Grading Each OWL Team’s Trade Deadline Roster Moves

How did each team do at the final stop of free agency and trades?

2 big foundations for the Valiant

Houston Outlaws

+ Arhan

Grade: B-

The ArHaN pickup has been (rightly) questioned by many people in the OWL community. The Korean DPS was primarily a Genji and Tracer player for his time on Meta Athena and Afreeca Freecs. Competing all 4 seasons in APEX, Arhan has plenty of LAN experience under his belt. It has been no secret that the Houston Outlaws have been derided for their lack of exceptional Tracer play in Stage 2. The role was tossed around like a hot potato between 3 of the team’s DPS players: Clockwork, JAKE, and LiNkzr. I see Arhan as a straight upgrade to the Widow/Tracer and pure dive compositions for the Outlaws. From where I am standing, this is looking like a solid Tracer and Genji upgrade. Only one obstacle in the way first: he doesn’t know a word of English.

Dallas Fuel

+ OGE, Unkoe

- Custa

Grade: C+

At this point, it seems that the Fuel are just throwing whatever they can at the wall and seeing what sticks. Putting Seagull on the D.Va seemed to work, sorta. Other than that, trading away their main shotcaller was a move questioned by many, but KyKy seemed to cover this concern by tweeting that OGE will be their caller. The Unkoe acquisition was to build a little bit of synergy with their DPS, aKM, who played next to Unkoe for 2 years. The Fuel will be depending on OGE quite a bit this stage, with him being a main caller and Mickie presumably moving back to the D.Va, this team will have to construct an identity from scratch.

Florida Mayhem

+ AwesomeGuy, Sayaplayer

Grade: A-

Florida making the right moves, signing a Winston main and an extra top tier DPS. Sayaplayer’s hitscan abilities have been regarded as some of the best in the world. This addition should take some of the pressure off of Logix and allow the Mayhem to run a very lethal Tracer + Soldier/McCree duos. AwesomeGuy will be an objective improvement on the main tank, with Cwoosh moving back to Genji. The Mayhem already have started to look worlds better this stage (take a look at my power rankings here), and should only improve further once the tank player is integrated into the lineup.

Los Angeles Gladiators

+ Silkthread, Void

Grade: B

The Gladiators saw rapid improvement in Stage 2 with the addition of Fissure. The front office liked what they saw from the Winston player, so they went out and picked up his old off-tank partner, Void. Not a bad plan. Bischu has been working wonders for the Gladiators, acting as the in-game translator between Fissure and the rest of his team. I am not sure as to how it will work when Void arrives. The Silkthread pick-up from the Valiant was a strange one to me. We have seen Soldier:76, Genji, Pharah, and Tracer from the DPS player from his time with the Valiant. The Gladiators have these heroes more than covered with their current DPS lineup. Maybe their thoughts are that Silkthread is an upgrade from Hydration/Surefour? I am wary of this pick-up, but could see it working out for them.

Los Angeles Valiant

+ Bunny, Custa, KSF, Finnsi;

- GrimReality, Silkthread, Unkoe, Envy

Grade: A-

Almost everyone in the OWL community is aware the Valiant culture and internal dialogue grew into a toxic and negative atmosphere that was not very conducive to winning. This led to CEO Noah Whinston making some drastic roster changes in an effort to create a culture change. Think Golden State Warriors or New England Patriots. For a competitive team to succeed, every player must be on the same mental level, and in this case, Noah sent the message that he wanted a team that was willing to improve and do whatever it takes to win. The revamped Valiant are not necessarily looking better on paper, but I believe that the arrival of new attitudes and play-styles will only help them improve. I mean, I put them all the way down at 8 on my power rankings, only way from there is up.

San Francisco Shock

+ Architect, Choihyobin

Grade: A

The Shock have been killing it with the roster upgrades. Picking up Moth was an immediate upgrade over Dhak. Sinatraa and Super are currently working themselves into the lineup, slowly building up their synergy with the team. The only piece missing? A stand out projectile player. Architect primarily brings his Genji and Pharah skills to the Shock, and even dabbled with Widowmaker and Soldier:76 in his time with CONBOX. Nevix has been consistently solid for the Shock over the course of OWL, but picking up Choihyobin was their next logical upgrade. The D.Va/Road Hog player has proven he has top-flight skills on the position and should make another great addition to the Shock.

Seoul Dynasty

+ Gambler

- Bunny

Grade: B

The Dynasty made an average move that gives them slightly more flexibility in the support role. Seoul was hurt by the Mercy meta, as Tobi struggled on the hero. Gambler was an exceptional Mercy when he played for LW Blue and Red. I would have loved to see the Dynasty pick up a Tracer player to pair with Fleta, as Munchkin has not quite been the best on the hero. All in all, nothing game-changing for the Dynasty, look for them to keep their position in the standings, around 3rd to 5th.

Shanghai Dragons

+ Ado, Fearless, Geguri, Sky, Daemin

- Undead

Grade: B

It’s coming!

A valiant effort from the Dragons here. They can finally start to focus on improving and integrating all these new players into the their lineup. New faces will work wonders for their morale and keep them hungry for their first win. Ado and Sky bring flexibility to the team, while Fearless and Geguri will introduce a new, more conservative style of tank play. Daemin has performed very well on the NRG Esports Contenders team and deserves an OWL spot, he will prove his worth on this team. Give these guys some time and solid opportunity, I think we will see a win towards the end of the stage.