In the newest edition of “Scouting Ahead,” we take a look at all of the shifts at the base of the OGN APEX mountain. With APEX Season 3 coming to a close and another title won for Lunatic-Hai, in a legendary best of seven, we must look ahead to another Season of OGN’s APEX League. However, this season will be slightly different. OGN has opted out of inviting any foreign teams for the fourth iteration of APEX, this means we will be introduced to a new lineup of Challenger teams to the APEX family. Not only do we have new teams to look forward too, but some of the tenured rosters of old have, once again, changed out the old with something a bit more new. Let’s start to take a look at all of the changes that we can expect come August 11th.

GC Busan

Roster:

- Gesture

- Profit

- Hooreg

- HaGoPeun

- Ariel

- ReungReung

S4 Challenger

- 1st Group Stage: 6-1 (19-9)

- 2nd Group Stage: 4-1 (12-6)

* * *

This was the team that pulled ahead of the pack early. GC Busan quickly dashed off the line with a very demanding start to the first group stage. With their only loss to Afreeca Freecs Red, GC Busan led the pack going into the second phase of the group stage. The second phase of the group stage left them around second place. LW Red and NC Foxes all started to kick into high gear and have challenged GC Busan, removing them from their first place threshold in the second phase of the group stage. Now, that’s not to say that this team can’t make a splash in APEX Season 4, they definitely can and I would not be surprised if they did. The team has flexible hero choices, strong DPS, and solid tank play. Gesture and Ariel hold down the front lines with some very respectable Winston and D.va play. While on the DPS front, Profit and Hooreg take the lead as a very talented DPS prospects. GC Busan were the frontrunners once, but with APEX Season 4 quickly approaching, can they continue to perform against some of the best teams in the world?

GC Busan finds themselves in Group C along with; ROX Orcas, LuxuryWatch Red, and Afreeca Freecs Blue. This group could sing more of the same song for GC Busan. The only team that they have lost to in Season 4’s Challenger Series was LuxuryWatch Red, so if they can widen that gap between them, GC Busan should have no problem making it to the next round this season as the second seed next to Afreeca.

NC Foxes

Roster:

- JeungMac

- Seo Min-Soo

- Hyeok

- Pumple

- E1kiNo

- Neko

- SASIN

- RoKi

S4 Challenger

- 1st Group Stage: 5-2 (17-11)

- 2nd Group Stage: 3-2 (12-9)

* * *

One of the three “precious gems” coming from the Challenger series quarry, NC Foxes are made up of veterans and skilled rookies alike. Where E1kino and Pumple played in the first Season of the Overwatch APEX League on team Flash Lux. As of late, Clover was released and two new members were added: JeungMac and Seo Min-Soo as a Tank player and Flex player respectively. With this new seven man roster, how will this impact NC Foxes overall in terms of team chemistry and team dynamic? Will the addition of new members help or hurt the team overall? With this in mind, NC Foxes are a little more of a wild card coming into APEX Season 4. Their most recent showing during the Nexus Cup 2017 Summer tournament showed that they might not be on their best form. NC Foxes lost to Chinese teams Miraculous Youngster in the Winner’s Bracket and LinGan Esports in the Loser's Bracket, both were 2-0 losses. That being said, some of the stand out players on this roster include; Sasin and E1kino. Can NC Foxes turn things around in time for the launch of APEX Season 4?

With their new roster can NC Foxes survive in Group C with the likes of; KongDoo Panthera, KongDoo Uncia, and Flash Lux? This is a more of a tough call for NC Foxes. Panthera has proven that they are a force to be reckoned with, Uncia is slowing turning things around, and then we have Flash Lux. Both Flash Lux and NC Foxes have ties to one another and both teams are touting semi-new lineups coming into this event. Can NC Foxes adapt early or will they crumble under the pressure?

LuxuryWatch Red

Roster:

- R0ar

- ArK

- Who

- Think

- Nenne

- Wekeed

- HOTBA

S1 Challenger

- Group Stage: 11-0 (33-3)

S2 Challenger

- Group Stage: 10-1 (30-8)

S3 Challenger

- Group Stage: 8-3 (26-14)

S4 Challenger

- 1st Group Stage: 5-2 (19-9)

- 2nd Group Stage: 5-0 (15-6)

* * *

This is one of the oldest teams in the game today and this will be their first foray into the APEX League. Enter, LuxuryWatch Red. This team was once home to APEX staples. Fl0w3r (nan0hana), Pine, Gambler, and Beom are just a few of the Afreeca Red alumni that grace other APEX teams or have moved on to bigger and better things. Originally the hype coming from Korea was being generated by this team in Season 1 Challenger but failed to make any head way during the offline qualifier and every season since then, they’ve always managed to place extremely well but falter when it mattered the most. Now, that they’ve been gifted their first chance at the limelight with Season 4, LuxuryWatch Red has parted way with some of the original members and have acquired some very talented players. Someone that definitely stands out to me is one of their support players, Who. His play on Zenyatta and as well as Ana is something you should keep your eye out for on the kill feed. Staying within supports, LW Red’s Lucio player, Ark, has had some surprising performances as of late. In their match against Meta Belum, Ark managed to pull off only 2.3 deaths per ten minutes! Now, that is either some amazing support play or it could be that his team is very protective of him and prioritizes him staying alive over all. Someone else who has been a stand out is LW Red’s Tracer player, Nenne. These two players are surrounded with talent and other skilled players, but can this team muster their strength to finally compete with APEX League staples or will they falter and live up to the curse of inconsistency that has caused them to remain in the Challenger Series for so long?

