As the group stages progress, OGN Overwatch Season 3 already has reached one of its most critical matches: Rogue vs. Kongdoo Panthera, with Rogue threatening to put Kongdoo on the backfoot in the standings. Thankfully for KDP, they stay viable after the day's games, while Afreeca Freecs Blue showed X6-Gaming the difference between a veteran and amateur team.
Afreeca vs X6-Gaming
Map 1: Oasis (Control) - Afreeca
Map 2: Hollywood (Capture/Escort) - Afreeca
Map 3: Temple of Anubis (Assault) - Afreeca
Afreeca Freecs Blue swept the floor with X6 with three crushing victories. While X6 had a chance to take the first point on Oasis, its inexperience reared its ugly head as X6's team compositions showed no signs of flexibility. As they say, if you can't bend then you'll just break. X6 lost 0-2 on Oasis, and failed to capture the point A on the second map, Hollywood.
AFB showed off a strat with Orisa and Torbjörn: Orisa protected the turret with her shield, which greatly delayed X6 and made it easy to execute a full hold on defense. AFB immediately captured point A when it was its turn on offense, bringing the game to match point. The final map, Temple of Anubis, was a slaughterfest for AFB's Jeong "ArHaN" Weon-hyeop. ArHaN's Genji sharpened his blades with each kill, able to make the most out of every opportunity created by his team to massacre X6 and secure a 3-0 victory.
Rogue vs. Kongdoo
Map 1: Oasis (Control)- Kongdoo
Map 2: Numbani (Capture/Escort) - Kongdoo
Map 3: Hanamura (Assault) - Rogue
Map 4: Route 66 (Escort) - Kongdoo
France's Rogue faced its next test against South Korea's Kongdoo Panthera, but the hype around the team would go through some turbulence as it lost the first two maps of Oasis and Numbani. Both maps were very well fought by both teams, able to exploit weaknesses and exhibit well coordinated teamwork, but KDP, having lost a 3-2 series to reigning champions Lunatic-Hai, tapped into that experience to great effect. Able to show off their strengths again, KDP's Kim "birdring" Ji-hyuk pierced through Rogue's undefeated streak on both Widowmaker and Tracer.
Rogue was able to win an assault map, which was a concern about the team's strengths and weaknesses, so even when Rogue won in a crushing time on Hanamura, they still had to trek through Route 66 to try to bring it to a Game 5. Both teams escorted the payload until the end but in the timebank stage, Kongdoo Panthera severed the ropes holding up the undefeated streak, and sent the french squad crashing back into the ground while keeping their playoff dreams alive.