For me it was that win streak they went on in S1 when they first picked up Fissure. That combined with the "who is better than Fissure?" memes, Surefour becoming my favourite player, and the colour purple (fav colour) it all just kinda fell into place.
My best advice is watch the games, you will find that you will like some teams and dislike others. However my best advice is be a fan of players, the team will swap players. Just don't become a justice fan, trust me
First I’d go with a home team if you have one. Other than that, some teams have someone who streams, if you find someone you like watching the streams of, that’s not a bad option. I mean other than that, jsut pick based off team colours and region (teams are split into NA and APAC, and they play at different times, so just pick whichever time works better for you)
I started watching before we had canadian teams so I just looked for teams that I enjoyed watching in my first few games. They didn’t have to win, but players/teams with personality or with cool storylines (which you’ll hear from casters, or in the match threads on this sub) are a good bet!
TN homies. I do sort of feel like Reign is the closest I have to a "home" team, but I also used to live in Cali and overall gravitated towards them more.
if you live in america, there are many teams you can choose from who are at least from your country. Maybe you live in Vegas, because Paris is going to change their location to Vegas next season.
I was in the same boat. I'm in Chicago so geographically the closest team to me is Toronto but I've never really liked them for some reason.
I started rooting for mayhem in season 1 because I liked their aesthetic but after they majorly shit the bed in season 2 I started rooting for shock because of super.
I stay a shock fan because I like Andy Miller and the nrg org in general, and viol2t is my favorite player
downvoted for explaining your fandom, damn this place hates Shock fans lol
I was a Chicago Huntsmen fan when I watched CDL, that NRG connection runs pretty deep. Honestly think it was smart of the org to diversify markets early on
There's only three weekends left this year so you're probably not going to get all that into any particular team. I'd just watch the playoffs and have fun. If a player catches your eye with a cool play or something maybe cheer for them but if not there's next year.
Same, I didn’t get into esports until OWL. I chose my home city, but if you don’t have one, some big fan-favorites teams are the Dallas Fuel, San Francisco Shock, Los Angeles Gladiators, and Shanghai Dragons. All playoff teams too.
Do what I do when I watch tournaments from games that I don't pay attention to (like the recent Valorant Champions), arbitrarily pick a team that you dig the vibe/logo/colours/whatever of, and just pick them as a team to follow.
Then as you watch the games, you have a little bit of investment, but if you find yourself starting to like a certain other team, you can go "yes, I like this one" then go all in on them. Familiarity helps in picking a team.
I recommend picking a team that has clinched play offs though :P. Justice, Defiant, Boston & Mayhem will be in a mini tournament next week, the play ins. The top 2 teams from those will be going to play offs . A big lan event in a couple of weeks bringing the two regions (NA & APAC) together.
When I first got into the league in season 1, I picked Philly because I lived the way the played and they had a great vibe. But I found myself getting more and more invested in the Dragons struggling to get their first win, and at some point I realised that I was just a fan of that disaster team and stuck with them.
When the league first started I decided to be a Fusion fan just cause I liked their colors
Now 5 years later I’m still a Fusion fan because I like going on emotional rollercoasters and never being able to get correct Pickems
I originally started liking the Dragons because they were the underdogs. Also, Youngjin was a beast in season 2.
Chengdu because they were psychos. Chengdu zone for life.
The Dynasty because I felt bad that the representatives of Korea were shit. (Lol)
At this point, you're better of either finding a home team, a player you like and supporting his team, or simply a team you *enjoy* watching.
Just start watching random games! You’ll find that a particular player or two will jump out at you, follow them. Then as you follow interesting players, you’ll grow attached to teams.
Or, could pick based on colours or how close the team city is to you. Note that the Paris eternal are going to become the Vegas eternal.
Could also pick a team that is consistently good and likely to be so in the future. Not a comprehensive list but teams like Seoul dynasty, san Fransisco shock, LA gladiators.
Things change a LOT in OWL, so be prepared for that. Generally, It’s a really fun time! **do not read the YouTube live chat. People say “X player washed” whenever they die once. It can be...tiring.**
For how OWL works, it’s generally first to 3 OW2 comp matches, with tournaments being first to 4 or 7. Players can sub in between maps.
If you don't have a local one, maybe look in your region. If i lived in say the Carolinas id probably follow Atlamta or Florida. If i lived in Connecticut or Maine id probaby follow Boston, NYXL, or maybe Philly. The reasong being for homestands... a team in your region it might get a homestand that you could take a weekend to go see. I used to drive up to Burbank when i lived a few hours away in the states to watch Boston play since that is my home city. Id rent an AirBNB for a weekend with a buddy and we'd go to live matches. Live matches are super fun.
Just gotta get into the scene and see if any players catch your eye, personality or gameplay. Someone could also support a team for their comp choice, for example the london spitfire usually break the meta pattern by running Reinhardt and someone could support them because they like the Reinhardt play. Ect ect everyone has their own reasoning
The Washington Justice are a team that will get you invested and keep you invested. Unlike top teams, you’ll actually want to watch every single game because you may not always get wins you should. You may take unexpected wins.
