Fantasy Overwatch League is back for another year in 2022. Though the old platforms may not be around, players can still find ways to play as the Overwatch League heads into its fifth year. With the league kicking off May 5, it is now the perfect time to start bringing people together and starting a new league. Most players enjoy the standard season-long format, which means that players need to draft their teams soon.
Drafting as a whole can be daunting. There are a lot of players, each with varying degrees of fantasy value. The Game Haus is here for the players, veterans and rookies alike, providing some rankings to aid people in their drafts. With the massive changes to the position in Overwatch 2, here are the fantasy OWL rank rankings for 2022.
[2022 Fantasy OWL Support Rankings: 1-15]
15. SOMEONE, Florida Mayhem
2021 Fantasy Rank: N/A
If the rumors are any indication of just how good Jeong-wan “SOMEONE” Ham can be, then the Florida Mayhem look like they can be a real dark horse this season. The former Gen.G and Team CC product comes into the league at a weird time for tank players. OW2 has just a singular tank, and as a main tank player, this could mean he has slightly less play time than other tank players on the list. It’s important to remember that Eui-seok “Fearless” Lee was the 2nd best tank last year in fantasy, so there is a chance SOMEONE could control the majority of the play time and become an all-star fantasy tank.
14. Ga9a, Chengdu Hunters
2021 Fantasy Rank: 27
Chengdu was a force in 2021, and their tank line was one of the key reasons for their success. Qiu “Ga9a” Jiaxin lead the tank line with incredible Wrecking Ball play. Ga9a was set up to play every map for Chengdu in 2022, but the recent signing of Ni “Daizi” Yuandong may jeopardize Ga9a’s fantasy value. Daizi plays the offtank heroes that Ga9a wouldn’t be familiar with, signaling that the two are sure to split time based on team compositions.
13. Kalios, Washington Justice
2021 Fantasy Rank: N/A
Welcome back to the league, Woo-yeol “Kalios” Shin. It’s been four years since Kalios made his debut in the OWL, and now he returns with the Washington Justice after grinding several seasons of Contenders. Kalios is a talented Zarya player, and just may be a key piece to the Justice’s season in the upcoming year. It also looks like Kalios may be earning the majority of the play time if D.Va winds up being the go-to to start off the season. Just remember that Tae-sung “Mag” Kim is surely going to handle all of the main tank duties, making it tough to guess when each tank player receives playing time.
12. Poko, London Spitfire
2021 Fantasy Rank: N/A
Gael “Poko” Gouzerch was one of the many few players last year that essentially had to take a year off due to travel restrictions. A long time star on the Fusion, Poko is getting a new shot on the London Spitfire. Unfortunately the roster looks weak, and this may tank some of Poko’s fantasy value. The silver lining is that Poko is a true all-star caliber player and there is a chance he can rise above the potential struggles of the Spitfire and still perform.
11. BERNAR, Hangzhou Spark
2021 Fantasy Rank: 13
As a top 15 fantasy OWL tank last year, BERNAR should see a similar finish in 2022. The Spark have three tanks, but between Lige and Guxue, BERNAR still could see the majority of the action. He can play D.Va at a high level, and in a fantasy lens, that just might be enough to produce week-winning performances. Just cross those fingers that the Spark management won’t randomly swap the roster through the year.
10. Cr0ng, Guangzhou Charge
2021 Fantasy Rank: 17
Despite having two tanks, the Charge will most likely find themselves relying on Ki-choel “Cr0ng” Nam to do the heavy lifting in the tank line. The Sigma specialist should demand far more playing than his tank partner Seing-pyo “Rio” Oh purely due to his wider hero pool. The Charge truly struggled last year, but this year should be a more favorable situation for the team. Even if Sigma isn’t as prevalent in the meta, Cr0ng can still remain relevant as a borderline every game starter.
