up, the match most of us are most excited about – EnVyUs vs FaZe Clan will start at about 530AM Kuala Lumpur/ Singapore time. Don’t feel like staying up late? Fret not. We will be bringing you the full roundup of it Monday morning with post-match reports and analysis.