Fantasy Overwatch has been an overall success through the first five weeks of the season. There are multiple platforms updating their product every week, and players are slowly but surely getting familiar with the concepts and strategies. But with hero pools finally implemented and schedules being a bit disjointed, it has been tough to grasp which players are performing well and which are struggling. Luckily, the team at TGH is here to help readers conceptualize fantasy leaders in each position.
Top 3 DPS in Fantasy OWL Through Week 5
Breaking down fantasy performances is quite the tricky issue this season. The new stats lab has been an amazing tool to help provide stats to fantasy platforms, but the nature of the OWL’s schedule makes fantasy scoring a mess. For this breakdown, the formats that will be discussed are HIGHNOON.GG’s top two formats (Top-3 and Best) as well as DraftBuff’s default bi-weekly scoring. To account for the mismatched playtime, the players below must have appeared in a minimum of three matches – even if they played just a single map. League ranks are also based on a minimum of 115 minutes of playtime according to OWL’s stat lab. All values of final blows, eliminations, and hero damage are based on a “per 10” measurement.
3. Corey “Corey” Nigra, Washington Justice
Fantasy Performance                            League Rank
HNGG Top-3 Average: 74.53Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Final Blows: 6th
HNGG Best Average: 104.4Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Eliminations: 24thÂ
DraftBuff Bi-Weekly Average: 91.88Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Hero Damage: 3rd
Coming into the 2020 season, almost all prospective fantasy owners knew Corey would be a “must-pick” for DPS. Drafters witnessed his breakout performance in Stage 4 of the previous year when he was able to play damage heroes. The hype-train kept on rolling as Corey displayed his skills once again during the Overwatch World Cup, helping the US earn its first ever gold medal.
Now as the third season is underway, Corey has shown to be a rock for the Washington Justice and fantasy OWL teams. In HNGG top-3 leagues Corey has scored below 70 points just once, happening this past week against Boston and New York. While he hasn’t been as flashy as he has been in the past, Corey’s consistency as a player has made his fantasy value remain very high.
2. Ki-hyo “XZI” Jung, Paris Eternal
Fantasy Performance                            League Rank
HNGG Top-3 Average: 77.82Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Final Blows: 1st
HNGG Best Average: 85.58Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Eliminations: 2nd
DraftBuff Bi-Weekly Average: 97.23Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Hero Damage: 1st
When the Paris Eternal announced the signing of half of Element Mystic, including coach Hee-won “Rush” Yun, XZI was not the player fans were most excited to see. Analysts and talking-heads weren’t sure who was going to start coming into their first match against Toronto, some even thinking XZI may ride the bench in favor of Paris fan-favorite Terence “SoOn” Tarlier. It didn’t take long for people to realize that XZI is one of the most exciting players in the Overwatch League right now. XZI’s McCree is the best in the league by a wide margin. With a final blow per 10 at 12.5, the next closest player is none other than Jae-hyeok “Carpe” Lee with 9.6. The gap is just as large in both eliminations per 10 and hero damage per 10, proving to the league that XZI is surely the front-runner for Rookie of the Year.
XZI would certainly be the top fantasy asset in the DPS slot, if it weren’t for his ability to flex over to Widowmaker and Symmetra. Even though his flexibility is absolutely a strength in terms of winning OWL matches, those characters don’t traditionally put up great fantasy numbers. With less time on McCree, XZI has missed out on some truly dominant fantasy performances.
1. Seung-hyun “ivy” Lee, Philadelphia Fusion
Fantasy Performance                           League Rank
HNGG Top-3 Average: 79.81Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Final Blows: 26th
HNGG Best Average: 95.97Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Eliminations: 15th
DraftBuff Bi-Weekly Average: 115.9Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Hero Damage: 9th
This is by far the biggest surprise of the young fantasy season. Ivy is certainly talented enough to be a top performer, but playing Mei for the majority of the season typically does not translate to fantasy greatness. His “low” OWL rankings are most likely a product of being on an incredibly talented team poaching final blows. The same could be said for eliminations, as his team is known for capitalizing on perfect ice-walls before ivy can do any damage.
The Philly flex-DPS is a prime example of a player having all three main traits of a great fantasy player. He has the talent to perform at an OWL level, the playtime to prove it, and the team around him to make the most of his skill. In the four games he has played, ivy rarely dipped below 75 points in HNGG’s top-3 format – the one exception being in Week 5, where he scored 74.92 points. Ivy has shown to have an incredibly high floor, solidifying his spot on fantasy rosters everywhere. Even though there was the one match he was benched, it is fair to assume he will be a safe play as long as Philadelphia needs his Mei.
Rounding out the Top 10
4. Carpe, Philadelphia Fusion
5. Gil-seong “Glister” Lim, London Spitfire
6. Lane “Surefour” Roberts, Toronto Defiant
7. Sang-bum “BQB” Lee, Florida Mayhem
8. Yeon-kwan “Nenne” Jeong, New York Excelsior
9. Ethan “Stratus” Yankel, Washington Justice
10. Dante “Danteh” Cruz, Houston Outlaws
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