After weeks of everything from reverse-sweeps and curious strats to somewhat suspended and actually suspended players, we have reached the final week of the Overwatch League’s Stage 1. Preseason rankings may have kept the New York Excelsior outside of the Top 3, but the community and media seem to have reached a consensus. The CompetitiveOverwatch subreddit, Reinforce, and Tyler Erzberger’s ESPN Power Rankings all have the League split into four general tiers that follow the OWL Standings: The Korean Tier (NY, LDN, SEO), the Contending Tier (BOS, HOU, LAV, PHI), the Competitive Tier (DAL, LAG, SFS), and the Under-Construction Tier (FLM, SHD). With the Korean invasion of Californian ISPs fully underway, here’s a breakdown of where each Overwatch League team ranks from #12 to #1 amidst all of the glamour, glitz, and Naruto sprinting that comes with the big stage.

12. Shanghai Dragons

Shanghai has gone from being miserably swept to losing 3-2 against the Fusion (sans Poko), 3-1 against the Dynasty (sans Fleta), and 3-2 against the Fuel (sans Effect) in the last few weeks. Even if those teams were at incomplete strength, the Dragons (and specifically Undead’s hitscan) have improved. Shanghai doubts date to U4 forsaking the entire Miraculous Youngsters club (causing the Houston Outlaws to question if the Dragons were bringing China’s best on the Ult Advantage Podcast Ep. 5) before escalating into rumors about Shanghai’s training and diet after their DPS Diya, widely considered their only T1 talent, seemed distraught during a January loss. Now, the boys in red are enjoying Super Bowl parties and starting to pop off a little against the league’s best. If the rumored acquisitions of Geguri (Rox Orcas Off-Tank), Fearless (Element Mystic Main-Tank and Captain), and Ado (MVP Space Flex DPS) go through then Shanghai will be adding three of the top Korean prospects, including the Captain of the most respected Korean team outside of the OWL, to an already-improving squad. Oh, and the next meta should let FiveKing play his favorite hero a little more. Things are looking up for the Dragons.

11. Florida Mayhem

If not for a Week 2 sweep of the Dragons, Florida would be sitting at #12 right now. The only Stage 1 team with just six players (deemed “a throw” by the Outlaws on Ult. Advantage Podcast #5), the Mayhem’s stagnant roster is troubling. The players might know de way and Owner Ben Spoont has promised some major announcements, but the team’s signing of Finnish ex-Gigantti Flex Zappis is only slightly encouraging and fails to address their Main Tank CWoosH’s desire “to have another main tank player on the team.” The arm-sleeved TviQ is a renown, flexible DPS (played eight different heroes during European Contenders S1 Finals) and the rest of the team has shown flashes of talent (from Logix pulsing a Pharah to Zebbosai’s history with Ana), but the team has underperformed. The McDonald Dons have a ton of room to improve so they should continue enjoying themselves as we await announcements about how they might expand into their final form.

10. San Francisco Shock

An absolute enigma, their roster feels nebulous and their play inconsistent. Owned by NRG’s Andy Miller, the Shock came into the season confident with IDDQD mentioning that “it’s not unreasonable to think you’ll win the whole thing” and Sleepy claiming that “just on mechanics and individual skill alone we’re insane. I’d say easily Top 5” (Ult. Advantage Podcast #6). But after four weeks IDDQD has not played a single minute with BabyBay’s emergence making his hitscan skillset redundant and the Shock are sitting at 9th in the standings. Now that teams have started to focus BabyBay and his Dhak pocket, Bay’s play has become as inconsistent as his co-DPS Danteh’s Tracer. Coach Brad Rajani described the team’s roster as “a versatile roster that can play lots of different styles,” so hopefully both Tracer superstar Sinatraa and Flex Tank protegé Super‘s 18th birthdays can unlock a winning style.

9. Dallas Fuel

The most storied and confusing team of all. Consensus ranks had the Fuel ranked as high as #3 during the pre-season, but now they sit at #10 in the standings after going 2-7. The famed EnVyUs roster, coached by KyKy and managed by TazMo, can’t seem to win games with or without their new pickups Seagull, XqC, and Custa. The Dallas soap opera has covered an XqC suspension for homophobia, Taimou’s self-benching for underperformance, and EFFECT’s Symmetraphobia and benching for “personal reasons.” In the end, talent should still prevail. EFFECT is an absolute stud on DPS and has done literally unfathomable things as Tracer. But he is not a shot-calling carry. Cocco, Chipshajen, and Mickie are all steady personalities and players. Seagull and Custa are talented newcomers acclimating to the team’s comms. If Taimou can continue returning to Mr. Good Aim form and XqC can find his emotional balance, the Fuel could run some nasty lineups with those two handling callouts. Especially with the next meta letting HarryHook return to beastly Lucio play and the addition of AkM’s respected DPS talents. If the Fuel keep meshing and improve upon what Custa called their “free-flowing system” for comms then their talent, especially EFFECT’s, should resurge.