9. Fury, Philadelphia Fusion
2021 Fantasy Rank: 15
As Jun-ho “Fury” Kim returns to Philadelphia for 2022, he enters a perfect situation to become a top-10 fantasy tank that owners thought he would be last year. Fury is only veteran tank on the roster, and was really the only tank as of a few weeks ago before the Fusion signed T1 main tank Gyu-tae “Belosrea” Hwang. Because the signing came so late in the offseason, it appears that adding Belosrea was more of a roster-depth move rather than someone who can really push Fury out of the starting spot. It will be quite the disappointing turn of events if Fury does not land in the top ten.
8. Void, Shanghai Dragons
2021 Fantasy Rank: 10
Jun-woo “Void” Kang is one of the best players on one the best players in the league. Some could argue that he should be much closer to the first overall spot among tanks, however the Dragons are sure to use their other fantastic tank through the season. If Void can secure the majority of the play time away from Pan-seung “Fate” Koo, there’s no doubt he could be one of the premier tanks in the 2022 fantasy season.
7. HOTBA, Toronto Defiant
2021 Fantasy Rank: 7
In what now feels like a tradition, Hong-joon “HOTBA” Choi has joined a new roster. This year HOTBA will don the Toronto red and black and try to once again secure a spot among the highest scoring tanks in fantasy. Splitting time with former Los Angeles Gladiators main tank Young-hun “MuZe” Kim won’t be the most appealing to fantasy owners, but rest assured, HOTBA gets the job done. There’s a reason this guy is still in the league despite hopping around for four years.
6. Smurf, Seoul Dynasty
2021 Fantasy Rank: 38
In a year packed to the gills with uncertainty, Seoul are putting all of their chips into Myeong-hwan “smurf” Yoo. Don’t be fooled by Smurf’s poor fantasy performance last year – he is an elite tank that was held back by start/sit decisions from the San Francisco coaching staff. He now has the entire role to himself, on a team that should take a massive step forward this year.
5. PIGGY, Houston Outlaws
2021 Fantasy Rank: 9
Fan-favorite and instant star Min-jin “PIGGY” Shin is back with a dangerous Houston roster. As the sole tank, PIGGY will be tasked with learning every tank, rather than just mastering Sigma. The Houston coaching staff believes he can do it and maybe fantasy owners should too. He cracked the top ten in his rookie season and could certainly do it again.
4. Coluge, San Francisco Shock
2021 Fantasy Rank: N/AÂ
Colin “Coluge” Arai has played under several different aliases in Contenders, but now he joins the San Francisco Shock under his original moniker. The standout offtank actually contemplated retirement just after the 2019 season, but it appears as though he couldn’t stay away from competing for too long. Coluge serves as the Shock’s only tank on a very exciting, yet small, roster. The Shock have 5 rookies this year, and Coluge might be the one with the highest fantasy value.
3. Hawk, Atlanta Reign
2021 Fantasy Rank: 4
Xander “Hawk” Domecq could be one of the most quiet, best offtanks in the league. The Atlanta offtank has consistently been at the top of his class for the past three years, and 2022 shouldn’t be any different. Sure he will probably lose some time to Blake “Gator” Scott, but the talent and the amazing team around Hawk should be enough to push him into the top five.
2. SPACE, Los Angeles Gladiators
2021 Fantasy Rank: 3
What more can people say about Indy “SPACE” Halpern. The 5-year OWL vet is back again ready to bring the hurt to opposing players. The LAG offtank will lead the charge for the reloaded roster, and should be in line for another dominant fantasy season. The nature of Overwatch 2 may hurt his stock a tiny bit, with it being 5v5, but it’s a safe bet to say that SPACE will demand the majority of the play time for LA.
1. Hanbin, Dallas Fuel
2021 Fantasy Rank: 1
Last year’s best fantasy tank is back at it again. Han-been “Hanbin” Choi should bring fantasy managers an abundance of great games as the premier offtank in the OWL. Hanbin has the talent, the team around him and realistically should take the majority of the play time away from tank-mate Eui-seok “Fearless” Lee. For those brave enough, Hanbin could be a bona fide league winner.
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