Beyond the world premieres, free swag, and culmination of the game industry’s hard work and creativity over the past year, panels are my favorite parts of E3. Sure, they’re one of the few areas with free seating. Yes, they’re usually hosted in corners away from the action and actually give you some space to breathe. But panels are so much more than an escape from classic E3 horrors. They’re a safe space to truly feel connected with your esports heroes—and celebrate how far gaming has come with the whole community.
Overwatch League (OWL) has already stolen my heart with its year-round Twitch broadcasts, infectious team spirit (if you’re like me, usually for multiple teams), and the ever-growing collection of memes and fan signs online. So, as you’d expect, this year (like last) I scoured the halls for any whiff of Overwatch in the premises. And I was ecstatic to find out Malik Forté, one of my favorite OWL hosts, was moderating a Q&A with a couple players from Atlanta Reign. Along with Atlanta’s player development coach Casores, flex support Kodak and main tank Gator would discuss the OWL scene, and answer questions from the audience shortly after.
Although the convention doors didn’t open until 2:00 PM, the panel started thirty minutes prior. I raced to find a seat, and was delighted when I had my pick from over half of them. To avoid disrupting the broadcast, I sat at the end of one of the middle rows. The team talked about which heroes they desperately want to play on the big stage (spoiler alert: any dive comp, the-pretty-much-nonexistent-thanks-to-Brig-hero Tracer specifically), how they settle their nerves playing in front of a massive global audience, and what it’s like playing their favorite games for a living. Atlanta has an awesome stage presence—Kodak even happily posed for a selfie someone was taking in front of me. It really is the little things.
Then came the Q&A. Fans asked about team trust, building team chemistry, preparing for game day. My question? It’s one probably a lot of us ask ourselves every time we have a bad comp night, and are unsuccessful replicating the strategies we see in OWL:
How does your mindset/playstyle change when you queue for competitive ladder play, as opposed to organized league play?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to literally (not literally) throw my Xbox out of my window after a bad night of Overwatch. Especially in anything less than a six stack. How are you supposed to trust a bunch of random people to perform their jobs, and outperform the enemy? Being hard-stuck high diamond/low masters on Xbox, I wondered if Top 500 PC players, OWL players nonetheless, shared this sentiment as well.
Their responses? Comforting. Gator explained how his expectations change drastically when he queues for comp. In fact, his expectations are nonexistent—for those very reasons I just mentioned. You simply can’t expect perfect execution of proven strategies from people you don’t consistently play with. Hell, you can’t (and shouldn’t!) even expect perfection from your teammates all the time. For comp, all you can do is hope the other five players you’re matched with want to win, and try to win, as much as you do. Kodak echoed his thoughts, saying you never know how things will go. All you can do is try your best.
Hearing all of this directly from the players I watch, and being in the same space, really made me feel close to them—like I was genuinely starting to understand them, professional gaming, and what it means to be part of a community. If you haven’t been to a panel yet this year, I highly recommend it. Your feet (and heart) will thank you. I know at the end of the day panels are press events, but there’s still something so special about human connection.
Because that’s what gaming’s all about, right?
