What We Learned: OWL Week 2

Power rankings, team summaries, and a peek into Week 3

Another week of Overwatch League has flown by and this week gave us some incredible games that will continue to have an impact weeks from now and allow fans to really tie some stories to the teams. May every week be as entertaining and fun as this one!

Allow me to explain my methodology or criteria for these power rankings. I am only taking into account performance within OWL and am placing no weight on the cores of teams or their prior performance. I am valuing strength of schedule/quality wins and maps pretty heavily. It begins to get a bit murky the lower one goes down the list to stick hard and fast to this criteria but it remains a guide and an explanation for the rankings that follow.

Numbers following the team names in brackets will display their rating in last weeks power rankings. Numbers following the teams in parenthesis will display the teams current record heading into Week 3.

Image via New York Excelsior

New York Excelsior [4] (4–0) — The Excelsior move up three spots this week to hold the number one spot for the very same reason the Valiant held the spot last week. The Excelsior have had the most difficult schedule thus far out of the top teams have made it out undefeated. They hold an overall map score of 13–2–1 and have a ridiculous roster of eight players that have all proven themselves and performed in OWL already. There are very few questions when it comes to the strength of this team. Pine is being referred to as the “final boss” of the team as his performance every time he is subbed in is marvelous, boasting an absurd 41% of his team’s kills when in the game on McCree. Performance across the board has been stellar with Saebyeolbe’s Widow which as been a bit underwhelming and Libero’s Junkrat which has also been lukewarm in comparison to others around the league. New York failed to drop a map this weekend against the Valiant and Gladiators, though they did score a draw on Numbani against the Valiant. The Excelsior’s heights will be tested next week as they go up against the Fusion on Thursday leading up to a match against the Seoul Dynasty the following day.. It is likely the winner of the NYXL vs. Dynasty match will be unanimously number one in power rankings across the scene and it is without question a must see matchup. Seoul Dynasty [2] (4–0) — The Dynasty looked impressive once again as they refused to give up a map during the second week. Unsurprisingly, the killer duo of Ryujehong and Fleta piloted the steamroller as Seoul sweeped both the Florida Mayhem and Boston Uprising. Their overall map score so far is 14–1–1, one win more than NYXL but against lesser competition which keeps them at number 2. Fleta continues to be one of the few players to make a consistent impact on Widow in a myriad of situations. Having the most playtime on Widow besides Effect by 3 minutes, Fleta maintains near 33% of his teams kills when he is on Widow and more than double Effect’s Kill-to-death ratio at 2.9 making him the best Widow in the league so far with only Linkzr and Birdring in the same tier. Zunba’s D.va is being overlooked as he is showing to be incredibly consistent and rarely get’s caught out of position and is constantly harassing. The Seoul face off against the Shanghai Dragons in a match that is sure to feature the Dynasty styling on the Dragons as they continue to fail to take flight, and the New York Excelsior in what is sure to be a battle of top talent and we can only hope that it is as entertaining as the implication of the result. London Spitfire [3] (4–0) — The Spitfire are the last of the undefeated teams in the power rankings. With a great map score of 13–4 London has nothing to be ashamed of but nonetheless end up the lowest ranked undefeated team and remain at number 3 for this weeks power rankings. Besting the Fuel 3–1 and facing down the Valiant in a possible reverse sweep to take the the deciding map managed to come out on top 3–2. I have no doubt that the Spitfire will continue to impress as they field the best DPS duo in the league in Profit and Birdring as well as Rascal who is in a similar situation as Pine from NYXL as an incredibly talented DPS player who is used in special situations and would be starting for almost any other team. In the current meta, it is impossible to move Profit or Birdring to the bench as they are without question the top performers on the dive composition combo of Genji and Tracer respectively. The Spitfire must brave the skies against the San Francisco Shock and hold off the Boston Uprising to remain undefeated. I don’t see either team being able to ground the Spitfire. Los Angeles Valiant [1] (2–2) — The Valiant didn’t fair so well in the second week and while I don’t regret placing them first because my metric they earned it, they showed themselves to be not quite there yet as they failed to win a map against NYXL as they lost 0–3–1. The second game of the week however was much different as they displayed heart taking the London Spitfire to map 5 in a near reverse sweep but ultimately dropped the series 2–3. The score board doesn’t illuminate the entire picture though. The entire match against London was extremely close. Losing Dorado by literally .01m and losing Horizon by 1 tick on point B made for an even closer match than the score reflects. The Valiant showed that they can hang with the big three and will likely spend the rest of the season trying to find a way in to that tier. The Valiant are so well rounded and should continue to build around their solid tank combo of Fate and Envy. The Valiant have had no favors in the first two weeks of competition as they had the toughest schedule but can look forward to some breathing room in the third week as they face off against city rivals in the Los Angeles Gladiators and the Florida Mayhem. I view the Gladiator match up as a pretty good barometer of where this team is. The Gladiators have shown themselves to be unable to hang with the top tier teams but be able to stomp the lower tier and put up healthy fights against the mid-table.

