ENDGAME: The Immortals

The Sydney Drop Bears are those Gods. They’ve stood at the helm of Australian Overwatch for the past 12 months, seemingly immortal. They’ve claimed three titles, had multiple players represent Australia at OWWC, and more move on to better things in other regions. There’s something in the water at the EHPC.

However, in season one 2019, kinks started showing in their armour. They looked in trouble against teams they had breezed by in the past. They even lost a game – their first loss in 24 games – against Blank Esports. However, they composed themselves to remain the undisputed kings of Australian Overwatch heading into IEM Sydney.

“Us losing to Blank earlier in the season was a long-term positive for us,” said flex support Dario “Akraken” Falcao-Rassokha. “It motivated us to keep grinding and it exposed some issues we were having that we took the time to focus on and rectify.”

While the loss exposed a play style the Sydney Drop Bears were weak to, one thing they are known for is their mental fortitude and their ability to hold up under pressure.

“We don’t really have a specific ‘style of play’ that extends past the meta, but the thing that differentiates us from other teams is our discipline on stage, our composure under pressure and our ability to bring our game to a new level when tested,” he said.

TOMORROW.

?? @MelbMavs
? 16:00 PM AEST
?@IEM pic.twitter.com/mWidlLFnyS

— Sydney Drop Bears (@Dropbearsgg) May 3, 2019

With the introduction of Baptiste, there’s been some shake-up in what to expect come Saturday and Sunday, but not too drastic of a change.

“I think Baptiste will definitely be played in some form at LAN, but GOATS is still dominant so I don’t think he will have an enormous impact,” said Akraken.

The Melbourne Mavericks will be one of those teams straying away from GOATS, but the Drop Bears aren’t concerned about what they will pull out at LAN.

“The Mavericks are a team with a lot of talented players, but a lack of experience can hurt a roster in a high pressure environment such as LAN,” he said. “I know some players on that team have struggled with LAN events in the past so there’s a question mark over how they’ll go.”

“IEM Sydney is another opportunity for us to display our skills and prove once again that we are the best team in the region.”
– Akraken

With Niko “ChroNoDotA” Raisanen coming back into the squad after Teetawat “Teetawat” Teerasyotin’s departure, the Drop Bears are technically the only team with no changes to their roster from last season’s LAN. Everyone on the team is hungrier than ever to take home another title, and being able to claim it on home turf at IEM Sydney will be a special moment.

“We are the favourites to win, because we play the best on stage and have the most popoff potential of any team at this event.”

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If you want to see the Sydney Drop Bears attempt another title defense at IEM Sydney, be sure to tune into the official Overwatch Contenders Twitch channel from 4pm AEST Saturday as they take on the Mavericks.

You can follow Akraken and the Drop Bears on Twitter.