8. Los Angeles Gladiators

Owned by the Kroenke sports conglomerate family, the LA Gladiators have had a strange Stage 1. Inconsistent Tracer Asher has been a mainstay while Hydration and Surefour, and their overlapping hero pools, have subbed for one another. Hydration has proved his superior Genji play, but S4’s flexibility (especially on Zarya) and energy (credited for their reverse-sweep) have made for some difficult coaching decisions. Fittingly, the Gladiators Tanks are consistently impressive, with Houston’s Muma mentioning that “Bischu and Remiix are the only Western tank duo that can even remotely give Coolmatt and I a run for our money” (Ult. Advantage Podcast #5). The two Supports: Shaz and BigGoose, have shown serious flashes and should only be benefitted by the post-Mercy meta. For now, the Gladiators round out the tier with Dallas and San Francisco because they don’t look nearly talented enough to beat the top teams, but are still pretty solid with room to grow as they figure out their DPS rotation.

7. Philadelphia Fusion

They are the only team to beat the New York Excelsior and could easily boast the strongest DPS duo in the League. They also nearly lost to Shanghai and continue to mess with their starting lineup. Shadowburn may very well be the OWL’s best Genji (and maybe its best Pharah) and the former #1 ranked fish Carpe has legitimately dominated on McCree, Tracer, and Widow. But, the team has a huge roster with Hotba, Eqo, Sado, Dayfly, Joemeister, and even the 17-year-old Snillo awaiting minutes — so with Korean Coach NamedHwi only just recently joining the team in California it is no wonder that Philadelphia has been experimenting (e.g. giving Hotba playtime over famed D.Va bomber Poko). With a DPS duo only rivaled by London and New York’s, the potential is huge for Philadelphia once they figure out their question-marks at Tank and Support. It’s very possible that the team flies up rankings once the suspended Main Tank SADO returns and gives the team a break from Fragi’s overaggressive style.

6. Boston Uprising

Owned by Robert Kraft, crafted by HuK, and captained by Gamsu — the Boston Uprising combine the highest pedigree of traditional sports with acute Overwatch IQ and one of the Overwatch League’s most charismatic leaders and talented Tanks. The Uprising have been underrated since the preseason, but not by their peers. Muma predicted the team “to do infinitely better than people expect,” Sleepy called them “completely underestimated,” (Ult. Advantage Podcast #5) and IDDQD summed it all up: “People are all saying Boston is like bottom tier, they’re ass or whatever, they literally don’t know what they’re talking about” (Ult. Advantage Podcast #6). They have been proven right as Captain Gamsu, beloved by teammates for helping them eat both in games and in real life, has mounted a winning season that lands the Uprising at 5-3. While most of the international team (players hail from the U.S., Canada, Denmark, Ethiopia, Korea, and Russia) has shown talent, the standout has been DreamKazper who has suddenly asserted himself as one of the Overwatch League’s most dominant and flexible DPS players. If their second DPS, Mistakes or Striker, gets it together then Boston will be scary. With a roster of ten players, three coaches, and one analyst — Boston should be able to continue rising around the play of their stars Gamsu and DreamKazper.

5. Houston Outlaws

Nerf or no nerf, Jakerat will live. The OWL has two premier Junkrat players, Wekeed and Jake, and only Houston’s is a consistent starter. Jake has been a nightmare this patch and his skillrat should go unfazed into the next, but the team’s real keys to success are their Tanks and Linkzr. A revelation at DPS, Linkzr has been consistently popping off on Widow and improving on Tracer. The space created by Widow coupled with NA’s most classic tank duo, CoolMatt and Muma, has allowed Houston to consistently create enough picks for Jake and Rawkus’s Zenyatta to lay in damage and win fights. Houston has a large roster and has struggled when Linkzr is unable to play, but Flame’s management coupled with TaiRong (former AF Blue and S. Korea World Cup Coach) and MESR’s (former top-tier NA Tank) coaching should eventually prevail and bring more out of this squad. To fully contend the team will need to sort some things out, but in the meantime Linkzr can continue carrying like he’s facing Sinatraa, Dafran, and Logix on ladder.

