This article is part of our Overwatch Recap series.
On the final day of Intel Extreme Masters Gyeonggi in Gyeonggi, South Korea, the two best Overwatch teams in South Korea battled for supremacy and the $50,000 grand prize. Tensions were high as both teams came into their match with a winning streak, but only one would come out on top. At the end of the day, LuxuryWatch managed to triumph over Lunatic-Hai and become the first ever IEM Overwatch champions.
Grand Finals
Having defeated Misfits and Afreeca Freecs Blue to reach the finals, Lunatic-Hai had high expectations coming into the series. They showed why in Game 1 with a phenomenal defensive performance on Hollywood. While LuxuryWatch Red were able to take the first point on their first push, Lunatic-Hai kept them from reaching the checkpoint, and arguably looked the best they would all night. Ryu "Ryujehong" Je Hong would show why he's still regarded as one of the best Anas in the world, picking up a couple of kills and carrying the defensive efforts on support. When it came time to attack, Lunatic-Hai weren't as explosive as LuxuryWatch out of the gate, but managed to teamfight their way to a win, pushing past LuxuryWatch in a gritty Game 1.
Lunatic-Hai's success was short lived as Game 2 would turn out to be the beginning of the end. Lunatic-Hai had a hard time on the offensive side of Eichenwalde, failing to push the cart all the way in and getting halfway through the second checkpoint. When it came time for LuxuryWatch to attack, their strong dive comp blew Lunatic-Hai out of the water, notably Hwang "Nanohana" Yeon Oh's sublime Genji and Soldier: 76. While Kim "EscA" In-jae would find some defensive rhythm on Mei, it wasn't enough to keep LuxuryWatch from taking Game 2 to tie up the series.
#IEM#IEMGyeonggi 1st LW Red #overwatchpic.twitter.com/eoKleDTqyr
— yong woo 'kenzi' kim (@kenzi131) December 18, 2016
Things got progressively better for LuxuryWatch as the series went on, with LuxuryWatch putting on a control clinic on Lijiang Tower. In Map 1 on Night Market, Nanohana would again lead the charge for his team, this time on Mei. Moving around the map as a cohesive ball of death, LuxuryWatch rolled over Lunatic-Hai with a clean 100-0 score. LuxuryWatch continued the onslaught on the second round, dominating Garden. Jang "Luna" Gyeong-ho was huge for his team on Zenyatta, managing his discord orbs to allow their high damage composition to tear through Lunatic-Hai's four tanks. With another 100-0 drumming, LuxuryWatch took control of the series heading into Game 4.
Lunatic-Hai looked to bounce back on Route 66, but got stuffed up right out of the gate. It was hard to tell whether Nanohana's Soldier: 76 had his ultimate or not, as his aim was simply out of this world. With a performance that will put Nanohana in the "Best DPS in the World" conversation, LuxuryWatch held a floundering Lunatic-Hai to just one checkpoint. In their attacking round, LuxuryWatch again utilized a hyper-aggressive dive composition, tearing through Lunatic-Hai. After reaching the checkpoint in their first push, LuxuryWatch looked unstoppable. LuxuryWatch Red would snowball their momentum to deadly effect, taking down Lunatic-Hai and taking the game for the 3-1 series win. With a crisp and high-risk play style, LuxuryWatch destroyed the tank meta en route to becoming the first ever IEM Overwatch champions and the $50,000 grand prize.
