In a Western meta that has been dominated by GOATs for several months, it can be hard to imagine a competitive ecosystem in which mirror matches or nearly-identical comps are not always the basis of play; however, in China, such is not the case. I've heard rumors of serious diversity in the Chinese meta, where DPS players are able to play heroes other than Brigitte or Zarya--a blessing that I'm sure the West is eager to attain. To learn more about China's meta, I spoke with Vowels, an analyst for the region's Contenders league.

Is there currently a set meta in China? Is GOATs still popular, or is it only as viable as everything else?

Vowels: GOATs is definitely the most popular and strongest composition (both Reinhardt and Winston variants), but it’s not the be-all and end-all. We’ve also seen a lot of triple support with a DPS, particularly with teams running a “star” DPS player on McCree or Sombra, and Doomfist/Sombra dives. There’s definitely more variety than we’re seeing in NA or EU at the moment.

Has there been any sort of timeline in China’s meta, or has it all been rather chaotic?

Vowels: We have seen teams moving towards GOATs over the course of the season, but still not enough to say it’s a must pick composition. China was fairly slow to adapt to what we see as “the meta” as the West last Contenders season too, with Hanzo not seeing significant playtime until a few weeks into the season and only about half of the teams in playoffs using Sombra after her changes. By the time we hit playoffs this season, I imagine everyone will mostly be running GOATs, but we aren’t quite there yet.

Why do you think teams have been so willing to experiment in China as compared to the rest of the world?

Vowels: The general playstyle of Chinese esports, not just Overwatch, favours individual skill and outplays over teamwork. While the best teams in China are generally the most cohesive and the best at working together, there’s a lot more value in just playing your comfort picks than we generally see in the West, which leads to more flexibility and experimentation.

I’ve heard of some… interesting compositions coming out of China as of late. What are some of the strangest styles you’ve seen in the region?

Vowels: The most interesting teams this season compositionally are Laboratory and Big Time Regal Gaming. Laboratory almost exclusively run Wrecking Ball compositions but have found almost no success running this. On the other hand, Big Time Regal Gaming have a long-standing reputation, both under their current name and previously as Moss Seven Club, for making the rest of China look boring. They’ve toned it down a little bit this season, after losing DPS Jinmu and Main Tank vanessa (now known as Ameng) to the Chengdu Hunters, but they still throw a couple curveballs sometimes. It’s also worth noting that the current meta on Route 66 is triple/quad DPS, with Pharah, Sombra and Hanzo in particular flourishing. It keeps you on your toes as an analyst.

How would you say that these comps end up working out? What’s the success rate against more established comps (*cough* GOATs *cough*)?

Vowels: GOATs has been the strongest composition, but we’ve seen a lot of teams successfully running Sombra dives as well. It’s not as cut-and-dry as other regions.

Do you think that the flexibility necessary to run these varied comps makes Chinese players better, or does it take away from their ability to practice what has proven to be effective elsewhere?

Vowels: I don’t think it’s because of ‘necessary’ flexibility. The average Chinese player might be a little more flexible than the average Western player, but it’s more a case of the general mindset and playstyle of the region enabling said flexibility. Chinese teams work to enable individual carries more than we see in EU or NA, and that’s where being able to play your comfort picks can trump a teamwork-intensive composition like GOATs. It doesn’t necessarily make them better or worse.

Which players in particular would you say are important to watch as the meta continues to shift in China? Are there any players who are just super skilled, or who can pull out some really interesting picks and make them work?

Vowels: Mijia is one of the most important players to watch at the moment. A popular streamer in China, he was the centerpiece of an Ambitious Immortals team that went 7-0 in Trials running a strange Doomfist-Zarya dive before disbanding, and his mastery of Doomfist has enabled a very aggressive playstyle for both AI and his current team, T1w Esports Club. We had some questions over what else he could play, with have been answered over the last two weeks with the emergence of a strong Zarya and T1w suddenly went from the best dive team to having a great GOATs too. BLACKBEAN and Effort from Lucky Future and Big Time Regal Gaming are both notable players to watch too, as the best examples of a superstar DPS carrying an otherwise mediocre roster. They’ve both mostly found success on Sombra but are flexible enough to keep opponents on their toes.

A related question: which teams have shown the greatest diversity in playstyles, or which have diverged the most from standard meta (GOATs) in their comps? Are there any who have defined the meta on their own?

