San Francisco Shock’s Soon-To-Be Dilemma

As of today, Stage 2 of the Overwatch League is almost halfway done; the San Francisco Shock still find themselves as a lower tier team in the overall standings. The team is tied for ninth alongside the Dallas Fuel with a record of 5-10. To the Shock’s credit, they are on a positive upswing, winning their last two matches in Stage 2 against the Shanghai Dragons and Dallas Fuel. Overall, the team has stepped up, performing above expectations and pushing their limits week to week. However, with players such as Danteh and BABYBAY in the DPS role performing very well recently, only one question seems important: What will happen once Sinatraa is eligible to play?

Sinatraa’s Raw Talent

For those who may not know, Jay “Sinatraa” Won, is one of the best Tracer players in the world and is currently ineligible to play, due to the age restrictions of the Overwatch League. He strictly plays DPS, but is exceptional at this role. He knows the limits of Tracer in and out and can play Zarya extremely well. His knowledge of the game and raw talent is one of a kind. It has led him to play professionally and represent the USA team during the Overwatch World Cup. The video below is a montage of his incredible play during his stream.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cClmoGai68c

Danteh’s Flexibility

Perhaps one of the best transitions from high level Overwatch to professional Overwatch was by Dante “Danteh” Cruz. Danteh climbed the Overwatch solo queue competitive ladder with his main hero Tracer; he consistently found himself among the ranks of other high tier professional players. Soon thereafter, Danteh was picked up by the San Francisco Shock.

One thing that separates Danteh from many other DPS players is his willingness to learn and adapt to new heroes. Although a great Tracer player, Danteh can be seen playing a multitude of other heroes at a high level: Sombra, Junkrat, Genji, Zarya, Roadhog. These past couple weeks during Stage 2, Danteh has really come into his own as a DPS player for the Shock. The clip below shows Danteh’s incredible play during Week 3 of Stage 2; he finishes this map with 48 eliminations and 1 death.

Babybay’s Prowess

One thing that Andrej “BABYBAY” Francisty provides, that Sinatraa and Danteh don’t, is the ability to play hit-scan heroes. BABYBAY is an exceptional McCree, Solider 76 and Widowmaker player. It is incredibly hard to find matches where Widowmaker isn’t played. Given the right support, having a consistent and fearsome hit-scan player can give teams an advantage over others. Teams are forced to alter their strategy around an impactful enemy hit-scan player. BABYBAY is a crucial part of the San Francisco Shock, mainly because he is their only player who can play hit-scan. However, this can be a double-edge sword, since he doesn’t have as big of a hero pool as Danteh or other players in the league, forcing his team to limit what they can play.

Possible Solution?

All three are great players, no doubt. However, the San Francisco Shock organization will have to make some tough decisions that could impact the future of the team. One possible solution to reduce the chaos this could create within the team is by using Sinatraa for Control and Assault maps. This allows Sinatraa to play to his full potential and unleash his raw talent, without taking away the flexibility that Danteh provides or BABYBAY’s hit-scan. Whatever the decision, it will bring seismic changes to the San Francisco Shock. Will it be a detriment to the team or help them rise in the standings?

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Featured Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment

Videos Clips: Overwatch League