12. Shanghai Dragons (0–20)

Even though the Dragons have not had to endure as much drama as the Fuel or Valiant, they still had their fair share early in the season, dealing with practice and lifestyle habits. The China-based squad recently let go of their head coach, U4, and one of their DPS players, Undead. The new hire, Yan Xiao, was a support player for the consensus best team in China, Miraculous Youngsters. This addition along with the 4 new player signings drastically changes Shanghai’s team dynamic. With their first match of the stage against the struggling Dallas Fuel, I could absolutely see a scenario where the Dragons can pull out win.

11. Dallas Fuel (5–15)

What an absolute dumpster fire of a team. From Seagull only playing because Taimou was taking too long in the bathroom to the aKm/Rascal/KyKy miscommunication drama, this team has a ways to go before they can even focus on winning again. You read the threads on Reddit, the Fuel need a management and/or coaching overhaul. They looked very dismal for the majority of Stage 2, and had some flashes of decent play in the last week where Seagull was playing D.Va. It is hard to speculate on Dallas’ future, they need to figure out their roster situation since it seems many of the player’s spots on the team are currently in flux.

10. Florida Mayhem (4–16)

The Mayhem’s latter half of Stage 2 looked much better than their Stage 1. They were able to secure wins against the Valiant, Shock, and Fuel, while also taking the surging Gladiators and Uprising to the end. They played at a much faster pace, more team cohesion, and even clicked heads better. With Zappis, AwesomeGuy, and Sayaplayer being brought in for Stage 3, these guys are going to have more weapons at their disposal to swap between. Cwoosh himself has stated he wishes the Mayhem had another main tank player. The Swede was primarily a Genji player for Misfits until Reinforce left and he had to fill the void.

9. San Francisco Shock (6–14)

The Shock are in a bit of a similar path as the Mayhem at the moment. Some promising results along with roster upgrades on the way. Their all-star Tracer, Sinatraa, has recently been integrated into the lineup. They also have Architect on the way, a projectile specialist and former player for X-6 Gaming and CONBOX, 2 highly regarded Overwatch teams in Korea. Super has also turned 18 in the break between Stage 2 and 3. It isn’t official as to what role he will play, but most are assuming main tank, since Nomy hasn’t exactly been performing up to OWL standards and Nevix has been solid. With these stellar and much needed upgrades and some time to develop a team chemistry, I think this team will definitely shock a few heads in the upcoming matches.

8. Los Angeles Valiant (11–9)

Oh boy, where do I start? After the Valiant’s widely broadcasted infamously transparent In-n-Out video, team owner Noah Whinston has addressed the copious amounts of feedback about the way the Valiant treat their players. Struggling to find an identity in Stage 2 after firing their coach, the Valiant scrambled around with a flurry of different team dynamics, including KariV on DPS for a few weeks. No Agilities, no Silkthread. Two players who could arguably be regarded as a couple of the best in the league. Some poor losses, fan and team drama, and an identity crisis has led to the Valiant being extremely active on the trading block, acquiring Bunny from the Dynasty and reportedly shopping SoOn, UnKOe, and Envy. This was slightly puzzling to me, as SoOn was one of the bright spots of the team over the course of the season. We will have to wait and see as to how the Valiant plug the holes in their sinking ship.

7. Boston Uprising (12–8)

The Uprising have surprisingly taken a “dip” from their solid Stage 1 run. When I say dip, I mean they kept an identical record, going 6–4 in both stages, when they were projected to compete with the best after the Mercy nerf. In Stage 1, we clearly saw that the dive composition was their best and most favorable strategy. Lucio came back into the meta, enhancing the potential of the pure dive comp, but the Uprisers (Is that what I call the players?) saw shutouts against the Outlaws and Fusion. They even struggled to beat the Shock, taking it all the way to a 5th map. The Uprising are also one of the few teams who have not made any roster moves, not that they need any. Dreamkazper has proven he is one of the most versatile DPS in the league and Striker is a top flight Tracer. Maybe the break will do them well and they come back stronger than their underwhelming Stage 2 performace.