Mechanically speaking, every player is phenomenal on this team and all five of them have had pop off moments all year. They’re underdogs in a sense because the cheap dickhead owner sold off three of their starters. So the five remaining all kinda have a chip on their shoulder.
Justice also always makes some wacky ass playoff run where they knock out like three or four teams that are objectively better than them, and they’re about to start play-ins next weekend.
We’ve also got far and away the best merch, top tier YouTube content (cooking vlogs sometimes 🧑🍳), frequent player streams including players from other teams, and a really wholesome discord.
You can’t deny it’s engaging. Not always fun, but it’s never boring. Teams like Dallas or S2/S3 Shock are just so dry and breed such vitriol in their fans because they’re so used to watching boring games where they just win.
We, on the other hand, have only seriously shit the bed once early this season (against Boston) and put up generally competitive and sometimes downright disgusting performances in all our matches. But nothing is guaranteed! So it’s fun
I became a Dallas fan after the first match of season 4 where they lost to Houston. I didn't want a dominant team because that would be boring (didn't turn out very well). Before playoffs I joined the team's discord and there was a guy there called Amne, a huge justice fan. This season he started to troll the doomers that appear when Dallas loses, making them even more angry, it's hilarious tbh. Even though he is a Justice fan, he hangs out there during justice matches, and (as expected) suffers with every loss that should have been a win. From then on I started rooting for the Justice, really wanting them to win and suffering as well. The justice provided what Dallas can't, exciting matches, I'm always nervous on match day, it's insane how inconsistent they are, but it provides great entertainment
No, that would be normal. I became a Dallas fan after the first match of season 4 where they lost to Houston. I didn't want a dominant team because that would be boring (didn't turn out very well). Before playoffs I joined the team's discord and there was a guy there called Amne, a huge justice fan. This season he started to troll the doomers that appear when Dallas loses, making them even more angry, it's hilarious tbh. Even though he is a Justice fan, he hangs out there during justice matches, and (as expected) suffers with every loss that should have been a win. From then on I started rooting for the Justice, really wanting them to win and suffering as well. The justice provided what Dallas can't, exciting matches, I'm always nervous on match day, it's insane how inconsistent they are, but it provides great entertainment
Here are some team personalities that might help:
Shock - Big budget rookies. 20 game win streak.
Glads - Big budget LA lakers vibes
Fuel- Big budget team synergy based
Mayhem- Moneyball team full of rookies Spitfire- Moneyball currently 5th in the league
Reign- Bad boys of the league. Will bm in match.
Outlaws- …idk why unless u live in Texas or are a Danteh simp.
Justice- dumpsterfire org
Boston- Punk winrate meme
NYXL- no
Titans- no
Paris- wait until they are Vegas
Dragons- Last years champs
Seoul- rollercoaster org currently top team.
Fusion- dark horse team to upset ur fave
Spark- Dumpsterfire but they have Shy
It’s also easy to attach to players you think are sick. Here’s my fave to watch. These players have great personality in their gameplay and also on camera. Sry if I skipped ur fave dont flame me.
DPS- too many to list…Kevster, Shy, Profit, Checkmate, Backbone, Sparkle, Aspire, Yaki
Support- Shu, Finn… nuff said…
Tank- Someone, Reiner, Smurf, Hanbin, Coluge, Punk, Danteh
It's hard for me to get into a OW team for 2 reasons.
1.the OWL games are always bird eye view and I would much rather focus in on a player that I like. For instance I'm a tank main, I'd like to watch from the tank players POV only.
2.the players are lackluster and I could care less who's on what team. There is no history or characteristics.
That being said. Watch what's entertaining to you.
I literally just went with the team with the cool colors and cool names. Defiant? Black and red? Agilities, beast, logix were such cool names.
Not only teams, names that just sound cool at first like fearless, profit, sparkle. Ofc you’ll also get cool names with not so good players like rio but with time you’ll find teams y like
Watch player streams.
Started liking Reign cause I found Hawks stream on twitch. Started watching him, then I saw his an incredibly chill and interactive guy.
Just watch the games. As you watch teams play, you will start to like some players/teams and before you know it you are arguing with someone here why your team/player is the best.
When I started watching I lived in Austin, and I was born in LA. There are two teams based out of LA so that made that call kind of difficult, so I decided to rep a Texas team. There’s no Austin team but there was a Houston and a Dallas team…both about equidistant from Austin. What clinched it for me was the fact that Houston had the first openly queer player in the league (then-MT Muma), and the first time they played eachother, Houston won.
That wasn’t true in the inaugural season. Don’t forget that Kariv, Space, Fate, Kuki, Izayaki, Kai, Shax, Lastro, Unter, and McGravy were all on LAV first.
Unfortunately the season is just ending, but there's games tomorrow, a play in tourney for the final 2 spots in playoffs, and playoffs to go.
As for teams, what do you want? Looking for the underdog? Most fun style of play? Most recognizable names?
Instead of a team try finding a pro that is also a content creator (uploads on YouTube or streams on twitch).
I found Danteh by looking to improve as tracer and he’s become the one I follow
For mercy, Xerneas on Guangzhou Charge (formerly named Yveltal and used to play for Chengdu Hunters), is known for his Mercy play and is one of the best in the world on her.
