#83: On the Clash of Story and Mechanics

This week brings more changes as teams finish their announcements and formats begin to finalize for 2020. We begin by discussing the recent Breakable Barriers open tournament, a new open tournament that saw streamers, Contenders Teams, and casuals compete across 2 days. We go on to discuss this week's announcements, including one player signing from the Los Angeles Gladiators and staff signings from Paris and Dallas.

Next, we discuss the recent announcement of the 2020 Contenders' format, which sees play move towards a more complicated, weekly tournament style schedule. We discuss the changes in the relationship between Open Division, Trials, and Contenders, and the importance of consistency higher stakes. We also discuss Eternal Academy's announcement of their return to Contenders EU, and talk about some teams that we would like to see return to Tier 2.

Lastly, we discuss the recent retirment of Custa, former support player for the Los Angeles Valiant. We talk about his play history, and his coming transition to the OWL Desk. We also talk about Jake's transition to full time OWL caster, and theorize some potential casting partners. We also finally share some exciting news about one of our listeners reaching out to help a rising Contenders player get the gear she needs.