If there is one lesson to be gleaned from Season 1 of the Overwatch League, it’s the value of stability. Early season roster experiments largely gave way to stable cores across the league. The teams that stood at the end of the year were those that knew exactly who they were.
For the London Spitfire, that meant whittling a twelve man roster down to the essential elements. London got their trophy, and the rest of the league would be wise to emulate the champs. That being said, there is no shortage of new talent, and that means position battles will rage.
New York Excelsior: DPS
Last season, New York was the outlier – the one team that experimented continuously and still won. Individual talent was enough to justify the constant roster shuffling; they were simply good enough to get away with it. The off-season has brought the additions of Hwang “Flower” Yeon-oh and Jeong “Nenne” Yeon-kwan to an already stacked DPS lineup. What was an embarrassment of riches last year has turned into a tricky balancing act.
Flower was slated for a spot on the team’s main roster even before Season 1, when Luxury Watch Blue was selected to form the core of the Excelsior. Now that he has come of age, his addition may produce more questions than answers. Flower, once a coveted DPS prospect, has seen his star fade; as he languished in Contenders, his teammates dominated OWL. If he can return to his form during the 2017 World Cup, he can challenge Kim “Libero” Hye-Sung for the flex DPS role.
Nenne’s place in the team is still uncertain. His hero pool largely overlaps with Park “Saebyeolbe” Jong-Ryeol. He clearly has the talent to be in OWL, but he may struggle to find playing time this year. Nenne could be here as a long term play for NYXL, or he could be trade bait during the season. Even if he is shipped out, New York still has a tough situation to manage, with egos to placate. If any team can actually make a rotation system work, it would be the Excelsior, but that doesn’t make it a good idea.
Paris Eternal: Main Tank
At one of the most stacked positions in the league, Paris will rely on one of two promising Contenders call-ups. Benjamin “BenBest” Dieulafait of Young and Beautiful and Gigantti’s Roni “LhCloudy” Tiihonen could both claim to be Europe’s best tank. It is sure to be a hotly contested battle as Paris come into their inaugural season.
BenBest is coming off a star-making performance for France during the World Cup. He was crucial to their group stage victory, and put in a solid showing against Canada in the quarterfinal. BenBest has a propensity for big plays, especially Earthshatters that can single-handedly win fights for his team. His status as a Frenchman definitely doesn’t hurt his case on a team that is clearly aiming to capitalize on national pride.
LhCloudy is potentially the safer pick between the two. He is everything you want out of a main tank, aggressive and reliable. He rarely makes crucial mistakes and almost always wins the tank battle, as he did in his lone matchup against BenBest in the Contenders Season 2 playoffs. Paris has a tough decision here. LhCloudy could bring consistency to a new team. BenBest perhaps has more potential to pop off individually. Neither is the clear favorite.
Hangzhou Spark: Main Tank and Flex DPS
The 2018 World Cup was a coming out party for Chinese Overwatch, particularly for Xu “Guxue” Qiulin and Cai “Krystal” Shilong. Both had incredible showings during China’s run to the Grand Finals, and have since made their way to OWL, joining the Hangzhou Spark. Now they face the challenge of integrating into an otherwise Korean lineup.
For many, Guxue is the obvious choice at main tank. He was the best player in China for two Contenders seasons, and the World Cup proved he can hang with the best at his position. Still, he is one of only two Chinese speakers on the team, and he will face stiff competition from Jeong “NoSmite” Da-un. The Spark’s roster is constructed around a core of former X6 Gaming members, including NoSmite. His preexisting relationship with the rest of the team and the coaching staff could give him the chance to start over Guxue.
With Krystal, the story is much the same. Only, he has even more competition at the flex-DPS spot. Kim “GodsB” Kyeong-bo of X6 and Kang “Adora” Jae-hwan of Seven will put up quite a fight. Once again, the language barrier puts Krystal behind the eight ball, and again he is probably the most talented option.
The Spark need to incorporate both guxue and Krystal if they want to reach their potential this season. They are one of the most hyped expansion teams, in large part due to their Chinese stars. If they can clear that hurdle, then the sky’s the limit for Hangzhou.
Seoul Dynasty: Main Support
After a disappointing opening campaign, the Seoul Dynasty return for Season 2 rejuvenated and ready to contend. The core of the old Lunatic Hai roster remains, but new faces abound. One position where they expect massive improvements is main support.
A lackluster Season 1 has removed much of the shine from Yang “tobi” Jin-Mo. One of the leaders of the team, tobi was relegated to Mercy duty thank to the meta, and the role did not fit. Now that she rarely sees play and Lucio has found his way back into favor, tobi may once again have his time to shine. Where last year his starting spot was uncontested, this year he will be fighting to regain his role thanks to one of the league’s most exciting additions.
Lee “Jecse” Seung-soo, the former Element Mystic main support, was one of the most sought after free agents heading into Season 2. Jecse is said to be among the best shotcallers in Overwatch, the kind of player who makes his teammates better by his presence. He is the kind of influence Seoul needed during their tumultuous first year. He will almost certainly enter the year as the starter, but if Seoul flounder again, tobi will be waiting for his chance to regain some former glory.
San Francisco Shock: Nearly every position
Of all the teams in the League, it is the Shock whose opening week lineup is hardest to predict. They enter Season 2 with the only twelve man roster, and that means they have questions to answer. The only guarantee is that Grant “moth” Espe will start as the only main support on the roster. From there, things get very tricky.
Joining him on the support line could be either Nikola “sleepy” Andrews or Park “Viol2t” Min-ki. Sleepy was a middle of the pack flex support last season, and Viol2t could easily force his way into the lineup. Viol2t was a standout player for O2 Ardeont in Contenders, but OWL will be a new test in a new environment.
On the tank side of things, the Shock find themselves with no easy decisions. Choi “ChoiHyobin” Hyo-bin and Andreas “Nevix” Karlsson were both solid options for the team last year at flex tank. Both saw play time at the end of Season 1 so this spot is truly up for grabs. At main tank, the choice between Matthew “super” DeLisi and Yoo “smurf” Myeong-hwan may be a little clearer at the outset. Super is entrenched as the returning starter while smurf was acquired in an offseason trade that sent Dante “Danteh” Cruz to the Houston Outlaws. Still, super doesn’t have the strongest Winston and his spot could be contested if things don’t pan out early for the Shock.
At the DPS spots, the choice may be even more muddied. With five proven DPS players on the roster, the Shock have all their bases covered when it comes to potential picks. As it stands, Kwon “Striker” Nam-Joo and Park “Architect” Min-ho project as the two starters. Striker is coming off an MVP-caliber season with the Boston Uprising and it would be a surprise to see him ride the bench. Architect was arguably the best player for the Shock in Season 1.
However, there are challengers all around them. Andrej “babybay” Francisty, the Widowmaker specialist who showed flashes of brilliance in 2018. Kim “Rascal” Dong-jun, the jack of all trades joining his third OWL team. And who could forget Jay “sinatraa” Won, “Mr. 150K” himself? The Shock could simply be hoarding assets for when teams start looking for midseason upgrades. Perhaps they want insurance policies if the meta shifts drastically or a star suffers an injury. Either way, San Francisco find themselves with tough choices before the season begins.
Featured image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
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