Scrub's OWL Power Rankings: Stage 2 Week 5

Stage 2 and the first half of the Overwatch League regular season have come to an end.

For just the second time this season, all 20 Overwatch League teams have played the same number of games. Everyone has 14 matches under their belt and just 14 more matches to end in playoff contention.

Those teams played seven of their matches in Stage 2, jockeying for a spot in the Stage 2 playoffs within those seven matches. Only eight teams could qualify, and the rest will get an extra week off during this extended break at the halfway point in the season.

This is the final week of matches between Overwatch League franchises until next month. After this weekend, fans will bide their time between Stages 2 and 3 with the Contenders showdowns and the Overwatch League All-Star Weekend.

The eight teams playing this weekend will hope to enter the extended break on a high note. Perhaps some teams can establish themselves as threats to the league's top teams.

Here are Scrub's Power Rankings following Stage 2 Week 5 of the Overwatch League.

Image credit: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

1. (-) Vancouver Titans (14-0)

The Vancouver Titans Vancouver Titans OWL Rank #18 Roolf Randal Stark flex support KSAA Alhumaidi Alruwaili off tank Dalton Dalton Bennyhoff dps sHockWave Niclas Smidt Jensen dps ShRedLock Abtin Shirvani tank CarCar Carson First support have now tied the Boston Uprising's record of 14 straight regular season matches won in a row and surpassed their record of 15 straight total matches won (the Titans have won their last 17). It's safe to say they're tough to beat.

2. (-) San Francisco Shock (11-3)

It was tempting to move the San Francisco Shock San Francisco Shock OWL Rank #2 ChoiHyoBin Choi Hyo-Bin (최효빈) off tank Viol2t Park Min-ki flex support Striker Kwon Nam-joo (권남주) dps ANS Lee Seon-chang (이선창) dps smurf Yoo Myeong-Hwan tank Moth Grant Espe support up to the top spot after they secured the Overwatch League's only perfect stage with their 28-0 map record. It it hard to fathom the Stage 2 finals will be anything other than a rematch between the Titans and Shock. Hello unstoppable force, meet immovable object.

3. (-) New York Excelsior (12-2)

Once again the New York Excelsior New York Excelsior OWL Rank #6 JJoNak Bang Sung-hyeon (방성현) flex support HOTBA Choi Hong-joon off tank Saebyeolbe Park Jong Ryeol dps Haksal Kim Hyo-jong (김효종) dps Mano Kim Dong-gyu (김동규) tank ANAMO Jeong Tae-seong (정태성) support lost to the Atlanta Reign. They hold onto rank three solely because the Gladiators also lost in a match they should have won and no one under the Gladiators has proven worthy of a top four spot.

4. (-) Los Angeles Gladiators (9-5)

As a result of their losses this past week, the Los Angeles Gladiators Los Angeles Gladiators OWL Rank #13 Shaz Jonas Suovaara flex support SPACE Indy Halpern off tank birdring Kim Ji-hyuk (김지혁) dps kevster Kevin Persson dps OGE Son Min-seok (손민석) tank BigGoose Benjamin Isohanni support will be the fourth seed in the Stage 2 playoffs and the Excelsior will be the fifth seed. That means the two will face each other in the first match of Stage 2 between any of the stage's top four teams.

5. (+1) London Spitfire (9-5)

While the London Spitfire London Spitfire OWL Rank #17 BERNAR Shin Se-won (신세원) off tank Highly Lee Sung-hyeok (이성혁) flex support Glister Lim Gil-seong (임길성) dps Although Jung Hyun-wook dps JMac Choi Dae-han (최대한) tank SanGuiNar Lym Kyu-min support will enter the Stage 2 playoffs with a higher seed than both the Excelsior and the Gladiators, none of their performances have convinced me they should be higher than either team. Still, they have rebounded nicely from an up-and-down Stage 1 and have solidified themselves as one of the league's better teams.

6. (-1) Seoul Dynasty (7-7)

The Seoul Dynasty Seoul Dynasty OWL Rank #4 creative Kim Young-wan (김영완) flex support FITS Kim Dong-eon (김동언) dps Profit Park Joon-yeong (박준영) dps Marve1 Hwang Min-seo (황민서) tank Gesture Hong Jae-hee (홍재희) tank tobi Yang Jin-mo (양진모) support missed the Stage 2 playoffs after playing the Titans twice and the Gladiators once during the stage. The loss to the Spark was concerning, but isn't a reason to panic.