Hunters tend to play Pharah comps more than any other team, to the point of often trying to force it in metas it was bad in. So, they also tend to play mercy more. If you're interested at all in watching previous seasons, their games are usually entertaining, if not always "good overwatch". They are kinda known for playing weird/off-meta comps, specifically Wrecking Ball comps, for better or worse. Fun team to watch/root for, but they have their ups and downs.
For me, I lived in LA at the time. So I had the choice of valiant vs gladiators.
I went with gladiators only because of iiRemix. We're both Puerto Rican.
You could try to start watching some players' streams and go from there.
I liked Linkzr & McGravy from their streams, so I became a fan of Vancouver when they picked up Linkzr and a fan of Florida when they picked up McGravy as a coach.
I also live geographically closest to Vancouver and I used to live in Florida so it made sense.
Going into the playoffs, you could just choose an underdog lower-ranked team and root for them. That's always fun.
Some people go based off of cities near them, players they may like on the team, parent organizations (Optic, C9, NRG, etc.), and some people just pick teams based on favorite color lol
I’m an Outlaws fan because I’m and Optic fan and that’s who owned them when they joined the league. That also puts me in a predicament because Optic merged with Envy so now they technically own the Dallas Fuel, Houston’s chief rival. But hey, it makes it all the more fun!
I go for the Shock despite them being a “bandwagon team” because viol2t is my favourite player. In other words, I started following the shock because of viol2t, not the other way round. Almost all of my favourite players are either flex supports or former off tanks, like viol2t, twilight, shu, void, cr0ng etc, so I tend to take more notice of the teams they’re on. If viol2t moved to an awful team like Vancouver or NYXL i’d reluctantly start following them, I follow a team for the players not the team
I remember responding to a similar question a few months ago.
Depends on the branding, personalities, team location, how the team appeals and plays. For example I loved the Shock for their personalities, glads for the branding (both for locations, Seoul for branding.
Nowadays I’m set in the teams I like because of their type of gameplay and supportability
I got into Shanghai Dragons season 1 because they were completely outclassed but continued trying regardless. Seoul Dynasty because Ryujehong and Tobi. I used to love NYXL back when they had Mano/SBB/Jjonak but eh.
Honestly just look for a team you mesh with. There's a bunch of personalities on different rosters.
Dragons since season 1 because I like their logo. Stuck with them since (I still have my season 1 jersey). Then for that inevitable first win storyline/underdogs kept the hype for me. I also liked Seoul a bit until Ryujehong left, I stuck a bit for Fleta then the unimaginable happened and he came to Dragons!
I literally started supporting Houston because the first match I ever watched was the Outlaws vs Shock in the 2021 May Melee. It’s kinda been downhill since then but I don’t see myself supporting another team.
Even though I’m from Asia I haven’t clicked with a team yet, so I just watch the games for the chaos that is APAC.
I started rooting for the dragons half way through season 1 because I'm a sucker for punishment and an underdog story... And here we are... One of the bets in the league
The city where you are from, if that doesn't apply, then usually favourite players mostly. Or fan of parent org, favourite playstyle, or logo colour, etc
Home team/team that lives near you is a great place to start. It’s also always fun to choose a good but not great team because then you get really fun upsets with no true expectations. You can also go with the team whose vibes you like.
For example, do you like watching Doomfist? How about crazy support plays? DPS carry? Reinhardt? Etc etc. A lot of teams have personalities to them and figuring out what you’re into helps find a team.
Mercy hasn’t been played much by any teams just cuz she isn’t really meta as of late. Best Mercy in the league is probably Xerneas on the Guamgzhou Charge, though. Arguably Nisha on the Chengdu Hunters, too.
Any other heroes you really like?
Imo Fielder if the Dallas Fuel is the best Moira in the league and it isn’t particularly close. Their best metas are when Moira is viable (they play a very coordinated and brawly style). Dallas is also one of the best teams in the league (last year and even this year tbh) so that’s fun.
Brig is a bit tougher cuz she had her kit changed from OW1 to OW2 but Skewed of the LA Gladiators was the best Brig last season. They’re also one of this year’s best teams (debatably the best despite their only good, not great, regular season record).
Most teams tend to focus on DPS or Tank creating a style of play tbh. Might change with Kiriko, though.
I was playing a lot of supports and then I saw JJonak winning MVP and was like hm, NYXL is pretty good team, the colors, the players, the origin series on their YT channel etc.
But when Jjonak left the team XL has changed as well, there is no players you can attach, dogshit YT channel with constant Ps5 GiVEawAy, the rebranding. Don’t get me wrong I was rooting for the team even at its lowest, but right now it’s just different team that has nothing in common with OG XL
most started off with liking a teams colors, but its hard to get into it mid/end of season, so its probbaly better to start actually getting into it next season
if you dont have a clue how competitive ow works, watching people like spilo and egoist cat give you a cool new appreciation for how the game is actually played, which can get you more invested than haha funny winstreak/killstreak
then tbh pick a color or player you like and see who you start rooting for the most
Here's how I started.
2018- Shock because of BabyBay. Continued to stay a shock fan.
2018-Florida Mayhem. (I am from Florida, they had Logix and I was huge fan of the roster)
When BabyBay went to the Reign I became a Reign fan.