6. Los Angeles Gladiators (10–10)

I think we all know what changed for the Gladiators: Fissure. The main tank, who was unanimously the best tank player of 2017, has single-handedly pulled and glued the squad together. Bischu has done a solid job of diving with him and Asher has undergone a renewal. The Tracer main has become a mainstay for the team, with Hydration and Surefour rotating with each other. Coupled with a 2 game improvement from Stage 1, the Gladiators added Void, who formerly played off-tank alongside Fissure on Kongdoo Panthera. The tank position is where the Gladiators needed upgrades, and they went ahead and got some of the best. Look out for these guys to make some serious noise and move up in the power rankings in the future.

5. Houston Outlaws (12–8)

We all know it was a relatively rocky ride through Stage 2 for the Outlaws. The boys finished 3rd in Stage 1, but only finished 5–5 in Stage 2. They struggled to find an identity after the meta change, lacked a strong Tracer player, and from their Focus episodes, it looked like the Outlaws got complacent and skipped some parts of their practice. This led to some bad losses against the Shock, Mayhem, and Gladiators. After regaining their fire from Stage 1, the Outlaws were easily able to beat the Dynasty. In the midst of the break, the Outlaws picked up ArHaN, a strong Genji/Tracer player who competed in APEX and is close to TaiRong. Current assumptions are that ArHan will take up the Tracer role and allow LiNkzr to swap back to his coveted Widowmaker and Genji roles. The Outlaws are another team where there are too many variables and we will have to wait and see, as speculation only gets you so far.

4. Seoul Dynasty (14–6)

The Dyansty were projected to be the best team in OWL in the preseason. Not only are they not the best team, they haven’t even made the stage playoffs yet. They only have a one map advantage over Houston in total map differential (+18, Houston is +17), catching their losses to the NYXL, Spitfire, and Outlaws. The Dynasty are consistent, but not dominant. Fleta, their superstar DPS, has fallen off a bit from his Stage 1 superiority. In their 3 losses, Fleta has performed at a significantly lower level than their wins. This might be due to Miro making unintelligent dives or failure to review VODs, who knows. The Dynasty have been stapled into that 4th place spot over the first 2 stages and I do not see that changing in the forseeable future, unless we see some better play from Miro and/or Munchkin.

3. Philadelphia Fusion (13–7)

The Fusion surprisingly pop all the way up to 3rd in the standings and give the Spitfire and NYXL hell in the stage playoffs (If you want to read an in-depth coverage on those matches by yours truly: part 1 and part 2). If you want the short version: EQO and Snillo elevate this team to heights equal to the best teams in the league. The full dive meta favors every player on the squad except for Fragi. The rather eager Winston seems to dive early in some situations, but the EQO substitution has helped him out. The team is looking much more fluid and dynamic. They adapt to new compositions well and have a wealth of their own insightful and original strategies. The best Western team from Stage 2 by a long-shot.

2. London Spitfire (15–5)

Stage 1 champions. Arguably the best DPS duo in the league and hands down the best main tank in the league. The Spitfire might be the most explosive and destructive team in the league. Behind Gesture, Birdring, and Profit, these guys pose a threat to 4–0 any team in the league, besides the NYXL. The biggest problem with the Spitfire, however, is consistency. Losses to the Gladiators and Outlaws early in Stage 2 triggered a reformation in their practice habits and tendencies. They steamrolled the rest of the stage, winning the rest of their games. A loss to the rolling Fusion in the first round of the stage playoffs spoiled their dreams of a repeat, but this makes them all the more hungry to be that much better in Stage 3.

1. New York Excelsior (18–2)

The juggernauts of OWL. The majority LW Blue roster is essentially made up of a tier 1 player in every position. Their MVP, and the MVP of the entire league in my opinion, Jjonak is up first. This guy plays his Zenyatta like a Widowmaker, and the rest of the team plays around that. He has demonstrated unmatchable mechanical skill and game knowledge, carrying his team in the title Hollywood match against the Fusion, swinging the momentum in the XL’s favor. Libero and Saebyeolbe are both absolutely insane at their roles, SBB performing as the #1 Tracer and Libero flexing onto 5–7 different heroes on any given night, and playing them extremely well at that. The most underrated part of the XL though? MekO. The off-tank has not really had an off-day yet. He continues to impress on the D.Va and Road Hog, quietly positioning himself as one of the best off-tanks in the league. New York are clearly the favorites win the championship and it will take quite a bit to topple these guys from the top.