ROX Orcas

Roster:

- Try

- Le1gend

- Melee

- Crong

- Striker

- TyDolla

- Aid

- NineK

S3 Challenger

- Group Stage: 6-5 (25-20)

S4 Challenger

- 1st Group Stage: 3-4 (16-13)

- 2nd Group Stage: 2-3 (9-10)

* * *

The ROX Orcas have been in contention for the APEX League for some time now. Since Season 3 of the Challenger Series, ROX Orcas have been right on the tip of everyone's tongues. A lot of speculation stirred around them with an early lead in the regular season, but unfortunately, it was not to be. They now find themselves finally ready, willing, and able to take a stab at climbing the APEX mountain. ROX Orcas have shifted their lineup around since their earnest beginnings in Season 3. Tydolla, formerly a player for the now defunct Afreeca Freecs Red, is one of the three tools that this team functions around. Showing growth from his time in Afreeca Red, Tydolla has shown to be quite the flexible player having play time on Widowmaker, D.va, Phara, Sombra, and Genji. Not only is Tydolla gearing up to take ROX Orcas to the summit, but Striker and Try are also two standout players that have sparked my curiosity. Striker is the Tracer player for the ROX Orcas and at his back his quite the active Zenyatta player in Try. Do not let their regular season record fool you into thinking that this team is subpar, they do have some issues closing out sets, but the potential is definitely there. With the amount of hero depth on this roster, keep your eye on them come APEX Season 4.

Meta Bellum

Roster:

- Klocky

- Hexa

- Chara

- SIMJEONGSEOP

- Hellonx

- Dahim

- Marve1

S3 Challenger

- Group Stage: 3-8 (12-25)

S4 Challenger

- 1st Group Stage: 3-4 (13-14)

- 2nd Group Stage: 1-4 (7-13)

* * *

Last but not least we have Meta Bellum. Not only do they round of the talented lineup of freshmen teams entering this Season of APEX, but they could come in undetected. While their track record might seem a little shallow, the performances that they’ve managed have been quite good. They’ve taken LW Red to game five as well as NC Foxes. Meta Bellum also has a recorded win over ROX Orcas as well. However, this could definitely change come August 11th. With Doomfist on the horizon and Meta Bellum being under the “Meta” umbrella, could this mean that they might become early adopters to a more creative and unorthodox strategy? It could be more likely than you think. They’ve been incredibly flexible with their roles and have shown compositions that are exactly normal. Meta Bellum is not going to be just some “bump along the mountain.” Their Tank player, Marve1, and their Support player, Chara, could be the two leaders this team leans on as they step on stage. That being said, don’t count out this roster just by their match history - Meta Bellum is coming into APEX with something to prove.

Group D is where Meta Bellum calls home. This group also houses X6-Gaming, CONBOX Spirit, and LuxuryWatch Blue all of which are formidable opponents moving into the start of the regular season. Depending on any roster changes, Meta Bellum has a tough road ahead of them if they want to make playoffs. It is not impossible, just slightly improbable.

Before you look at the summit or apex of a mountain, your eyes first meet the size and mass of the middle of it. Some of these teams that make up the foundation of the OGN APEX League have made some interesting changes. In more general news, Flash Lux has taken a new approach with their new roster of CoMa, Oberon, Shu, Fleta, Veil, and Weeso. Will they stay Captain’s of the Red Lantern or will they finally take their first win in the regular season?

Another question that comes up surrounds a team that is just hairs from the summit of the mountain; LuxuryWatch Blue. Long time support and vocal leader, Gambler, has stepped down from the team. Can LuxuryWatch Blue hold their luster for the time being until they regain their footing or will the loss of such an integral part of the communication hamstring them early on?

While we did receive a treat during the APEX Grand Final’s from KongDoo Panthera and Lunatic-Hai, another team that not that long ago graced the finals have been making changes. Runaway now finds themselves in the same boat as LuxuryWatch Blue, if not a bit worse. Runner has stepped away along with Mirage to help financially support the team. They’ve added TiZi and JJANU as trials to their roster for the time being. Can Runaway maintain pace and survive with new talent entering the picture? From Runaway we move to Afreeca Blue where Kalios, formerly of wNv.KR and Runaway, and Brek, formerly of MVP Infinity, both have joined Afreeca Freecs Blue. Donghyun is taking a break from competitive play, but these additions raise more questions than answers.

Keep your eyes peeled to your favorite news site, more information on your favorite teams is likely to be reported soon. OGN’s Overwatch APEX League starts August 11th and the group draw ceremony begins August 3rd. Cheers to hopefully another great APEX Season and I will see you all at the peak!

Joseph “Volamel” Franco has followed esports since the MLG’s of 2006. He started out primarily following Starcraft 2, Halo 3, and Super Smash Bros. Melee. He has transitioned from viewer to journalist and writes freelance primarily about Overwatch and League of Legends. If you would like to know more or follow his thoughts on esports you can follow him at @Volamel.

Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.