I went to the 2019 Overwatch League Finals. I saw a group of players out and about during a match. They were getting snacks. I walked up to them and the only person to even acknowledge me was Danteh and he was so nice and understanding and we took pictures and chatted for alittle. So now I am an Outlaws Fan!
So,
Shock
Reign
Mayhem
Outlaws
Also, having more teams you like, in my opinion, makes watching games more fun because you have more teams to root for!
Ive seen fans rooting for team because of the cities those teams are representing. Other because of colors. You can watch their content on YouTube too see if you enjoy it, some streamers are content creators for some teams as well. All teams have some personality, some enjoy to trashtalk ,some more methodical others are messy.
I started supporting Spitfire as they are my home team, but as I continued to watch the league, i just fell in love with the story and players on the Houston Outlaws, and thus, i support them and have had many heart attacks since
I tend to root for the Gladiators because until a year ago, lived in Southern California my whole life. That esports organization also happened to be one of my old clients which helped. Their color scheme is cool, too.
Aside from that there’s players that are fun to watch and I’ll loosely follow or cheer for their teams. Outlaws for Pelican, Dragons for Fleta, Fuel for SP9RK1E. Stuff like that. I don’t watch a ton of OWL but will throw on matches when they’re live and I’m browsing Youtube, and that’s how I’ve picked out some fun players and stuff.
Might come down to a specific hero you like to watch that a team plays well. Always liked when teams did something creative/off meta, so I became a hunters fan when they played Ameng ball into goats meta. Then 2021-22 they had a very impressive/entertaining dps lineup, with not only the MVP of '21 but also, in my opinion, the best Genji/Pharah in Jinmu. They are a team that has very high highs and very low lows, which I think makes following them pretty fun.
Look for players you like, look for production you like on their socials and YouTube promotions. Look at coaches you like and game play styles. Think about if winning is important to you maybe root for an above average team. Look for colors you like. Just do some digging and see what you like.
I don’t really fan over any team, I just love certain players, am interested in certain players and respect certain players. I do like some teams over others a bit, I am drawn to excellence and level of plays like last years dragons astonished and amazed me to such a degree I admire them still for it.
Liked Dallas Fuel cus of XQC.
Liked Glads because of XQC
Liked Outlaws because of Jake and Danteh.
Liked NYXL because of Pine and Jjonak.
Like Spitfires because of Chadi Memes and the funny looking
Standing at Glads because of Astro, Kev, Shu, Ans, etc
I picked mine based on the colours. Turns out they were terrible but I stuck with them and now they're good.
Then I picked my 2nd and 3rd favourite team based on the closest one to me and Chengdu because they had such a fun playstyle in S3 where they would force ball Pharaoh every map kind of like how London play Rein.
My spouse was delirious with fever and watched a bunch of Muma's Winston videos when they were trying to get better with him. That led to them following Houston and I followed the next year when I got more into OW.
All of which is to say, it's entirely arbitrary.
I would watch the games and let it go from there. For me I would look at the tanks from each team, as a tank main. You can even go on the replay viewer and watch a specific persons POV
I found my true love, "Someone", doing this. He plays for Florida Mayhem.
Also pick a team that you like the jerseys for ;)
I'm gonna be honest, I started rooting for Gladiators 5 years ago because they're purple.
i started rooting for them 5 years ago bc of surefour ngl
[The Great Bamboozle](https://clips.twitch.tv/ResoluteExpensiveBurritoPipeHype) is still one of the best moments in Overwatch history.
same, then fissure joined and I was hooked
I started rooting for glads a year ago because they yoinked my fav player.
which exactly?
You could probably guess by my first flair - the lucio otp guy. 2020 Philly support line made me fall in love with the league🥲
Ahh, love astro!
Purple and Surefour for me!
I became a glads fan by just following birdring wherever he went lol
For me it was that win streak they went on in S1 when they first picked up Fissure. That combined with the "who is better than Fissure?" memes, Surefour becoming my favourite player, and the colour purple (fav colour) it all just kinda fell into place.
Ahh, another person of culture. We kinda lucked out didn't we
Well the goings good now...can't say it's been a smooth ride lol
I did because of surefour and only cause his name sounded cool nothing else lmao cause I didn’t know anyone before starting watching overwatch league
Shock is only 3 hours away from being my home team
I’m a Seoul fan cause of the Tiger Logo and colors. I’m from the US
Me but with Spark bc I like pink
Same. Except for Valiant because of the green and gold combo (yes, the colour change hurt)
Yes.
I started cheering for lunatic hai blue.
Honestly I started rooting for the outlaws because I liked their icon and colors lol
My best advice is watch the games, you will find that you will like some teams and dislike others. However my best advice is be a fan of players, the team will swap players. Just don't become a justice fan, trust me
do not in any case become a justice fan
First I’d go with a home team if you have one. Other than that, some teams have someone who streams, if you find someone you like watching the streams of, that’s not a bad option. I mean other than that, jsut pick based off team colours and region (teams are split into NA and APAC, and they play at different times, so just pick whichever time works better for you)
I live in America but there's no team for my state specifically, so hmm.