4. Seoul Dynasty

At this point, Dynasty fans probably want off the wild ride. The most historically dominant team in Overwatch has now taken turns benching Lunatic Hai stalwarts Miro, Ryujehong, Tobi, and even their new DPS MVP-candidate Fleta. The Dynasty still have one of the scariest teams on paper, but at 5-12 over their last four games and with such roster turmoil — something seems amiss. Two major factors stand out: 1) Kuki supplanted Miro as Main Tank and Ryujehong on callouts, but is currently sick, and 2) This meta forces Tobi onto Mercy instead of his preferred Lucio. Both factors should be solved with time as Kuki returns to health and the next patch accommodates Tobi, but neither fully explains how poorly the Dynasty have performed either. The largest issue seems to be the second DPS role. Fleta has proven dominance on Genji, Pharah, and Widowmaker. Projectile-specialist Wekeed has eaten on Hanzo and Junkrat. But Tracer specialists Bunny and Munchkin have looked disoriented and overaggressive. Lunatic Hai succeeded despite Esca and Gido’s lacking DPS mechanics because of coordination with Miro. Having trouble finding rhythm with the Dynasty’s Tracer might explain why even Wekeed played some Tracer, why Gido’s DPS flexibility was subbed in for Tobi at support, and why Miro’s play has looked so unsteady. Or maybe Seoul doesn’t care about Stage 1 prize money and is adopting a Bill Belichick-ian approach to roster management. In any case, the Dynasty have disappointed but there is reason to expect a return to form once Kuki is healthy and the next meta arrives.

3. Los Angeles Valiant

3-0 over the Dynasty, 4-0 over the Fusion, and a 3-2 loss to the Spitfire have earned the Valiant a right to sit just below the Overwatch League’s real juggernauts. They may have lost 4-0 to the Uprising, but that was without Unkoe — and as seen yesterday against the Dynasty, Unkoe is a big deal (on Zenyatta). The Valiant are still juggling Silkthread’s versatility with the nutty Genji (and surprisingly talented Pharah) Agilities and their two Supports Kariv and Unkoe have swapped Mercy roles a couple times. But, the team’s core (formerly Immortals) seems significantly bolstered by the additions of SoOn, Unkoe, and SilkThread. SoOn is the craftiest Tracer in the League, Unkoe is elite (as long as he is not playing Mercy), and SilkThread is a talented flex DPS. The Shock’s Nomy has called Agilities “a godlike player” (Ult. Advantage Podcast #6), but the Valiant go only as far as their Tanks allow. Fortunately, Korean Tanks Envy and Fate are consistently daunting (and clutch for fantasy leagues), and the inactive SPACE should eventually be a nice Flex-Tank addition. Lastly, it is an absolute waste for DPS-heavy Supports like former Rank #1 Zenyatta Unkoe or someone with Kariv’s nutty Widowmaker talents to play Mercy. The Valiant should improve even more once Kariv and Unkoe get out of the Mercy meta.

2. London Spitfire

After concerns about choosing an optimal lineup, the Bishop-coached combination of GC Busan and Kongdoo Panthera has spit out an even cockier bespectacled Korean Winston than Miro in Gesture and a DPS duo of Birdring and Profit whose backups, Hooreg and Rascal, would start on most other teams. The Spitfire roster is legitimately absurd; they could split into two and both teams would contend. But, with great power comes great responsibility and even minor lineup adjustments can be a big deal when all players involved are so talented. The team has found success, even when subbing players in just because the fans were calling them cowards, but NYXL is granted the edge because their lineup feels more stable and their Supports have made a larger impact. Regardless, the two top teams are in a tier of their own and this Saturday’s Stage 1 finale should be a legitimate Goliath v. Goliath matchup.

1. New York Excelsior

From LW Blue to New York’s Finest: the Boys in Blue. After a bumpy start, the Excelsior have found their form and are dominating games. Off-Tank MekO, Off-Support JJoNak, and Main Support ArK are all looking like the best at their role in the League while Saebyoelbe and Pine each have made a strong case to be considered the best Tracer and McCree, respectively. Given the importance of D.Va, Zenyatta, and Mercy in this meta — the stability of MekO, JJoNak, and ArK has given NYXL unmatched consistency as the flexibility and improvement of Libero on DPS and Mano on Main Tank allows them to shift gameplan depending on which of their specialized DPS players is in the lineup (SBB’s Tracer or Pine’s McCree). MekO and Mano can each play Roadhog effectively, Pine and SBB can each play Widowmaker, and the backbone of ArK’s callouts and JJoNak’s damage means that whatever the lineup — the Excelsior are able to shift gameplan comfortably to create space and mismatches. Despite Janus’s sickness and Pine’s seemingly random substitutions, New York’s adaptability has minimized the inconsistencies of their DPS wildcards Pine and Saebyoelbe and allowed them to carry when the mood strikes. Saturday should be a Stage 1 Finals preview, but even without Fl0w3r the Excelsior’s progress has matched their motto: “Ever Upward.”