As with all of our analyzed games there's a clear pattern: large cloth mousepads rule the world as far as playing surfaces go, and that's for a reason. Compared to most casual gamers or regular PC users, professional (shooter) gamers have a very low overall sensitivity (see: 'What is DPI/eDPI') because that means that aiming is going to be far more consistent. It's just impossible to accurately aim at a couple of fast moving pixels in the distance if your aiming reticle moves the ingame equivalent of 30 meters once you move your mouse a couple of millimeters. There's a pretty big difference between the average eDPIs of different roles in Overwatch (see here for more info) but even tanks, who have the highest average overall sensitivity, will need a larger mousepad to comfortable accommodate their flicks and swipes.

So you'll want a decent sized mousepad, that's established. What material that's made out of really comes down to personal preference, but the vast majority of Overwatch pros are using a cloth pad. A big reason for this is probably the fact that hard pads have fallen out of favor and are thus not produced by a lot of companies anymore, but there's also the fact that cloth pads are easier on your mouse feet and much easier to transport. A cloth pad can be rolled up to fit in just about any bag while a hard pad obviously can't do that, so it's much less 'mobile' in a way. Whatever the material is, we would definitely recommend you to get a large size mousepad, unless you're absolutely sure that you don't need it with the sensitivity that you use. It's better to have a bit of space left than to have to run out of pad every once in a while, so why not go bigger if you have the space for it?

Logitech has been investing a lot in the Overwatch esports scene, and it shows all throughout our guides for this game. The same applies here; more than a quarter of Overwatch desks have a Logitech mousepad on them, with the G640 being by far the most commonly used pad.

After that we see a lot of the usual suspects. Zowie's G-SR is well-represented, as well as SteelSeries' QcK line and Razer's Gigantus. These four companies are being used by just over 70% of all OW professionals. Unsurprising, in a way, but there is something interesting to be seen if we're looking at the most used brands. Niche brand Artisan, while not having any one pad that gets enough users to crack the top 5, is the fifth most used mousepad brand. Around five percent of pros are going with the brand, and while that's a pretty steep drop from the double digits that the aforementioned brands achieve we did think that this was pretty interesting to note.

Many people might think that every cloth mousepad feels the exact same, but that's really not true at all. Admittedly there are a lot of pads out there that feel extremely similar, but there's a huge difference between a pad that's made for control and a pad that's made for speed, even if they're both made out of cloth.

The Logitech G640 is an ideal pad for people who want a mix between the two, packed in a nicely made pad. It's got a medium - fast glide, middle-of-the-pack thickness of 3mm and it has a nice rubber base that ensures that it stays put no matter where you eventually slap it down. The G640 requires remarkably little maintenance as well. While some mousepads require frequent (see our guide to learn how to wash a cloth pad) washes to keep them in tip top shape the G640 is fine to use for long stretches of time.

It's 'middle of the road' in a lot of ways, so it's a fantastic option for people who don't want to go full speed (or control) and for people who are buying their first gaming surface and don't really know what they prefer yet.

The Zowie G-SR is a legendary mousepad (as far as mousepads can actually be legendary, that is) but it might not be for everyone. This is very much a control pad; you can obviously still execute rapid swipes on the G-SR but it does have a lot of friction and stopping power. That makes it ideal for people who tend to overshoot their targets or for low sensitivity players who want to be 'reined in' a bit when they're playing, but people who have a need for speed naturally shouldn't be putting this one in their shopping basket without thinking it through.

That said: it is a great pad. The G-SR can be found in many of our best mousepad guides so it's obvious that this is a favorite among the pros. With a thickness of 3mm it's just thick enough to cover up most smaller inconsistencies on desks and the premium stitched edges will ensure that your pad will last you for years and years. The G-SR is pretty unique in the sense that it offers plenty of control but it still gives you a very smooth glide once you're 'off', so to speak, so we can see why it's carved out a spot on the desk of so many professionals.

Almost every company has a 'standard' cloth mousepad. Some make dedicated speed pads, some make control pads, and others make both, but a nice 'compromise' pad is featured in almost every lineup. That is what the QcK+ is for SteelSeries.

This one offers a very consistent medium - fast glide at a thickness of just 2 millimeters. That's nice if you like your pads to be on the thinner side but that also means that it won't be as good at covering up imperfections on your desk (or wherever you decide to game) so take that on board if you're looking to purchase. Aside from that it's a perfectly fine 'standard pad,' so to speak. No stitched edges, no crazy logos, no crazy promises on glide, ... It's a great pad that won't break the bank, and that's what makes it one of the most popular mousepads in the world.

Razer says that the Gigantus is optimized for speed and control. That's a bit of a contradictory statement, but it does ring true here. It allows you to execute fast swipes with relative ease while offering a decent amount of stopping power, but it's not overly 'murky' when you're doing micro movements. This is great for people who would like a bit more stopping power for their swiped but dislike the gritty feeling of dedicated control pads.

The Gigantus has stitched edges and at a thickness of 5mm it can handle anything but the most rocky desks with relative ease, making this a very strong option for people who are often traveling and playing on subpar surfaces. There are a number of different versions of this pad out there with different characteristics (stitched vs. non-stitched etc.) but the gliding experience is the same across all the regular Gigantus pads.

The QcK Heavy offers pretty much the same as what the regular QcK offers, with one important difference: it's way thicker. At 6 millimeters it's in fact the thickest pad that we've got in this article. That's great for people who play on rocky surfaces since a pad this thick will cover up most inconsistencies. It does take some getting used to, however, and some people just don't like the large 'step up' of this mousepad, but for those people there's the regular QcK.

For some people it seems like the glide of the Heavy is a bit slower than the glide of the regular QcK but they do use the exact same materials. The reason the Heavy might feel a bit slower is because of the fact that the mouse feet can sink into the thick material a bit more, causing the glide to feel slightly slower. If you don't put a lot of pressure on your mouse it should be the same experience, however.