Vowels: The best non-GOATs have been T1w Esports Club, LinGan e-Sports, and Flag Gaming, all of which have showcased strong a Pharah - MoLanran, KaMi, and Jason respectively - but have not entirely shied away from GOATs either, particularly over the last two weeks. Laboratory have also tried to run alternate compositions with main tank Seeds almost exclusively running Wrecking Ball, but they have won one map in 4 weeks and as such can’t be considered “meta-defining”.

Are comps being structured around certain players so as to enable them, or are they based on an entire team’s abilities?

Vowels: It’s mostly been individual players. Even on GOATs compositions, teams largely just play to enable a star Zarya and/or Main Tank.

Are there any heroes that have done particularly well in China while not doing so well in other regions? From my viewing, I’ve seen a lot of Sombra, Hammond, Pharah…

Vowels: Wrecking Ball has seen a fair bit of playtime but has not been very successful. Pharah/Hanzo is a common dive pairing, particularly on Numbani 1st point, and we’ve seen a lot of Torbjorn defenses on Horizon Lunar Colony and Numbani. Another common pick we don’t see as much in other reasons is Mei on Hanamura 2nd point defense, which has been run by a number of teams to split off GOATs compositions.

What has been the relationship between playing based on what’s good and playing based on comfort picks--has there been any pattern as to which has prospered more?

Vowels: It varies. T1w play a lot of comfort picks and have yet to drop a map through 4 weeks, whereas the 3 teams confirmed to be headed to Trials - Alter-Ego, Zenith of Optimism and Laboratory - have almost exclusively used comfort picks (Laboratory in particular) and yet have a combined map win. Sometimes, playing comfort picks and playing what’s good are one and the same.

How entertaining has it been, watching each match with the knowledge that there were no guarantees of a mirror match?

Vowels: That’s not necessarily a guarantee! Just because GOATs isn’t a must-pick doesn’t mean we haven’t seen a lot of GOATs mirror matches, and it’s still entertaining watching how Chinese teams approach GOATs. That said, seeing the variation and how different comps interact with each other across the different teams has been fun to analyse.

Do you think comps have been the result of coaches or of players saying, “I don’t like GOATs, let’s find something better”?

Vowels: Again, it’s down to the playstyle and mentality of the region. Chinese players want to be superstars, not team players, more than we see in other regions so GOATs isn’t as strong.

Does running an outside-the-box comp give a team a better chance against an opponent seen as better than them due to the surprise factor, or does it lower their odds because of how off-meta it is?

Vowels: There’s no hard and fast rule. Some teams have profited off variety and catching their opponents off-guard (in the case of T1w, they caught LinGan e-Sports off-guard in Week 3 by suddenly playing GOATs all series when they hadn’t really before) but others have suffered, It’s down to the strengths of the players and teams themselves.

The use of DPS heroes in China enables flashier individual plays than in standard GOATs comps used in other regions. Do you think this could help Chinese players get recognized as top prospects alongside Koreans, Europeans, etc., or will it only make coaches/scouts scratch their heads and look at the region with confusion rather than interest?

Vowels: I’m not sure how much it matters. As much as flexibility is very important, a coach or scout doing their job properly won’t judge a player in a GOATs dominated region for only playing GOATs. While the flexibility showcased in China might be a small bonus to appeal on paper, I’m not sure how much it would mean in a serious scouting/trialing environment.

Do you have any shout-outs you’d like to make? Where can we find you on social media?

Vowels: Thanks to everyone at Broadcast.gg who I’m working with on Contenders China, particularly my co-analysts Volamel, Scribe and Elbion. Thank you also to Overwatch Beacon on Twitter, and AlanGai, one of the local Chinese casters, for being a vital stream of help and information. Thank you to Ham Tornado and chopshajen, for teaching us to pronounce all the Chinese names correctly. Thank you to my housemate Sam, who lives in the room next to mine and has not complained once about me casting NA games at 2am or getting up at 7am on the weekends. I’m on Twitter at @vowelsgg, where I mostly talk about Chinese Overwatch and the Chicago Bears.

That's all for this interview! Thanks again to Vowels for his time. Be sure to watch Contenders: China on https://www.twitch.tv/broadcastgg for the opportunity to see these compositions in action.

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