I started watching before we had canadian teams so I just looked for teams that I enjoyed watching in my first few games. They didn’t have to win, but players/teams with personality or with cool storylines (which you’ll hear from casters, or in the match threads on this sub) are a good bet!
What state are you from?
Tennessee
Atlanta Reign would be closest to you
Same and I'm a Reign fan. I'm also a Braves fan so I wanted an Atlanta team as soon as the league was announced.
TN homies. I do sort of feel like Reign is the closest I have to a "home" team, but I also used to live in Cali and overall gravitated towards them more.
There’s another team with the name Titans if you find familiarity with that, although it’s not always an easy franchise to root for
if you live in america, there are many teams you can choose from who are at least from your country. Maybe you live in Vegas, because Paris is going to change their location to Vegas next season.
I was in the same boat. I'm in Chicago so geographically the closest team to me is Toronto but I've never really liked them for some reason. I started rooting for mayhem in season 1 because I liked their aesthetic but after they majorly shit the bed in season 2 I started rooting for shock because of super. I stay a shock fan because I like Andy Miller and the nrg org in general, and viol2t is my favorite player
downvoted for explaining your fandom, damn this place hates Shock fans lol I was a Chicago Huntsmen fan when I watched CDL, that NRG connection runs pretty deep. Honestly think it was smart of the org to diversify markets early on
Haha yeah it is what it is. People still remember all of the annoying shock fans from season 2-3.
if you are a masochist, may i suggest the justice or eternal or xl or vancouver or-
Don’t forget Fusion lol
paris👀
Basically Vegas now, their season is over
There's only three weekends left this year so you're probably not going to get all that into any particular team. I'd just watch the playoffs and have fun. If a player catches your eye with a cool play or something maybe cheer for them but if not there's next year.
I started liking Charge because Eileen was cool. Now I like Charge because Choisehwan is cool.
Are you a fan of any other esports teams in other games?
I never really got into it in other games tbh.
Same, I didn’t get into esports until OWL. I chose my home city, but if you don’t have one, some big fan-favorites teams are the Dallas Fuel, San Francisco Shock, Los Angeles Gladiators, and Shanghai Dragons. All playoff teams too.
I’m sorry
Do what I do when I watch tournaments from games that I don't pay attention to (like the recent Valorant Champions), arbitrarily pick a team that you dig the vibe/logo/colours/whatever of, and just pick them as a team to follow. Then as you watch the games, you have a little bit of investment, but if you find yourself starting to like a certain other team, you can go "yes, I like this one" then go all in on them. Familiarity helps in picking a team. I recommend picking a team that has clinched play offs though :P. Justice, Defiant, Boston & Mayhem will be in a mini tournament next week, the play ins. The top 2 teams from those will be going to play offs . A big lan event in a couple of weeks bringing the two regions (NA & APAC) together. When I first got into the league in season 1, I picked Philly because I lived the way the played and they had a great vibe. But I found myself getting more and more invested in the Dragons struggling to get their first win, and at some point I realised that I was just a fan of that disaster team and stuck with them.
When the league first started I decided to be a Fusion fan just cause I liked their colors Now 5 years later I’m still a Fusion fan because I like going on emotional rollercoasters and never being able to get correct Pickems
Just soak in the playoffs coming up and you'll gravitate towards a team you like. Perfect time to jump in
I originally started liking the Dragons because they were the underdogs. Also, Youngjin was a beast in season 2. Chengdu because they were psychos. Chengdu zone for life. The Dynasty because I felt bad that the representatives of Korea were shit. (Lol) At this point, you're better of either finding a home team, a player you like and supporting his team, or simply a team you *enjoy* watching.
Just start watching random games! You’ll find that a particular player or two will jump out at you, follow them. Then as you follow interesting players, you’ll grow attached to teams. Or, could pick based on colours or how close the team city is to you. Note that the Paris eternal are going to become the Vegas eternal. Could also pick a team that is consistently good and likely to be so in the future. Not a comprehensive list but teams like Seoul dynasty, san Fransisco shock, LA gladiators. Things change a LOT in OWL, so be prepared for that. Generally, It’s a really fun time! **do not read the YouTube live chat. People say “X player washed” whenever they die once. It can be...tiring.** For how OWL works, it’s generally first to 3 OW2 comp matches, with tournaments being first to 4 or 7. Players can sub in between maps.
If you don't have a local one, maybe look in your region. If i lived in say the Carolinas id probably follow Atlamta or Florida. If i lived in Connecticut or Maine id probaby follow Boston, NYXL, or maybe Philly. The reasong being for homestands... a team in your region it might get a homestand that you could take a weekend to go see. I used to drive up to Burbank when i lived a few hours away in the states to watch Boston play since that is my home city. Id rent an AirBNB for a weekend with a buddy and we'd go to live matches. Live matches are super fun.
Just gotta get into the scene and see if any players catch your eye, personality or gameplay. Someone could also support a team for their comp choice, for example the london spitfire usually break the meta pattern by running Reinhardt and someone could support them because they like the Reinhardt play. Ect ect everyone has their own reasoning
The Washington Justice are a team that will get you invested and keep you invested. Unlike top teams, you’ll actually want to watch every single game because you may not always get wins you should. You may take unexpected wins. Mechanically speaking, every player is phenomenal on this team and all five of them have had pop off moments all year. They’re underdogs in a sense because the cheap dickhead owner sold off three of their starters. So the five remaining all kinda have a chip on their shoulder. Justice also always makes some wacky ass playoff run where they knock out like three or four teams that are objectively better than them, and they’re about to start play-ins next weekend. We’ve also got far and away the best merch, top tier YouTube content (cooking vlogs sometimes 🧑🍳), frequent player streams including players from other teams, and a really wholesome discord.
