NiP crushed all before them, while new team Bonjour put the EU scene on notice, as the Alienware Monthly Melee held its first EU event.

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The Alienware Monthly Melee, long a North American event, decided to take a European vacation this week. It went so well, they may just be back again soon.

The tournament was headlined by Misfits, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and FaZe. The trio of household names were joined by LDLC, mousesports, Tornado ROX, and two unsigned teams, Slav Squad and Bonjour. Slav Squad has many of ANOX's members, while Bonjour emerged from the ashes of the defunct Melty.

Right before the event began, Blizzard released patch 1.5, the most significant change to the game since launch. Sombra's much anticipated release and an across-the-board 25% increase in ultimate charge time were the major changes, but 10 heroes also got individual tweaks. Some of them were minor, while some of them look to be meta-defining.

Ninjas in Pyjamas win with ease

A lot of people expected NiP to win the event, especially after Misfits announced that Kryw would not be joining them for the event. What very few people expected was how dominant they would be. They didn't concede a map, going 2-0 against Misfits, 3-0 against FaZe, and 5-0 against surprise package Bonjour (more on them below).

While the endless supply of quick kills at the hands of hymzi's Roadhog powers the team, it's Zappis' flexibility that's allowed NiP to power through the meta shift without having to make many adjustments. They ran three tank, two support, one DPS even after the old meta shifted to nano-boosted Reaper comps. They continue to run the same 3/2/1 in this meta, which thus far seems to be favoring dive compositions. However the importance of Zappis's ability to pick up and play Soldier: 76 at a high level can't be overstated. Zenyatta is viable again. Pharah looks to be viable too, although she's often tested out at the beginning of every patch and then shelved. Both are very good against tanks, but Soldier: 76 is well equip to them out, and his ability to rapidly shred Reinhard and Winston barriers opens up opportunities for hymzi's physics-defying hooks. If Zappis weren't able to run 76, this new meta could have proven disastrous to NiP.

While a lot of teams are still trying to figure out what to run in the new meta, Ninjas in Pyjamas marches forward with their battle-tested 3/2/1. It's entirely possible that they'll make adjustments over time – Reinhardt isn't in a great spot right now and D.va might be a more effective option – but for now NiP have a stability that other teams lack.

Bonjour look elite

Bonjour were created from the merger of the former Melty squad (the organization abruptly stopped fielding teams) and Redskin. Led by star DPS player NiCOgdh, the team put on an impressive display. They defeated mousesports and Slav Squad in the group stages, then defeated FaZe on day two, before falling to NiP in the upper bracket final and then to FaZe in the lower bracket final.

However, their ability to hang with (and in FaZe's case, beat) teams that looked much stronger on paper bodes well for their future. Alienware Monthly Melees have been the scene of breakout performances before (look at Kingdom), and if Bonjour put on another strong performance in their next outing, they could find themselves barreling towards the upper ranks of the EU scene in short order. Rogue are relocating to Las Vegas after the OGN APEX, Luminosity already moved to Canada, FaZe are nominally an NA-based team, and REUNITED are openly talking about wanting to be bought out (which could mean a move to NA for them as well). There is a huge void at the top of the EU table, and other than NiP and Misfits, Bonjour may just be the best team still in the region by year's end.

Misfits innovate, but it’s not enough

Kryw, an immensely talented Zarya player and long-time member of the Misfits squad, was absent from the Monthly Melee. There's yet to be any official word as to whether this is a permanent move or not, but Cooller is standing in for him for now.

Losing a Zayra and gaining a Lucio meant that the team had to shift around roles, and in the process they appear to have discovered the first viable composition that incorporates Sombra. Misfits ran her as part of a Sombra, Tracer, Genji, Winston, Lucio, Ana comp. An even more aggressive version of the long-used dive comp, the three flanking DPS heroes darted around the opposition, attacking from everywhere at once in a cacophony that resembled an angry swarm. It looked viable on both King of the Hill and on Hollywood, but struggled when pitted against a tank-heavy comp anchored by D.va and Roadhog.

Sombra saw brief uses in the OGN APEX and by FaZe at the Monthly Melee, but only Misfits’ composition looked effective. Expect for some variation of it to stay around for the long term, at the very least as a situational option in place of the traditional dive comp.

As for Misfits themselves, even busting out an exciting and entirely new composition wasn’t enough to overcome not having one of their strongest players. Zebbosai was given tough shoes to fill taking over on Zarya duty, and the team struggled even in their wins. FaZe were also looking out of sorts at times, but had enough firepower to dispatch Misfits twice, 2-1 in the group stage and then 2-0 in the lower bracket semi-final.

Recap

Ninjas in Pyjamas won the event, and took home a $3,000 prize pool. FaZe will take $2,000 back to North America, their prize for coming in second place. Talks are already in place for future Alienware Monthly Melees in both EU and NA.

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