By now, most Overwatch League teams are settled on their 2020 roster and identity. Some chose to evolve, others are confident in their previous players. One thing most teams have in common is their desire to be successful. It’s never too early to rank the teams’ roles, right? Here are the best Overwatch League tank lineups.

See also: The Best Overwatch League DPS Lineups.

8. Philadelphia Fusion

Kim “Fury” Jun-Ho was the surprise transfer of the offseason. One of the three best off-tank players in the world, any team would love to have him under contract. He excels at every hero he plays, with Orisa as his pocket pick.

Pair Fury’s Orisa with Gaël “Poko” Gouzerch, and there is a dream bunker duo. Poko was the single most consistent Philadelphia player last season. From D.Va to Roadhog, Sigma to the occasional Zarya, he might not be on the level of Fury, but he holds his own. This allows the Fusion to maintain a rotation in the role, or to field both as a duo.

The elephant in the room is, of course, Kim “Sado” Su-Min. Heavily criticized by most fans and pundits, he has yet to return to his late 2018 form. Of course, he plays best when on Winston, but his Reinhardt was arguably hindered by the team’s performance.

2020 will be his make or break year. It is unlikely that fans let another underwhelming year slide.

A backup would definitely assist their status, but the team should not have much issue next year.

7. Dallas Fuel

The reunion of Lucas “NotE” Meissner and Noh “Gamsu” Young-Jin is a surprise for most, but equally as welcome from Fuel fans. The pillars to Boston’s Season 1 success, it is expected that they are the starting duo for Dallas in 2020.

Gamsu is a large upgrade for the team, as he was great in every team he played for. His flexibility and intelligent style will benefit Dallas the most. NotE rose up the ranks of off tank players in Season 1. After his transfer, though, he failed to live up to expectations.

Ashley “Trill” Powell had a difficult task last year. With limited experience he was set to try to salvage the season. Which, of course, did not work out. Less pressure on him will help, but he needs time to develop properly.

Pongphop “Mickie” Rattanasangchod. He’s still on the team. For whatever reason.

The team has potential, but is still worrying, mainly due to their off tanks.

6. Los Angeles Gladiators

Out of nowhere the Gladiators managed to snag Indy “SPACE” Halpern from their city rivals. Probably the last time SPACE was underwhelming was when he played Soldier: 76 for Cloud9 in 2017. His Sigma, Roadhog, D.Va and Zarya are all great, and Gladiators should not worry in terms of off tank in the future.

Should anything occur, Kim “Bischu” Hyung-Seok is there to fill the gap. He is not cut out of the same cloth as SPACE but is still a fairly good player.

As for main tank, the sole representative is Son “OGE” Min-Seok. He was a fan favorite on Dallas but burn out led to him taking time off last year. OGE is by no means bad, probably an upgrade for them. Like Bischu, though, he is not the same caliber as SPACE.

The same can be said for Roni “LhCloudy” Tiihonen, recently announced. On the Paris Eternal he did not impress, but many maintain hope that he will rise to his Gigantti level. Hopefully a change of scenery will help his performance.

If they can meet the fairly astronomical expectations, however, the Gladiators will have one of the best tank squads in 2020.

5. Hangzhou Spark

Like last year, the Spark duo is great, but not the best. They are rarely the issue and seldom invisible.

This descriptions fits Park “Ria” Seong-Wook almost to a T. What is missing, however, is the fact that Ria is a pretty good player in his own right. Not usually considered to be at the top, but he can hold his own up there.

Xu “Guxue” Qiulin diverges from the description, but embodies an identity that the team created for themselves last year. Every meta, it appears that Hangzhou were lost in the beginning. Yet, by the second or third week of stage time, they, alongside Guxue, were one of the best.

The adaptability of both players will, once again, play a large part in the Spark’s success. It would be beneficial for the team to have additional players, however, if only for emergencies and lightening the workload.

The status of Chen “ZiJin” Qinhao and how the team will use flex player Song “SASIN” Sang-Hyeon are currently unknown. This does not affect the team team negatively, and can only improve them thanks to the depth.

4. Atlanta Reign

During 2019 most discussion on best tank players did not usually include either of the Atlanta tanks (besides now released Seo “DACO” Dong-Hyeong). As a whole, however, their four players work exceptionally well, and led them to an undefeated stage and decent placing in the post season.