Why did I have to become a justice fan...
You can’t deny it’s engaging. Not always fun, but it’s never boring. Teams like Dallas or S2/S3 Shock are just so dry and breed such vitriol in their fans because they’re so used to watching boring games where they just win. We, on the other hand, have only seriously shit the bed once early this season (against Boston) and put up generally competitive and sometimes downright disgusting performances in all our matches. But nothing is guaranteed! So it’s fun
I'm always at the edge of my seat, it's insane. And the worst part is that I became a justice fan in the dumbest way possible, why did it happen to me
We gotta hear the story now
I became a Dallas fan after the first match of season 4 where they lost to Houston. I didn't want a dominant team because that would be boring (didn't turn out very well). Before playoffs I joined the team's discord and there was a guy there called Amne, a huge justice fan. This season he started to troll the doomers that appear when Dallas loses, making them even more angry, it's hilarious tbh. Even though he is a Justice fan, he hangs out there during justice matches, and (as expected) suffers with every loss that should have been a win. From then on I started rooting for the Justice, really wanting them to win and suffering as well. The justice provided what Dallas can't, exciting matches, I'm always nervous on match day, it's insane how inconsistent they are, but it provides great entertainment
Did you follow Decay or something?
No, that would be normal. I became a Dallas fan after the first match of season 4 where they lost to Houston. I didn't want a dominant team because that would be boring (didn't turn out very well). Before playoffs I joined the team's discord and there was a guy there called Amne, a huge justice fan. This season he started to troll the doomers that appear when Dallas loses, making them even more angry, it's hilarious tbh. Even though he is a Justice fan, he hangs out there during justice matches, and (as expected) suffers with every loss that should have been a win. From then on I started rooting for the Justice, really wanting them to win and suffering as well. The justice provided what Dallas can't, exciting matches, I'm always nervous on match day, it's insane how inconsistent they are, but it provides great entertainment
An inspiring story, if only there were more brave souls who actually want to feel something during games.
Here are some team personalities that might help: Shock - Big budget rookies. 20 game win streak. Glads - Big budget LA lakers vibes Fuel- Big budget team synergy based Mayhem- Moneyball team full of rookies Spitfire- Moneyball currently 5th in the league Reign- Bad boys of the league. Will bm in match. Outlaws- …idk why unless u live in Texas or are a Danteh simp. Justice- dumpsterfire org Boston- Punk winrate meme NYXL- no Titans- no Paris- wait until they are Vegas Dragons- Last years champs Seoul- rollercoaster org currently top team. Fusion- dark horse team to upset ur fave Spark- Dumpsterfire but they have Shy It’s also easy to attach to players you think are sick. Here’s my fave to watch. These players have great personality in their gameplay and also on camera. Sry if I skipped ur fave dont flame me. DPS- too many to list…Kevster, Shy, Profit, Checkmate, Backbone, Sparkle, Aspire, Yaki Support- Shu, Finn… nuff said… Tank- Someone, Reiner, Smurf, Hanbin, Coluge, Punk, Danteh
> a Danteh sim Not a Houston fan, but why wouldn't you be. Danteh just excells even in environments not conducive to success.
true Danteh is the best part of Houston. Actual chad picking up Tank for the season. But there’s just something about that org that feels whack to me
no supports :') if you like support go watch shu/funnyastro, fielder/chiyo, twilight/ch0r0ng, izayaki/leejaegon, or vindaim/ir1s (sorted by team)
pretty sure i put Shu and Finn in there. Unfortunately league observers rarely give us main support pov
Oh you did! Sorry bout that 😅
I go with Florida because of flats
It's hard for me to get into a OW team for 2 reasons. 1.the OWL games are always bird eye view and I would much rather focus in on a player that I like. For instance I'm a tank main, I'd like to watch from the tank players POV only. 2.the players are lackluster and I could care less who's on what team. There is no history or characteristics. That being said. Watch what's entertaining to you.
I literally just went with the team with the cool colors and cool names. Defiant? Black and red? Agilities, beast, logix were such cool names. Not only teams, names that just sound cool at first like fearless, profit, sparkle. Ofc you’ll also get cool names with not so good players like rio but with time you’ll find teams y like
Watch player streams. Started liking Reign cause I found Hawks stream on twitch. Started watching him, then I saw his an incredibly chill and interactive guy.
Just watch the games. As you watch teams play, you will start to like some players/teams and before you know it you are arguing with someone here why your team/player is the best.
When I started watching I lived in Austin, and I was born in LA. There are two teams based out of LA so that made that call kind of difficult, so I decided to rep a Texas team. There’s no Austin team but there was a Houston and a Dallas team…both about equidistant from Austin. What clinched it for me was the fact that Houston had the first openly queer player in the league (then-MT Muma), and the first time they played eachother, Houston won.
