Stage 1 of the 2019 Overwatch League has come to an end, and thus it is now time to rate how each team’s players performed. For Guangzhou, this was the first time many of these players performed on the LA stage, and despite ending in the middle of the pack, they put on a great stage. Seven players were fielded during the first seven games, and while it’s not the easiest task to rate individual members (especially in a GOATS meta), here are the grades that have been assigned to each.
Image Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
As the team’s hitscan, Happy was quickly delegated to the role of Zarya for the GOATS meta. However, he played the hero extremely competently, even topping the charts in a couple of categories with her. He also was able to play his signature Widowmaker on control maps, reminding enemies why it’s a force to be reckoned with. Happy still occasionally misses shots that a pro of his level should be hitting, but overall he had a very strong performance this stage.
Image Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
After their first loss, Guangzhou reallocated Eileen purely to control maps when they knew they were not going to be relying on Brigitte as much. This change proved very successful, and by letting Eileen mostly run Sombra alone, the Charge won nearly every control map of the stage. Expect to see Eileen more often if Brig is out of the meta, as his poor performance on that hero is the main factor preventing him from attaining a higher grade.
Image Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
Kyb was the player who took over the Brigitte duties for the non-control maps played in each series. While he brought out the fan favorite Genji and a few other dps heroes in choice situations, he very rarely flexed off of Brig for the stage. Kyb played Brig adequately, but like many others stuck on her this meta, he rarely was able to provide any big plays and was very middling on the hero. As a result, his ranking can’t really be considered much above average for the stage either.
Image Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
Guangzhou’s sole main tank, Rio has been one of the Charge’s more inconsistent players. He had several matches where he played extremely well throughout, and yet others where he either lets the enemy team run all over him or is repeatedly baited into dying early. This of course is not all Rio’s fault, but as the main tank especially he needs to be a strong and solid force for his team to get behind. If he’s playing a different style every game it makes it more difficult for the entire team. In a more favorable meta for the Charge he should be able to fix these issues, but his play this past stage was not the strongest.
Image Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
The one returning Overwatch League veteran, HOTBA’s confidence and experience has helped this team immensely. On the stage he’s a flex god, able to pull out pocket picks that no one would expect from him. And off stage he’s a confident leader and role model for the rest of his teammates. Watching the team’s transition between the first game of the stage and games not even two weeks later, it’s impossible to not see how HOTBA’s confidence affected the other members and drove them to new heights.
Image Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
Out of all the players on Guangzhou, Chara is probably the one spoken about the least. This may actually be a good thing however, as it means Chara is quietly fulfilling his role and getting work done as the main support. Unlike many of the league’s other Lucio players he’s focusing less on flashy plays, meaning he doesn’t stand out very much and won’t be rated super highly. However he’s likely the most consistent player on the team on top of being the squad’s captain, and for that he deserves recognition.
Image Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
Shu would absolutely be considered one of this team’s most stellar players. Whether on Ana or Zenyatta, he has clutched out so many fights this stage and is even being talked about as one of the best flex supports in OWL right now. In a league with stars such as Sung-hyeon “JJoNak” Bang and Lee “Twilight” Joo Seok, this is incredible praise, and one can only imagine how much Shu will continue to improve this year.
Featured Image Courtesy of @GZCharge on Twitter
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