With the Overwatch League Season 2 still over three months away, there is plenty of time to predict what could happen throughout the season. Here are some hot takes about some of the teams competing in the second season of the Overwatch League.
It is hard to argue that the New York Excelsior were the best team in the first season. They won two Stage Playoffs, and their worst stage saw them finish third. With a jam-packed all-Korean roster, including the Season 1 MVP Sung-hyeon “JJoNak” Bang, many are expecting them to push for another Stage Playoff, as well as the eventual Season Playoff. However, things may not go New York’s way.
Courtesy of the Overwatch League
The addition of eight new teams brings a new challenge to the East coast side. With eight new rosters, as well as the various roster changes that have been announced for previous teams, the NYXL might have trouble keeping up. Also, with the current meta in the game, some of their players may not be best suited. Just this week, NYXL captain Jong-ryeol “Saebyeolbe” Park was one of three players who played for South Korea in the group stages to be substituted for the Overwatch World Cup.
The NYXL also lost a fantastic main tank player in Joon-hwa “Janus” Song. Janus followed former head coach Hyeong-seok “WizardHyeong” Kim to Washington D.C. As of now, there have been no signings by the NYXL. The current tanks on the team are Tae-hong “MekO” Kim and Dong-gyu “Mano” Kim.
In the first season of the Overwatch League, the LA Gladiators started off slow. In Stage 1, they finished 8th, with a 4-6 record. The Gladiators begun to gain some synergy, and started to climb the table. The biggest turning point for them was the addition of Chan-hyung “Fissure” Baek. The main-tank player, previously of the London Spitfire, is widely considered one of the top tank players. After the playoff debacle, where Fissure decided against playing with the team, opting to sit out, he was traded to the Seoul Dynasty.
Courtesy of the LA Gladiators
The Gladiators just announced the signing of two new players from Kongdoo Panthera, Gui-un “Decay” Jang and Chang-hoon “r0ar” gye. The Gladiators are looking like they might have a repeat of last season. They are still learning how to play together, and will not have the same synergy as they did last season. Expect them to gel by Stage 3, and make a push to the Stage Playoffs then.
Shanghai announced six new players for Season 2. The Shanghai Dragons made a historically terrible run, going 0-40 the entire first season of the Overwatch League. After their awful season, they decided to drop most of their team, choosing to rebuild.
With their new roster, they should have the pieces to start winning some games. Their team consists of various players who were widely considered to be players who should have been playing in the Overwatch League to start with. If they play some of the newer teams, such as Guangzhou or Vancouver, they may have a chance to get some wins under their belt.
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