7. (+1) Dallas Fuel (9-5)

The Dallas Fuel Dallas Fuel OWL Rank #15 NotE Lucas Meissner off tank Crimzo William Hernandez flex support Doha Kim Dong-Ha (김동하) dps ONIGOD Stefan Fiskerstrand dps Gamsu Noh Yeong-jin (노영진) tank Paintbrush Nolan Edwards support have quietly put themselves in sixth in the overall league standings with a 9-5 match record. Should they finish the season in the same place, they will automatically qualify for the postseason playoffs. Sure, much of that success has been built off of the league's weaker teams, but don't use that to discredit the Fuel. There are only four to six teams in the league that actually look strong.

8. (+3) Hangzhou Spark (8-6)

With their win over the Seoul Dynasty, the Hangzhou Spark Hangzhou Spark OWL Rank #9 BeBe Yoon Hui-Chang (윤희창) flex support QOQ Yu Sung-joon (유성준) off tank GodsB Kim Kyeon-Bo (김경보) dps Architect Park Min-ho (박민호) dps guxue Xu Qiulin (徐秋林) tank M1ka Liu Jiming (刘济铭) support are now beating good teams and are doing so whether Adora or Krystal is in their lineup. The Spark have a chance to make a real statement this weekend when they play the Spitfire in the first round of the stage playoffs. In fact, their performance against the Spitfire will be our lasting memory of how seriously to take the Spark for the next month.

9. (-) Shanghai Dragons (7-7)

The Shanghai Dragons Shanghai Dragons OWL Rank #1 Izayaki Kim Min-chul (김민철) flex support Void Kang Jun-woo (강준우) off tank Fleta Kim Byung-sun (김병선) dps LIP Lee Jae-won (이재원) dps FEARLESS Lee Eui-seok (이의석) tank LeeJaeGon Lee Jae-gon (이재곤) support have qualified for their first ever stage playoffs. Yes, they made it with an average 13-13-2 (W/L/T) map record. And yeah, three of their wins were against the league's worst three teams. Still, no one could imagine such success for this franchise last year.

10. (+5) Atlanta Reign (7-7)

You wouldn't be blamed for thinking the Atlanta Reign Atlanta Reign OWL Rank #14 Dogman Dusttin Bowerman flex support Hawk Xander Domecq off tank Lr1s Kim Seung-Hyun (김승현) flex support Edison Kim Tae-hoon (김태훈) dps saucy Garret Roland dps Gator Blake Scott tank Masaa Petja Kantanen support 's first win over the Excelsior was a fluke (I certainly did). It's hard to argue it's a fluke after their second win. The Reign have looked weak throughout most of Stage 2, but their performances against the Excelsior in their last two matches should be enough to give the team confidence moving forward. Their 7-7 record currently leaves them in position to make the play-in tournament at the end of the season.

11. (-4) Philadelphia Fusion (8-6)

At last, the people are getting what they want!

The Philadelphia Fusion Philadelphia Fusion OWL Rank #3 Fury Kim Jun-ho (김준호) off tank Alarm Kim Kyeong-bo (김경보) flex support Carpe Lee Jae-hyeok (이재혁) dps Ivy Lee Seung-Hyun dps SADO Kim Su-Min (뜨용) tank FunnyAstro Daniel Hathaway support are essentially the line separating the league's good teams from bad, and last week enough teams looked good to warrant moving the Fusion down.

Regardless of where they're ranked, however, the Fusion remain in pretty good shape in the standings. The Atlantic Division has four of the league's bottom six and only two of the league's top six. They must play every Atlantic team twice this season and have already played the division's top two teams (the Excelsior and the Spitfire) twice. Their schedule lends itself favorably to at least making the play-in tournament after beginning the season with an 8-6 record.

12. (-) Boston Uprising (7-7)

In the same week the Boston Uprising Boston Uprising OWL Rank #20 Myunbong Seo Sang-min (서상민) flex support punk Leyton Gilchrist off tank Colourhex Kelsey Birse dps Jerry Min Tae-Hui (민태희) dps Fusions Cameron Bosworth tank mikeyy Michael Konicki tank Halo Kobe Hamand support beat the Gladiators, they lost to the Justice. How is anyone supposed to rank that performance?

13. (+3) Los Angeles Valiant (3-11)

While finishing with a winning record is likely a lost cause for the 3-11 Los Angeles Valiant Los Angeles Valiant OWL Rank #11 McGravy Caleb McGarvey off tank Lastro Moon Jung-won (문정원) flex support Shax Johannes Nielsen dps ksp Kai Collins dps Dreamer Song Sang-lok tank RAin Park Jae-ho (박재호) support , there is certainly still room for the Valiant to rise in the standings before the end of the season. They're still not a good team, but they don't really look like one of the league's worst teams at this point either.

14. (-4) Chengdu Hunters (6-8)

The Chengdu Hunters Chengdu Hunters OWL Rank #12 Lateyoung Ma Tianbin (马添彬) off tank Molly He Chengzhi (何诚智) flex support Jinmu Yi Hu (易虎) dps Leave Huang Xin (黄馨) dps Ameng Ding Menghan (丁蒙涵) tank Yveltal Li Xianyao (李先曜) support have now lost four of their last five matches. As stated in previous weeks, the Hunters are high on upset potential, but are not a great team otherwise. Still, their performance so far is redemption for a Chinese Overwatch scene embarrassed by the performance of the Dragons last season.

15. (-1) Toronto Defiant (7-7)

The only reason the Toronto Defiant Toronto Defiant OWL Rank #16 KariV Park Young-seo (박영서) flex support Nevix Andreas Karlsson off tank Logix Andreas Berghmans dps Agilities Brady Girardi dps numlocked Seb Barton tank Kruise Harrison Pond support were spared from a losing record at this point in the season was the Paris Eternal. Their losing streak was halted and some confidence was likely restored, but changes are still needed if they hope to end up in playoff contention at the end of the season.

16. (+1) Guangzhou Charge (5-9)

I would like to sign a petition to rename the Guangzhou Charge Guangzhou Charge OWL Rank #5 Shu Kim Jin-seo flex support Cr0ng Nam Ki-cheol (남기철) off tank Happy Lee Jung-woo (이정우) dps Eileen Ou Yiliang (欧倚良) dps Rio Oh Seung-pyo (오승표) tank Chara Kim Jung-yeon (김정연) support into Shu 's Money Crew.

17. (-4) Paris Eternal (5-9)

Between now and the Paris Eternal Paris Eternal OWL Rank #7 hanbin Choi Han-bin (최한빈) off tank Fielder Kwon Joon (권준) flex support SoOn Terence Tarlier dps SP9RK1E Kim Young-han (김영한) dps BenBest Benjamin Dieulafait tank FDGoD Brice Monscavoir support 's next match is the Atlantic Showdown. They should carefully scout the players in that tournament (and beyond) to fill their last two roster spots and improve their team. They could use the boost in talent.

18. (+1) Washington Justice (2-12)

Prior to sleepy joining the Washington Justice Washington Justice OWL Rank #10 AimGod Min-seok Kwon flex support JJANU Choi Hyeon-woo (최현우) off tank TTuba Lee Ho-sung (이호성) dps Stitch Lee Chung-hee (이충희) dps Decay Jang Gui-un (장귀운) dps ArK Hong Yeon-joon support , the Justice were 1-10. That's a .091 win rate. Since then, the Justice are 1-2. That's a .333 win rate. That's a gross misuse of statistics but the Justice should be praised anyway for breaking from their contemporaries at the bottom of the table and actually improving their roster.

19. (-1) Houston Outlaws (3-11)

The Houston Outlaws Houston Outlaws OWL Rank #19 MekO Kim Tae Hong off tank rapel Kim Jun-geun (김준근) flex support LiNkzr Jiri Masalin dps Danteh Dante Cruz dps Hydration João Pedro Goes Telles flex Jecse Lee Seong-soo (이승수) support were swept in clean 4-0s three times in Stage 2 and lost in a 3-0 one other time. That means they failed to win a map in over half their matches this stage. I know no one has ever said this, but the Outlaws should probably look to improve their roster.

20. (-) Florida Mayhem (1-13)

The Florida Mayhem Florida Mayhem OWL Rank #8 Gargoyle Lee Beom-jun (이범준) off tank GangNamJin Gang Nam-jin (강남진) flex support BQB Lee Sang-bum (이상범) dps Yaki Kim Jun-gi (김준기) dps Fate Koo Pan-seung (구판승) tank Kris Choi Jun-soo (최준수) support had a better map record than the Outlaws did this stage and that's something to be proud of.

Weekly Wrap-up

There will be little change in the rankings next week as only eight teams -- all of which are in the top nine of these rankings -- will play next week. After that, Scrub's Power Rankings will enter hibernation as the league gives its players and staff (at least those not involved in the All-Star Weekend) an extended break. Vacation is good for everybody.