At the center of this are Park “Pokpo” Hyunjun and Nathan “FRD” Goebel. Both are highly skilled, Pokpo bringing stability at the main tank role and FRD with his great D.VA and Hog gameplay. Together they were probably the best tank duo in Stage 4’s Pulled Pork composition, allowing the DPS to excel in a 7-0 stage.

Next, comes Blake “Gator” Scott. One of the best American tank players currently, the mastermind behind GOATs was a two way player for the Reign last year. He first displayed skill on Sigma for them in the playoffs, being one of the better players on the hero. Later, he resumed his Atlanta Academy post as a main tank player. Now on Orisa, the team went on to place second in the Gauntlet.

Last, but not least, is Gator’s partner in crime, contender for title of best North American off tank, Xander “Hawk” Domecq. There’s no hero he has not impressed on, and will be a great asset for the Reign to have at their disposal.

3. New York Excelsior

Losing Kim “MekO” Tae-Hong was a big hit for the team, but the way they recovered was almost perfect. Of course, best case scenario was the massive upgrade (getting Fury), but this is probably the next best thing.

Choi “HOTBA” Hong-Joon and Kim “BiaNcA” Dong-Wook are both very flexible, very capable players. Either could start, but it is more likely that HOTBA’s experience gives him the edge. At least with them they would not have to worry about gaps in hero pools like MekO (or Jeong “Nenne” Yeon-Kwan) could have brought.

Neither has had the honor of playing with a main tank legend, but that will be amended next season. Kim “Mano” Dong-Gyu is arguably the best main tank of all time. He was at the top since 2017’s APEX tournaments and never once descended to meet the mere mortals that could not clear the top five.

Criticism has not been light on him, however, especially recently. With talk on his “Orisa ult use” being sub-par, his publically perceived value is lower, so 2020 will be a reason to prove the viewers wrong (or right).

2. Vancouver Titans

Despite the surprise release of Park “Bumper” Sang-Beom and Hwang “TiZi” Jang-Hyeon, the Titans remain strong. Both Bumper and TiZi lead the team to success in Season 2, each with their own contribution.

With Bumper’s hyper-aggressiveness Vancouver reached first place in the regular Season. TiZi, on the other hand, allowed the team to have a more calculated style with his Orisa play.

As a replacement, they contracted Baek “Fissure” Chan-Hyung, pulling him out of retirement. Fissure will still provide aggressiveness, with a less impulsive style than Bumper’s. Whether a lack of TiZi, who also complements Fissure, will impact them significantly, remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, Choi “JJANU” Hyeon-Woo is one of the best off tank players in the world. Dominating on every hero he has picked up, his high tier performance boosts the Titans significantly.

On paper, this is the perfect tank duo. They are lacking more players, however, and it is theorized that the sudden roster changes may cause turmoil going forward.

Honorable Mention: Shanghai Dragons

The Shanghai tank line is one plagued with question marks, however, their performance in Esports Shanghai Masters may have quelled these to some extent.

Most people doubted the ability of Seo “Stand1” Ji-Won given his time in Gladiators Legion. With Shanghai he showed he still had the chops that got him noticed initially.

Kim “Geguri” Se-Yeon did play in his stead for a few maps, confirming speculation of her change into a more flex tank role than just strictly off tank. Either player on Orisa, with Stand1 on Reinhardt and Winston, should help the team.

Kang “Void” Jun-Woo, on the other hand, was tasked with performing on Sigma. In ESM he was probably the best performer on the hero. Void is slowly shaping up to reclaim his APEX off tank throne.

The Dragons most likely don’t plan on retaining Lee “Envy” Kang-Jae. If they do so, it is unclear what place he has on the team should he remain, being behind Geguri and Void.

1. San Francisco Shock

Yoo “Smurf” Myeong-Hwan and Matthew “Super” De Lisi compliment each others’ hero pool perfectly. Notably, Smurf specializes in Winston and Orisa, while Super dominates in the Reinhardt metas. Super, of course, recently won World Cup gold playing Orisa, so there’s that to consider as well.

The real jackpot, is, of course, in their style. Neither is characterized by their passivity, on the contrary. Essentially, their similarity allows a nearly seamless transition between players. This aggressivity is not a weakness, as they have the backup of a similarly aggressive team.

A key part of this backup is, of course, none other than Choi “Choihyobin” Hyo-Bin. He is a long way away from the X6 Gaming days of “Choihyobin is pretty underrated. Not top 3, though”. In 2019 he claimed the off tank throne with an extreme understanding of every single hero he selected. It would be a surprise to not see him return with the same skill to defend his title.

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