After a Stage 1 that saw Paris end up drastically below expectation, the Eternal come into Stage 2 in need of some massive improvements to their squad. With GOATs still seeming to be in the meta to some degree, Paris does not have much time left to make their way up to the level of play most fans thought their GOATs could be.

Paris has a much harder schedule than the previous stage and they will be going up against two of the new Chinese expansion teams. Both Guangzhou and Chengdu exceeded expectations in the last stage and Paris will have to exceed the fans expectations if they want to take down the Charge and the Hunters.

This Week’s Matches

Image Courtesy of @GZCharge on Twitter

Guangzhou Charge 3-4

Paris starts their Stage 2 adventure with a matchup against the Guangzhou Charge. Both teams have an identical record in terms of map wins and losses but the Charge finished Stage 1 at the #11 spot. Neither team made it to the playoffs but the Charge came much closer. Guangzhou can surprise teams if they aren’t ready for them as was seen when they were able to take the eventual Stage 1 champions Vancouver to 5 games.

The thing that haunted Paris most last season was their Zarya play. Everyone could see how valuable and how impactful Zarya’s can be on teams like San Fransico and Vancouver. Paris always seemed to be fighting with a handicap with their Zarya play. Terence “SoOn” Tarlier had a particularly rough stage on the hero so much so that George “ShaDowBurn” Gushcha was played in that role for the last few games. Now that Paris has had some time to figure out their best course of action they will have landed on a set Zarya player that can lead them to victory, whether that be ShaDowBurn or SoOn. They will be going up against a very capable Zarya in Jung-woo “Happy” Lee so they will need to bring their A-game if they want to win the Zarya battle.

PREDICTION: CHARGE WIN 3-2

Chengdu Hunters (3-4)

Ding “Ameng” Menghan
Photo Courtesy of The Chengdu Hunters

The Chengdu Hunters are a team that quickly became fan favorites in Stage 1. With their superstar Hammond player Ding “Ameng” Menghan leading the charge and their own style which revolved around them playing mostly DPS compositions, Chengdu were the team that everyone seemed to be rooting for. They were even able to take Vancouver to a Map 5 with Ameng taking over the “giga-chad” moniker thanks to his Reinhardt play against the Vancouver Titans.

While Chengdu had moments of brilliance they also had moments where they were figured out by opposing teams. If the opposition was able to deal with the Hammond from Ameng and take out the DPS around him the Hunters didn’t have much else left for them. However, against Paris this is a matchup that might not suit them all that well. While there are some good DPS players on the roster in SoOn, ShaDowBurn, and Nicolas “NiCOgdh” Moret, they are going up against some of the best DPS Overwatch League had to offer in Stage 1. If the series does eventually turn into a DPS battle Paris will be playing right into the hands of the Hunters and they will have a tough time taking them down.

PREDICTION: HUNTERS WIN 3-1

PLAYER TO WATCH: BenBest

Photo courtesy of Liquipedia

Benjamin “BenBest” Dieulafait had a rough time in Stage 1 with his team’s performance. It seemed that he could never have those huge Reinhardt moments because of the issues Paris had with their coordination. The main reason to watch BenBest here though is the meta shift. Winston has received quite a few indirect buffs with the armor and boop changes and Reinhardt has seemed to fall out of favor. BenBest is known mostly for his Reinhardt play while there are still a few question marks surrounding his Winston. His Orisa in the brief glimpses that have been seen of it looks serviceable and if bunker compositions come into the meta which has been rumored then he should be fine.

Follow me on Twitter: @KenobiCasts I’m always willing to talk to anyone about Overwatch, esports, Star Wars, and anime!

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