Similar to last week, this is where the criteria become a bit more lax and potential/ceiling is considered and the waters get much murkier, especially considering how a lot of the mid-table remain inconsistent and haven’t had a chance to truly differentiate themselves yet. I will still attempt to do my best to explain my ratings.

5. Houston Outlaws [10] (2–2) — The Outlaws make the biggest jump in my rankings moving up 5 spots. I mentioned last week that this is a team that is better than the position they held and they showed that joining the likes of Seoul in refusing to give up a map in week 2. Further knocking the wind out of the sails of rival Dallas Fuel by beating them 4–0 and beating down the inferior Shanghai Dragons, the Outlaws showed what they were capable of. Houston is an interesting team talent wise holding Linkzr, a top tier Widow, Muma, a top tier Winston, and Coolmatt on D.Va who has shown himself to be someone the team can lean on. Perhaps most beneficial is Jake’s Junkrat, easily the most impressive Junkrat in the league this gives the Outlaws a little wrinkle to their game that is difficult to deal with as Jake doesn’t give the opposing team room to breathe as Junkrat. They have stuck to their core roster making few substitutions and it’s allowed for this team to make great strides in a single week. Yes, the Fusion arrested the Outlaws week one 3–2, but I think this team has made enough progress in Week 2 and due to the Fusion faltering a bit against the Gladiators and Shock I think it’s justifiable to put the Outlaws at five as they are clearly the mid-table team with the most upside and have already realized some of that potential. Week 3 should allow the Outlaws to hone their craft and separate from the pack a bit as they line up against the Mayhem and Gladiators. Houston having another impressive week will make me very content with placing them fifth.

6. Philadelphia Fusion [5] (2–2) — In the same breath as I explain away the Outlaws loss to the Fusion I will use it here to justify them being above a team they just lost to in the Gladiators. I struggled a lot with this placement as they have the same map score, 7–10, as the Gladiators and just lost to them. However I would give Philadelphia more of a chance against teams ranked above them than I would the Gladiators. They just have more talent at the moment. I think some of their missteps are being unable to acclimate to the unrelenting dive style of Fragi and I think that in time they will be able to play around that and simultaneously overcome their struggles on payload based maps as they have a record of 2–5–1 on Escort and Hybrid maps. I just can’t look at a roster with as good of a DPS duo, support duo, and tank duo as the Fusion and not give them the benefit of the doubt. The Fusion have a conflicting week ahead of them with a difficult match against the top ranked New York Excelsior, a team that will match up with them on a player-by-player basis, and a softball of a game against the Dragons, a team who will not be able to compete on an individual level. Expect the Fusion to stay on that .500 track.

7. Los Angeles Gladiators [7] (2–2) — The Gladiators are the only mid-table team that falls into the same spot. Confirming the track laid out for them last week: a team that will stomp teams below them, get stomped by those above them, and fight with teams of equal strength, the Gladiators got swept by the Excelsior and won a hard fought battle 3–2 against the Fusion. The interesting thing about this position is that they look to be on the outside looking in on a playoff spot should their performance stay the course, but with a little improvement they could slip in the top 6. They have an incredible support duo and a very solid DPS trio, but their tank duo, particularly their main tank in Iremiix, has failed to really show up in matches where they arent heavily favored to win. The Gladiators approach a tough week where they have to face their city rivals in the Valiant and the surging Houston Outlaws. Both games in which they are expected to lose, but they have a chance to interrupt the narrative building around them if they can manage to pull of an upset.

