The Paris Eternal came into Stage 1 touted as one of the best teams of the stage. This was mostly due to the team’s European origin with their players all having experience in the GOATs meta. It seemed Paris had made all the right moves to come into Stage 1 with a team that would at the very least make the playoffs.
Unfortunately, things didn’t pan out the way that they expected. Paris started out their first two weeks looking par for the course as they took down the London Spitfire and the Los Angeles Gladiators. However, even in these matches cracks began to form mainly in their Zarya play. Terence “SoOn” Tarlier looked uncomfortable on the hero and couldn’t compete with the best Zarya’s the league had to offer. It got to a point where Paris began playing George “ShaDowBurn” Gushcha on the Zarya role more often towards the latter half of the stage.
Paris wasn’t able to make it into playoffs in the stage that they were built around being the best at. They ended in a tie for 16th place in Stage 1. However, it is a long season for Paris and they did manage to keep a 3-4 record which isn’t as bad as their 16th place makes it seem. Looking toward Stage 2 though, what does Paris have to look for in terms of bright spots?
More Time to Gel
As was seen from Stage 1 of Overwatch League there were only a few teams that truly could run GOATs at a high level. Paris was touted as one of these teams but their GOATs never seemed as cohesive as the top level teams like San Fransico and Vanvoucer. Even with all the players on Paris Eternal being European, very few of the starting members had been on teams with each other previously. Benjamin “BenBest” Dieulafait, Nicolas “NiCOgdh” Moret, and SoOn had all played on the 2018 France World Cup roster but besides that most every other player was brought in from a different team.
With GOATs being a composition that relies so heavily upon coordination and team synergy this break could allow them to iron out the wrinkles. Whether it’s overlapping support ultimates or reigning in a few of the more aggressive players, this time between stages will allow the coaching staff to really get down to the root of their problems. It will also allow the Paris players to get more time to practice and play together which is always good.
Different Meta
While no one is certain how drastically the meta will change – if at all – there will be some changes that will make Stage 2 look different from Stage 1. Mainly, Winston seems to have crept back up into the meta as the main tank to watch. With Winston on the rise and Reinhardt seeming to be on the decline, Paris might be able to get more use out of their backup main tank Roni “LhCloudy” Tiihonen. LhCloudy is a very mechanically skilled Winston but with Reinhardt being the meta mostly in Stage 1, Paris decided to ride with BenBest on the main tank role. Now with the possible meta change, LhCloudy might see more playtime if BenBest ends up struggling on the Winston role.
The Possible Return of DPS
While Paris was built for mostly the GOATs meta they do have a few DPS players that can bring something new to the table. As fans saw last season for the Los Angeles Valiant, SoOn if he happens to be on a good day can almost single-handedly carry his team. Should Widowmaker, McCree, or his very well known Tracer ever find their way back into the meta, Paris will have a DPS that they can rely on to be their star player.
The question then becomes who would they play alongside SoOn? In Stage 1 he was mostly paired with NiCOgdh who has a pretty good Genji that hasn’t been seen for a while. The biggest question though is ShaDowBurn. There was a time when ShaDowBurn was regarded as one of the best projectile players the Overwatch League had to offer. However, it has been quite a long time since he’s been able to showcase his skills on DPS heroes. Could he be the perfect partner in crime to link up with SoOn should the meta shift back to a more 2-2-2 style? It’s hard to say but there is always that chance that the fire of talent that is inside of ShaDowBurn still burns.
Paris will begin Stage 2 with a match on Friday, April 5th against the Guangzhou Charge. Perhaps a new meta and some new players will give Paris a fresh start on their way to making the end of season playoffs.
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