Scrub's OWL Power Rankings: Stage 3 Week 1

An extended break between Stage 2 and Stage 3 has separated this power rankings from the last one by nearly a month.

In case you forgot what happened last time, here's a short summary: the Shock took the top spot, the Spark made it to the top five, the Spitfire fell to eighth and very little else changed.

Now that you're up to speed, we can shift the conversation over to this most recent week.

The top of the pack had some close calls. Still, the league's best held on to win the games they're supposed to. The only team from last week's (and this week's) top six that lost was the Gladiators -- and that was to the undefeated Vancouver Titans.

There were some surprises, however, from teams toward the middle and bottom of the pack. How did that shake up this week's rankings? Find out in this edition of Scrub's Power Rankings.

The Overwatch League celebrated Pride Day during this week of matches. Image credit: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

1. (-) San Francisco Shock (12-3)

Their match against the Atlanta Reign was a little closer for 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 than they'd like, but they won anyway. The Titans looked better against the Reign than the Shock did, but the Shock will retain the top of the rankings as a nod to their still recent Stage 2 title.

2. (-) Vancouver Titans (16-0)

Now that 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 lost in the stage playoffs, it's time to ask when (if ever) they'll lose in the regular season. It looks like we're still a ways away.

3. (-) New York Excelsior (14-2)

It seems like 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 are fully committing themselves to Sombra-based compositions in Stage 3. It's a good thing they tried this against the Outlaws first so they could give Saebyeolbe a chance to learn the character without actually losing a match.

4. (-) Los Angeles Gladiators (10-6)

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 stomped on the Fuel and were then stomped on by the Titans. It's concerning that the Gladiators' recent matches against the league's very best teams haven't been closer, but they still look better than almost every team in the league. Perhaps with the inclusion of Surefour in the lineup they can improve and compete with the league's best.

5. (-) Hangzhou Spark (9-6)

Despite going 9-6 in matches, 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 31-32-2 (W/L/T) in maps. What does it take to achieve such contrast? A 4-0 record in map fives and a 1-3 record in matches where a team won zero maps. This is even after the Spark's map record was boosted by sweeping the Fusion this past week.

6. (-) Seoul Dynasty (9-7)

You don't need an article about strength of schedule to figure out 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 have had tough opponents to start the season, but it certainly helps. The Dynasty took the rare opportunity to flex their muscle over weaker opponents this week when they swept the Mayhem and Charge. What's impressive about this week's 8-0 map record is they used two different sets of six players to achieve it. It would be quite a feat if KDG manages to make two different lineups work consistently for the Dynasty.

7. (-) Shanghai Dragons (8-7)

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 ended a week with a winning record on the season for the first time in team history. Now they have an opportunity to add to it with upcoming matches against the Reign and Valiant.

8. (-) London Spitfire (10-6)

If we're going to talk about the difficulty of the Dynasty's schedule, we should also talk about just how easy 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 have had it this season. Their Stage 2 was the easiest single stage of the young season and the Spitfire took advantage of it to go 6-1. This week was a good example of where the Spitfire truthfully sit: they swept a Boston Uprising team that has been looking weak but were swept by the New York Excelsior.

9. (-) Dallas Fuel (10-6)

What was said about the Spitfire can be repeated for 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 . They were swept by the Gladiators but didn't lose a map to the Justice. Their next week could produce similar results: they're playing a freefalling Chengdu Hunters squad and the still-undefeated Vancouver Titans.

10. (-) Atlanta Reign (7-9)

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 have proved their two victories over the Excelsior weren't flukes by taking the Shock to map five and taking a map off the Titans. One question remains about the Reign: can they play against weaker teams at the same level they play against the league's top teams?

11. (+2) Los Angeles Valiant (4-12)

While the 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 don't necessarily look great, neither does anyone behind them. They are now 2-1 in this stretch of matches that see them play against Chinese teams five straight times.

12. (-1) Philadelphia Fusion (8-7)

The problem isn't that 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 losing to good teams, the problem is that the Fusion are failing to even remain competitive with those teams. Something needs to change fast for them unless they're content watching a season slip away while they prepare Fusion University's players for promotions to the Overwatch League next season.

13. (+3) Guangzhou Charge (6-10)

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 have rebounded nicely from their abysmal start to Stage 2 to look like a respectable team once again. Their next opponents are not particularly tough -- they're the Valiant and the Defiant -- giving the Charge an opportunity to continue improving their record.

14. (-2) Boston Uprising (7-9)

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 's defeat to the Eternal raises a huge red flag and their decision to experiment with their support duo is now looking questionable. The Uprising are likely one of the better teams to have a losing record, but a three game losing streak that includes matches against the Justice and Eternal is alarming.

15. (+2) Paris Eternal (7-9)

Despite going 2-0 on the week, I'm not quite sold on 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 just yet. Regardless, the Eternal may have put themselves in a good position to make the playoffs. Their next four matches include games with the Mayhem and Outlaws, as well as a rematch against the Boston Uprising.

16. (-1) Toronto Defiant (7-8)

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 's new recruit did not look stellar in their debut week. It's up to the Defiant just how long they want to give Gods and sharyk a chance before they decide on the lineup they're going to try to make playoffs with. They can't afford to wait too long, given their record.

17. (-3) Chengdu Hunters (6-10)

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 six of their last seven matches. While it is disappointing to see a fan-favorite team fall off like this, it's not all that unexpected. The Hunters are now resembling the team they were believed to be by many pundits before the season started.

18. (-) Washington Justice (2-13)

It would be an incredible feat if 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 win just one of their next three matches given they're playing the Spark, Gladiators and Spitfire. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that to happen.

19. (-) Houston Outlaws (3-12)

With Infinite's sale to Immortals now complete, the Outlaws are one step closer to being able to make the necessary changes to grow and improve. Once 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 are sold, no player or staff member will be safe. New ownership won't have the same loyalty and ties to the players and staff Infinite did.

20. (-) Florida Mayhem (1-14)

It's hard to believe Revival Revival Contenders NA Rank #12 Lyar William Ohlstein flex support salty Noah Smith off tank Frostedd off tank Aspire Luka Rolovic dps Wub Cameron Johnson dps Boat dps Kabe dps Squid dps nich Nicholas Taylor tank Moopey Jeromy Lensky tank Frayu1600 support are better than both 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 AND Mayhem Academy Mayhem Academy Inactive !

Weekly Wrap-up

Many of the teams wore alternate jerseys this week. Image credit: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

This space will be used this week to talk about the new alternate jerseys the Overwatch League debuted in the first week of Stage 3.

While there were several jerseys that didn't look good, all of them were better than their default jerseys since teams were given the freedom to make their own designs unique from other teams.

For the first time all season, the Mayhem were able to surround their team with positive conversation as many people fell in love with their Miami Vice-themed alternate jersey. Other teams also played into geolocation for their designs, such as the Reign's jersey based on the famous Georgia peach.

Despite all of the creativity that went into creating unique jerseys for every team, some teams really dropped the ball and those teams are the Dallas Fuel. Surely they could have created something that didn't use the default jersey design as the base, right?

Still, the diversity of the jersey designs were a breath of fresh air and hopefully were a taste of something that becomes permanent when teams move to their home cities in 2020.

In the meantime, let's pray they're a mainstay of Stage 3. There were seven sweeps this past week and only two matches that went to map five. We need something interesting to look at when top teams start rolling over their competition.