Los Angeles Valiant: Stage 3 Week 1 Preview

The Los Angeles Valiant’s first week of Stage 3 will be rather standard. They will face off against two mid-tier teams, both of which they certainly could defeat. With time to improve before Stage 3 and a few new faces on the team, can the Valiant come back even stronger than last stage?

Preview

Shanghai Dragons (7-7)

Courtesy of the Shanghai Dragons on Twitter

At 7-7, the Shanghai Dragons, now with a completely new starting lineup, have performed at a wholly average level throughout the season. However, this is in contrast to the LA Valiant, who struggled greatly in Stage 1, and only just found their footing in Stage 2. There is a clear gap between the two teams.

Despite this difference, the Valiant have looked as though they could, at times, put up a fight against the middle of the pack. They showed this when they defeated both the Atlanta Reign and Chengdu Hunters last stage. The Dragons are at a similar standing to these two teams, therefore there is a chance that the Valiant take this series now that they’ve got a fresh main tank in their squad. It simply doesn’t look to be very much in their favor though.

Prediction: Dragons 3-2 Valiant

Chengdu Hunters (6-8)

Courtesy of Ben Pursell for Blizzard Entertainment

Similarly to the Shanghai Dragons, the Chengdu Hunters sit among the average teams in the league. However, the Los Angeles Valiant beat them in a close 3-2 series. This was, of course, before the roster changes, though.

Even with new players, the LA Valiant should be able to work off of what they know does well against the Hunters. With that knowledge and their roster looking overall improved, victory, possibly in an even more dominating fashion, is certainly possible. Although, the Chengdu Hunters have also had time to improve, and are with the same roster that they’ve had since the beginning of the season, as well.

Prediction: Valiant 3-2 Hunters

Player to Watch

One constant in the Los Angeles Valiant’s starting lineup was Pan-seung “Fate” Koo. Though, shortly after the end of Stage 2, he was traded to the Florida Mayhem. The Valiant have now, along with two others, brought on ex-Outlaws main tank Russell “FCTFCTN” Campbell. Many saw Fate as the underlying issue in the LA Valiant’s roster, so it will be exciting to see if this change brings much more success for the team.

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Featured image courtesy of the Overwatch League

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