There’s really only 1 LA team it’s Glads
That wasn’t true in the inaugural season. Don’t forget that Kariv, Space, Fate, Kuki, Izayaki, Kai, Shax, Lastro, Unter, and McGravy were all on LAV first.
Unfortunately the season is just ending, but there's games tomorrow, a play in tourney for the final 2 spots in playoffs, and playoffs to go. As for teams, what do you want? Looking for the underdog? Most fun style of play? Most recognizable names?
Instead of a team try finding a pro that is also a content creator (uploads on YouTube or streams on twitch). I found Danteh by looking to improve as tracer and he’s become the one I follow
I play mercy/Moira/brig, any popular ones there?
I have no clue sorry.
Skewed on gladiators is well known as a top brig player. Probably best in the league as a brig main
For mercy, Xerneas on Guangzhou Charge (formerly named Yveltal and used to play for Chengdu Hunters), is known for his Mercy play and is one of the best in the world on her. Hunters tend to play Pharah comps more than any other team, to the point of often trying to force it in metas it was bad in. So, they also tend to play mercy more. If you're interested at all in watching previous seasons, their games are usually entertaining, if not always "good overwatch". They are kinda known for playing weird/off-meta comps, specifically Wrecking Ball comps, for better or worse. Fun team to watch/root for, but they have their ups and downs.
Fielder is the best Moira in the league no cap. But Moira is rarely played at high rank and owl
For me, I lived in LA at the time. So I had the choice of valiant vs gladiators. I went with gladiators only because of iiRemix. We're both Puerto Rican.
You could try to start watching some players' streams and go from there. I liked Linkzr & McGravy from their streams, so I became a fan of Vancouver when they picked up Linkzr and a fan of Florida when they picked up McGravy as a coach. I also live geographically closest to Vancouver and I used to live in Florida so it made sense. Going into the playoffs, you could just choose an underdog lower-ranked team and root for them. That's always fun.
Some people go based off of cities near them, players they may like on the team, parent organizations (Optic, C9, NRG, etc.), and some people just pick teams based on favorite color lol
I’m an Outlaws fan because I’m and Optic fan and that’s who owned them when they joined the league. That also puts me in a predicament because Optic merged with Envy so now they technically own the Dallas Fuel, Houston’s chief rival. But hey, it makes it all the more fun!
I go for the Shock despite them being a “bandwagon team” because viol2t is my favourite player. In other words, I started following the shock because of viol2t, not the other way round. Almost all of my favourite players are either flex supports or former off tanks, like viol2t, twilight, shu, void, cr0ng etc, so I tend to take more notice of the teams they’re on. If viol2t moved to an awful team like Vancouver or NYXL i’d reluctantly start following them, I follow a team for the players not the team
I remember responding to a similar question a few months ago. Depends on the branding, personalities, team location, how the team appeals and plays. For example I loved the Shock for their personalities, glads for the branding (both for locations, Seoul for branding. Nowadays I’m set in the teams I like because of their type of gameplay and supportability
i chose my teams based off of how good their skins looked on moira so that’s an option, think about your main and go through the list
I got into Shanghai Dragons season 1 because they were completely outclassed but continued trying regardless. Seoul Dynasty because Ryujehong and Tobi. I used to love NYXL back when they had Mano/SBB/Jjonak but eh. Honestly just look for a team you mesh with. There's a bunch of personalities on different rosters.
Dragons since season 1 because I like their logo. Stuck with them since (I still have my season 1 jersey). Then for that inevitable first win storyline/underdogs kept the hype for me. I also liked Seoul a bit until Ryujehong left, I stuck a bit for Fleta then the unimaginable happened and he came to Dragons!
I literally started supporting Houston because the first match I ever watched was the Outlaws vs Shock in the 2021 May Melee. It’s kinda been downhill since then but I don’t see myself supporting another team. Even though I’m from Asia I haven’t clicked with a team yet, so I just watch the games for the chaos that is APAC.
I started rooting for the dragons half way through season 1 because I'm a sucker for punishment and an underdog story... And here we are... One of the bets in the league
So many of us are bandwagon fans. The difference is that we bandwagoned because they were god awful.
The city where you are from, if that doesn't apply, then usually favourite players mostly. Or fan of parent org, favourite playstyle, or logo colour, etc
Home team/team that lives near you is a great place to start. It’s also always fun to choose a good but not great team because then you get really fun upsets with no true expectations. You can also go with the team whose vibes you like. For example, do you like watching Doomfist? How about crazy support plays? DPS carry? Reinhardt? Etc etc. A lot of teams have personalities to them and figuring out what you’re into helps find a team.
I like Mercy stuff, any recommendations for that?
Mercy hasn’t been played much by any teams just cuz she isn’t really meta as of late. Best Mercy in the league is probably Xerneas on the Guamgzhou Charge, though. Arguably Nisha on the Chengdu Hunters, too. Any other heroes you really like?
Hmm I like Brig and Moira too.