8. San Francisco Shock [9] (2–2) — In last place among the .500 teams is the Shock. San Francisco managed to take a map off the Fusion as well as earn a draw in a 2–1–1 game and withstand the Uprising in a 3–2 win. The Shock have shown that they can throw some blows even without the possible problem solvers waiting to come of age to join the league in Sinatraa and Super. The Shock have found ways to win despite being outplayed on an individual level even in their victory against the Uprising. They have a glaring weak spot in Dhak who is really struggling with Mercy, and Danteh is inconsistent at best and remarkably average at worst. Their strength in Babybay’s DPS play and Sleepy’s Zenyatta is almost negated by it being the strength of a lot of the other teams as well and to a higher level. Despite all that the Shock have shown that they won’t give up and will find ways to fight and win and that holds its own value. The Shock must try to bring down the Spitfire and see if they can contribute to the Dallas Fuel spillage in Week 3. I honestly believe that the Shock have a good chance against the Fuel unless they happen to choose Week 3 to pull it together, but I don’t see a reality in which the Shock can upset the Spitfire.

9. Boston Uprising [8] (1–3) — The Uprisings hype was squashed a bit in week 2 as they failed to win a game. Boston was expectantly swept by Seoul but also lost 2–3 against the Shock, an opponent that they were expected to win against based on their week 1 performance. The Uprising have a lot to iron out but that shouldn’t exactly be held against them anymore than it has to as they are a young roster that is meant to be coached up. DreamKazper has impressed on a variety of characters and should serve as a solid player to build around. There is still a lot to learn about this team and I feel that will remain a narrative throughout the first stage at least. They have a very entrenched establishment to attempt to topple in the Spitfire before having to come to blows with the struggling Fuel. Just as with the Shock, the Fuel matchup could be interesting but I don’t envision the Uprising giving the Spitfire any turbulence.

10. Dallas Fuel [6] (0–4) — Dallas should consider themselves fairly lucky to be at this position. They have had a very hard schedule thus far but have failed to win a game and have only scrounged up two map wins in the first two weeks. They have gotten swept by their rivals in Houston and stole a map from the Spitfire. They have not been all too impressive outside of their first two maps against Seoul and the Valiant. But going 1–7 in Week 2 casts a shadow on those performances and starts a a disturbing trend for the Fuel. With seemingly no synergy, communication, or ability to play standard dive, the Fuel could be in trouble. To say they are under-performing would be a massive understatement as the only thing keeping them from being out of the top ten in a twelve team league is the Mayhems equally awful performances against everyone but the Dragons. Dallas’s map win against Seoul scores higher with me than a sweep of the Dragons. Dallas has actually put themselves in a position where they could risk not being a playoff team if the mid-table teams happen to outperform expectations even a little bit. A scary thought for such a hyped team. Fortunately for Dallas, their schedule lightens up a bit in Week 3 as have to wage war against the Shock and Uprising. If Dallas can’t manage to refuel and get back on track beating both these teams I think there is reason for genuine panic.

11. Florida Mayhem [11] (1–3) — The memeteam can dream. Despite being the most entertaining thing outside of the matches themselves in OWL, the Mayhem continue to struggle. Getting swept and earning a sweep themselves, week 2 wasn’t so bad for the Mayhem. Unfortunately that 4–0 victory was against the Shanghai Dragons so in the context of these rankings it doesn’t carry much weight. The Mayhem are going to continue to have the same problems through the season, fielding a team of 6 with no variation or wrinkle for teams to plan against. While they have been ultimately underwhelming nothing has been really mediocre from them individually besides Tviq’s Tracer. This team could reasonably improve and make it’s way into the mid-table but as it stands, they are sort of trapped in the lower tier with Shanghai until they get a victory of note. Week 3 brings them the Outlaws and the Valiant. Two tough matches where they very likely will not win or come close, but if they could take a map or two it’d go a long way for their confidence.

12. Shanghai Dragons [12] (0–4) — Whelp, the Dragons missed their only realistic chance of getting a victory at this stage when they got swept by the Mayhem 4–0. This team just can’t seem to find a way to show up. With a map score of 1–15, they have nowhere to go but up. Unfortunately for the Dragons, they have had the easiest schedule the first two weeks and have almost absolutely nothing to show for it. They need to improve in record time otherwise a 0–40 season is somewhat realistic and that is not a good way for any franchise to start. The really horrible thing is there is nothing to really even point to on an individual level either. They aren’t playing well as individuals and they aren’t playing well as a team. A combination that will result in a loss every time. The poor Dragons must face the Dynasty and Fusion next week and it’s probably the most probably outcome that they get swept in both games.