Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment Overwatch League is wrapping up it's first month of action.
Overwatch League is entering it’s third week of action. Within the first month, we’ve already had controversies addressing sexism, racism, and homophobia. It’s just like mainstream sports!
When it comes to the actual action, the legitimate contenders are starting to separate. The three Korean-led teams are all at the top, with Seoul Dynasty taking it’s rightful place atop the standings. The real action is in the middle, where five teams are deadlocked at .500. Although it’s very early, those five teams are tied for the final three playoff spots.
Here are the full standings after two weeks:
Seoul Dynasty 4-0
New York Excelsior 4-0
London Spitfire 4-0
Houston Outlaws 2-2
Los Angeles Valiant 2-2
San Francisco Shock 2-2
Los Angeles Gladiators 2-2
Philadelphia Fusion 2-2
Boston Uprising 1-3
Florida Mayhem 1-3
Dallas Fuel 0-4
Shanghai Dragons 0-4
There’s a little movement in our Six Stack, with Houston re-entering the fray and London taking a step back. Here’s our Six Stack for the Week 3:
6: Philadelphia Fusion
Last Week: 6
The Fusion were looking ready to head up these rankings, but suffered the first reverse sweep in OWL history against Los Angeles Gladiators. After winning the first two maps, Fusion dropped two straight, and then were swept in a tiebreaker on Lijiang Tower. Carpe finished as the top DPS for the week according to fantasy numbers, finishing off 141 kills and dropping 68 ultimates. Fusion have a real test against NYXL, but finish the week against Shanghai.
5: Houston Outlaws
Last Week: N/A
Houston rebounded hard last week, winning all eight maps to get their record even. After bouncing around different heroes to start the season, LiNkzr had his best week yet playing mostly Tracer. Against Dallas he posted a player rating on Tracer of 1320, easily his best performance of the season so far. Jake has been getting the publicity, but LiNkzr can be the real difference-maker moving forward for this team. Houston face Florida and LAG this week.
4: Los Angeles Valiant
Last Week: 4
The Valiant came back to Earth this week, losing both matches to end their unbeaten run. A 3-0 loss to NYXL doesn’t look great on the scoreboard, but there were very close moments and LAV should have done better than a sweep. Valiant then gave us one of the best matches of the week against London, and despite falling 2-3, they showed that they can compete with the top teams in OWL. Two strong matches against top teams won’t drop you in these standings. Much like Houston, Valiant will also take on Florida and LAG this week.
3: London Spitfire
Last Week: 1
#FreeRascal is off and running, but London have flexed their DPS muscles early in Overwatch League. Profit and Birdring are good enough to keep their third option fresh, but he’ll likely make an appearance this week as Mei when London are playing Horizon: Lunar Colony. Under the new fantasy rules at Winston’s Lab, support characters are getting more points than ever. Under new rules, Spitfire support Bdosin finished week two as the number two overall player, crushing both kills and ultimates as Zenyatta. Next to JJonak, Bdosin is the most lethal Zen in the league thus far. London have a quiet week, taking on San Francisco Shock and Boston Uprising.
2: New York Excelsior
Last Week: 3
The number-one ranked team in OWL according to Winston’s Lab, NYXL did not lose a map en route to a 2-0 week. They drew one map against the previously unbeaten LA Valiant, but it was only after the team was up 3-0. They crushed Gladiators two days later, sweeping the LA teams with ease. JJonak posted a 1490 rating as Zen against Valiant, his best professional performance to date in his young career. NYXL have a fun week ahead, first against the star DPS duo in Philadelphia, then taking on Seoul Dynasty in the premier match of the first month of the season.
1: Seoul Dynasty
Last Week: 2
Florida and Boston made it a ho-hum week for Seoul, who cruised through eight straight maps to stay unbeaten. As predicted, the blowout nature of the contests prevented Seoul players from reaching their full fantasy potential. In the opening week, when Seoul faced some resistance against LAG and Dallas Fuel, star DPS Fleta finished off 141 kills. With less time on the field against Florida and Boston, Fleta finished with over 100 less fantasy points, and totaled only 102 kills. Seoul start the week against Shanghai before an exciting contest with NYXL on Friday.