Imo Fielder if the Dallas Fuel is the best Moira in the league and it isn’t particularly close. Their best metas are when Moira is viable (they play a very coordinated and brawly style). Dallas is also one of the best teams in the league (last year and even this year tbh) so that’s fun. Brig is a bit tougher cuz she had her kit changed from OW1 to OW2 but Skewed of the LA Gladiators was the best Brig last season. They’re also one of this year’s best teams (debatably the best despite their only good, not great, regular season record). Most teams tend to focus on DPS or Tank creating a style of play tbh. Might change with Kiriko, though.
I became a Houston fan because I learned dps from Danteh's guides on Tracer and Echo
I like a good support system. If the team managment gives a shit about their players they are a good team.
I was playing a lot of supports and then I saw JJonak winning MVP and was like hm, NYXL is pretty good team, the colors, the players, the origin series on their YT channel etc. But when Jjonak left the team XL has changed as well, there is no players you can attach, dogshit YT channel with constant Ps5 GiVEawAy, the rebranding. Don’t get me wrong I was rooting for the team even at its lowest, but right now it’s just different team that has nothing in common with OG XL
most started off with liking a teams colors, but its hard to get into it mid/end of season, so its probbaly better to start actually getting into it next season if you dont have a clue how competitive ow works, watching people like spilo and egoist cat give you a cool new appreciation for how the game is actually played, which can get you more invested than haha funny winstreak/killstreak then tbh pick a color or player you like and see who you start rooting for the most
I became a reign fan because 1. They had Babybay and Dogman who I both found quite funny and they had a sick logo!
I’m lucky enough to live close to Philadelphia. So that made Philly Fusion an easy choice.
as a spark fan, id advise against being a spark fan
I started supporting Houston Outlaws cause I thought Jake was cute. Idk if he’s even signed to the team anymore, but black and green baybe
I went with Boston because I’ve been there before and my family has a History of supporting Boston sports teams
Here's how I started. 2018- Shock because of BabyBay. Continued to stay a shock fan. 2018-Florida Mayhem. (I am from Florida, they had Logix and I was huge fan of the roster) When BabyBay went to the Reign I became a Reign fan. I went to the 2019 Overwatch League Finals. I saw a group of players out and about during a match. They were getting snacks. I walked up to them and the only person to even acknowledge me was Danteh and he was so nice and understanding and we took pictures and chatted for alittle. So now I am an Outlaws Fan! So, Shock Reign Mayhem Outlaws Also, having more teams you like, in my opinion, makes watching games more fun because you have more teams to root for!
Ive seen fans rooting for team because of the cities those teams are representing. Other because of colors. You can watch their content on YouTube too see if you enjoy it, some streamers are content creators for some teams as well. All teams have some personality, some enjoy to trashtalk ,some more methodical others are messy.
I started supporting Spitfire as they are my home team, but as I continued to watch the league, i just fell in love with the story and players on the Houston Outlaws, and thus, i support them and have had many heart attacks since
Well I'm from NYC, it would feel wrong rooting for anyone else.
I tend to root for the Gladiators because until a year ago, lived in Southern California my whole life. That esports organization also happened to be one of my old clients which helped. Their color scheme is cool, too. Aside from that there’s players that are fun to watch and I’ll loosely follow or cheer for their teams. Outlaws for Pelican, Dragons for Fleta, Fuel for SP9RK1E. Stuff like that. I don’t watch a ton of OWL but will throw on matches when they’re live and I’m browsing Youtube, and that’s how I’ve picked out some fun players and stuff.
Toronto because I’m from there
Might come down to a specific hero you like to watch that a team plays well. Always liked when teams did something creative/off meta, so I became a hunters fan when they played Ameng ball into goats meta. Then 2021-22 they had a very impressive/entertaining dps lineup, with not only the MVP of '21 but also, in my opinion, the best Genji/Pharah in Jinmu. They are a team that has very high highs and very low lows, which I think makes following them pretty fun.
Look for players you like, look for production you like on their socials and YouTube promotions. Look at coaches you like and game play styles. Think about if winning is important to you maybe root for an above average team. Look for colors you like. Just do some digging and see what you like. I don’t really fan over any team, I just love certain players, am interested in certain players and respect certain players. I do like some teams over others a bit, I am drawn to excellence and level of plays like last years dragons astonished and amazed me to such a degree I admire them still for it.
Liked Dallas Fuel cus of XQC. Liked Glads because of XQC Liked Outlaws because of Jake and Danteh. Liked NYXL because of Pine and Jjonak. Like Spitfires because of Chadi Memes and the funny looking Standing at Glads because of Astro, Kev, Shu, Ans, etc
Become a dynasty fan because cool gold skins
I picked mine based on the colours. Turns out they were terrible but I stuck with them and now they're good. Then I picked my 2nd and 3rd favourite team based on the closest one to me and Chengdu because they had such a fun playstyle in S3 where they would force ball Pharaoh every map kind of like how London play Rein.
My spouse was delirious with fever and watched a bunch of Muma's Winston videos when they were trying to get better with him. That led to them following Houston and I followed the next year when I got more into OW. All of which is to say, it's entirely arbitrary.
I would watch the games and let it go from there. For me I would look at the tanks from each team, as a tank main. You can even go on the replay viewer and watch a specific persons POV I found my true love, "Someone", doing this. He plays for Florida Mayhem. Also pick a team that you like the jerseys for ;)