This week’s Overwatch League power rankings where incredibly difficult. Teams did their best to stick close to the middle of the pack. As it has been for quite some time, the top and bottom of the rankings are the same, but the middle is quite a mess. If you want to compare these to last week’s power rankings, you can find them here.

1. New York Excelsior

Movement: =

The NYXL aren’t just good, they’re great. The team is the most consistent team in the Overwatch League so far, and they only seem to get better with time. Each and every week, the team gels a little more. Players like Seong-Hyun “Jjonak” Bang can really make the most of that coordination.

The NYXL has also played one of their strongest opponents in the London Spitfire. They rolled through the London team 4-0 in the last match of Week 1. It will be a major upset if the Excelsior don’t roll through this stage mostly uncontested.

2. Philadelphia Fusion

Movement: =

The Fusion did just enough to escape slipping down the rankings, at least for this week. In fact, they managed to snag a higher spot, due to the Spitfire falling in the rankings. They lost in five maps to a now-handicapped Boston Uprising and then walked over the Florida Mayhem.

A big plus for the Fusion is they did all of this without their starting DPS Josue “Eqo” Corona. When he gets back from his suspension, the Fusion are poised to storm the rest of the stage.

One of the main reasons the Fusion kept this spot was the play of Jae-Hyeok “Carpe” Lee. His flick shots on Widowmaker are some of the best in the league, and his synergy with the rest of the DPS on the team is top-notch.

3. London Spitfire

Movement: =

The London Spitfire did absolutely everything they could to drop down this list further than they did. They lost both of their matches and ended the week with a rotten map differential of -5. The issue at hand is no other team stepped up to the plate.

The Fusion didn’t really smash expectations and pass London easily, but they did enough to not slip. Which means the Spitfire did so poorly, that they fell below the Fusion.

4. Los Angeles Valiant

Movement: +6

I was totally wrong about the Valiant. I expected the team to need a week or two to gel before really coming out strong. In their first match together, the new Valiant came out and waltzed all over the Seoul Dynasty. They finished out the week strong against the Shanghai Dragons, as expected.

The Valiant may have risen too close to the sun, but they sure looked the part in their matches. Even if they do regress slightly, the Valiant will still be in a good place for the Season 1 Playoffs.

5. Seoul Dynasty

Movement: =

The Seoul Dynasty coaching staff needs to be held accountable. The small inconsistencies the Dynasty put forward each stage causes them to drop maps and even matches. These have added up and cost the Dynasty a shot at the Stage Playoffs each stage. While the team says they are focused on the Season 1 Playoffs, the players obviously want to win.

The issue lies on the coaches. They cannot seem to figure out how to get the best from their squad. They trotted out their ‘B’ team against the Valiant and showed an absolute distaste for subbing in that match. What it really comes down to though, is the Dynasty have not consistently performed to expectations.

In all seriousness, the fact that Seoul stuck to this roster is likely not hubris or sandbagging, it's an indicator that Seoul's "A" team were performing just as poorly and they thought a change might work. Even more worrying. Seoul need to find that support+tank magic again.

— Josh Wilkinson (@SideshowGaming) April 5, 2018

6. Los Angeles Gladiators

Movement: -2

The Gladiators are a good team. They have talent at each class, and they work well together. They do need something to take them over the top. As of now, the Gladiators are a middle-of-the-pack team.

Los Angeles, both the team and the city, won’t be satisfied with that. The Gladiators’ new addition, Ted “silkthread” Wang, looked good in his time behind a keyboard. Was he better than Joao Pedro “Hydration” Veloso de Goes Telles? It’s debatable. Only time will tell which player helps the team more.

7. Houston Outlaws

Movement: +1

The Outlaws are both confusing and frustrating. It’s really hard to find a spot for them in the power rankings. They always beat the Spitfire. They beat Seoul very recently. If the team can work around their Tracer problem and show off their top-tier synergy, they can beat any team in the league. Sadly, they seem to forget these keys frequently.

The Outlaws have put it all together in the past and they may be the most unpredictable team in the OWL. This unpredictability means they can put it all together at any time. This is primarily due to the game sense of their main tank, Austin “Muma” Wilmot. This is at least the second time in Season 1 where he ended a Transcendence with his tank’s crowd control ability.

8. San Francisco Shock

Movement: -1

I don’t like the Shock falling. They are one of the hardest to place teams in the entirety of the OWL. They have some of the best western DPS players, and their extremely young team could easily shoot up this ranking. Their biggest issue is, even though they do a really good job of winning fights and positions, they lose points. The team always seems to be in a great place, only to fail to finish.

The Shock will only get better when former and now current teammates Minho “Architect” Park and Choi “ChoiHyoBin” Hyo-bin join the team.

9. Boston Uprising

Movement: -3

Oh boy. The Uprising were poised to jump into the top three lead by their star DPS Jonathan “DreamKazper” Sanchez. But then the news broke.

DreamKazper was accused of sexual misconduct involving a minor. He was suspended very quickly after the allegations were made known. Yesterday, he was cut completely.

The Boston Uprising has terminated the contract of Jonathan “DreamKazper” Sanchez.

— Boston Uprising (@BostonUprising) April 9, 2018

DreamKazper was well on his way to earning a spot on the US Overwatch World Cup Team, but he failed to act in a way that is expected of any professional. In fact, what he is accused of doing is illegal. The two Twitter threads with allegations are posted below.

here’s the proof before anyone tells me i’m making this up https://t.co/r4KN0sJeyt

— gabbie | ia (@SINATRAAS) April 8, 2018

Without DreamKazper, the Uprising are not the worst team in the OWL, but they are certainly much worse. The team will have to re-prove themselves in order to climb the rankings again.

If the earlier rumors about internal conflicts within the Uprising’s administration are true, this could send shockwaves through the organization. Which could result in some massive changes this off-season.

10. Florida Mayhem

Movement: -1

Florida did a really good job of showing that even some of the worst teams in the competition can step up and challenge the best. The Mayhem did see their new player, Jeong-Woo “Sayaplayer” Ha, show off.

Sayaplayer could help the Mayhem fight their way up the Season 1 standings so they can earn their way out of the bottom three. Their Stage 1 Playoff chances are basically in the toilet, so this would be the best compensation they can hope for.

11. Dallas Fuel

Movement: =

The Fuel still have a ton of problems. Their tank play is sub-par, and the rest of their team isn’t that much better. While the team does have a main tank in Christian “cocco” Jonsson his play-style does not mesh well with the rest of the team. There also appears to be something going on in the background.

re: Cocco Custa sheds some light on the situation on @InsightOnEsport.https://t.co/DUg79aZz3w

— Jonathan Larsson (@Reinforce) April 9, 2018

The team has quite a ways to go to even be in the same breath as their original expectations. It’s possible, but it’s doubtful that they do it this year. The team should improve, though, when Minseok “OGE” Son rejoins the team after his suspension.

12. Shanghai Dragons

Movement: =

Shanghai will not go 0-40. Don’t ask me which team they’ll beat, but with their almost entirely new roster, the team should be able to secure at least one victory, assuming they can get their communication down.

Interesting Matchups

#8 San Francisco Shock vs #4 Los Angeles Valiant

These two teams are the most versatile teams in the league. We could see a match filled with fireworks that comes down to a last-second pulse bomb or a 4-0 beatdown from either team.

#3 London Spitfire vs #2 Philadelphia Fusion

I won’t say that top three matches are always exciting and entertaining. But I will say they are always interesting. Both of these teams feel like they’re on the precipice of falling out of the top three. A win over the other will help solidify one of their positions.

You can see the rest of the schedule here: