Hello everyone- Aidan “Cable” O’Keefe here to bring you an analysis on the performance of each team in the first stage of the Overwatch League so far, and how the Stage 1 playoff picture is looking. Originally this article was slated to be a live-recorded podcast, but due to time constraints, it has instead moved to a text-based format. If there is interest in a podcast-style recap and review each week, let me know in the comments! We’ll start by looking at each team and their performance by conference, then we’ll talk about my predictions for the Stage 1 playoff matches. Teams will be sorted in each conference based on their official record and position in the standings.

Without further ado, we’ll start by looking at…

The Atlantic Division

1st Place (Tie) - New York Excelsior and London Spitfire - 5–1

New York’s roster pose in their Away Jerseys during a media day event (Photo Credit: Jiyeon Kim et al., Inven)

It’s no surprise to anyone that two all-Korean rosters have topped the Atlantic Division after the first 3 weeks of play. The highly touted New York Excelsior accomplished this feat with a single loss to the Philadelphia Fusion, while the London Spitfire fell to the Boston Uprising. Of the two teams, the Excelsior have looked stronger overall, and pulled off a win against the Seoul Dynasty, a team that was touted as one of the strongest in the league.

New York has been bolstered by strong performances from flex support star Sung-hyeon “JJoNak” Bang and from hitscan DPS substitute Do-hyeon “Pine” Kim. JJoNak in particular has been heralded as one of the best Zenyatta players in the league, and it certainly shows. His ability to snipe enemy players is almost unparalleled amongst flex supports, sporting almost 15% of his team’s total kills in their 3–2 win against Seoul. Pine has put up staggering numbers despite only being subbed in for Control maps thus far. Against Boston, Pine averaged 23 kills per 10 minutes on McCree, more than double the next player/hero combination with at least 5 minutes played.

The Spitfire walk out to the cheers of the crowd during a pre-season game (Credit: London Spitfire)

London have looked considerably weaker, dropping maps to the San Francisco Shock and Florida Mayhem in early performances. This hasn’t prevented Seung-tae “Bdosin” Choi from looking incredible on Zenyatta, or taken away from Joon-yeong “Profit” Park’s fantastic, flexible DPS play. Unfortunately, London have faltered somewhat in their later games, with Bdosin looking very weak to Boston’s dive comp in their 3–2 loss to the Uprising. Bdosin averaged 8 deaths per 10 minutes against the stronger Boston side, highlighting an apparent weakness in the squad.

Overall, these two teams seem like sure picks for the Stage 1 playoff. New York play against the underperforming Shanghai Dragons and Dallas Fuel this week, looking to improve their record to 7–1. London also play the Shanghai Dragons this week, but must face off against a strong opponent in the Seoul Dynasty. We may see New York take an uncontested lead in the division leading into the final week of the stage, but don’t count London out!