Week 1 of Overwatch League 2020 is finally in the books and before we get run down by a Reinhardt/Orisa composition, we need to lock in our Week 2 predictions. Sadly, this week and the coming ones are cut short due to many of the matches being canceled due to the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. Now don’t despair, we still get to see four new teams finally debut their styles on what is shaping up to be a very unique and diverse metagame.

February 15th

Match of the Week: Houston Outlaws vs Florida Mayhem @ Philadelphia

(16:00 EST / 13:00 PST / 22:00 CET)

Y: Mayhem (3-2) All we have to go on again in these early weeks are scrimbux and in this specific match, they are either confusing or a rare commodity. Mayhem allegedly did well in scrims at some point in the pre-season but that doesn’t mean much. The same goes for the Outlaws and on paper, both teams look similar in their roster strength pound for pound. There is no certainty in any prediction here but I’ll give the slight edge to Mayhem.

V: Mayhem (3-2) Historically speaking, when the Outlaws have found success, it’s been when they run things that suit their style rather than conforming and I don’t see this roster diverting away from that rule. However, I do think they are going to need time to refine that style and overcome the game one jitters. Sayaplayer and the Mayhem are very well equipped to deal with what the current metagame is at the moment. And that’s not to say that Houston can pilot this heavy hitscan style, but if this ends up being a vanilla mirror match, Mayhem can pull away with a much more concise win, but I think Houston has some tricks up their sleeves. If we see Horizon Lunar Colony or Temple of Anubis I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Outlaws run some form of Dive composition. If it goes how I think it will, we’re in for a super interesting game, with the Mayhem taking an ever so slight edge in how messy game five Control maps tend to be.

Read more: Read Week 1's Overwatch League Predictions

Philadelphia Fusion vs Washington Justice @ Philadelphia

(18:00 EST / 15:00 PST / 00:00 CET)

Y: Fusion (3-0) If the Fusion want to cash in any of their spending this season, they’d be well-advised to make this a stomp. Justice has looked underwhelming in pre-season scrims, their roster is the smallest in the league, they are playing against the homestand host and Philly, at least on paper, is close to the definition of a super team.

V: Fusion (3-0) I feel for Justice here, not only do they have to deal with the Philly crowd (who are notoriously rowdy) but they have to deal with this Fusion roster packed with talent. The Fusion are a team that can carry from any role and in any meta. Hero pools won’t matter and neither will Corey.

February 16th

Houston Outlaws vs Washington Justice @ Philadelphia

(16:00 EST / 13:00 PST / 22:00 CET)

Y: Outlaws (3-1) Looking at their ease of schedule in the first nine games, the Outlaws must be eyeing their participation in the mid-season tournament. That journey starts here against possibly the worst team in the Overwatch League right now. The meta fell directly into Justice’s lap and yet going off scrimbux, they are just doing awfully. How far can a pack mule

V: Outlaws (3-1) With their debut jitters gone and their style tested on stage, I’ve got the Outlaws being a difficult question for the Justice to solve. I think Houston knows exactly the types of things that Washington wants to do and can flex around to topple them. Justice are good enough for a map, but people sleep on how much Outlaws has improved.

Philadelphia Fusion vs Florida Mayhem @ Philadelphia

(18:00 EST / 15:00 PST / 00:00 CET)

Y: Fusion (3-1) In the best of cases, Mayhem found themselves after the rumored drop in scrim performance and we’ll get to see a great match. On paper, however, the Fusion have a vastly more stacked roster and shouldn’t have too many issues here, perhaps losing a control map, because - well - it’s control.

V: Fusion (3-1) Mayhem, much like the Outlaws, does sound like they’ve improved from the outset. That said, I think it’s going to be a tough ask for anyone in the league to topple how much talent Fusion has. Barring any day one slumps or underperformances, this should be a fairly quick game with Mayhem able to brawl on Control.



Images via Blizzard Entertainment