The Overwatch League kicked off it’s third season in New York and Dallas last weekend. After seeing the meta throughout the eight matches, even teams that weren’t playing got adjusted. As the League heads to Philadelphia this weekend, it is another chance to enjoy some games and see where teams lie. This weekend offers a chance to perceive how lower tier teams like Florida and Houston could match out against higher tier teams like Washington and Philly. Without further adieu, here are the TGH Season 3 Power Rankings after the first week.
(MPD= Map Differential, High is the highest an individual ranked the team, Low is the lowest an individual ranked them, and LW= Last Week’s Power Ranking Position)
1. San Francisco Shock (High: 1 Low: 2 LW: 1st)
The win against the Fuel this weekend was a strong showing at parts, but other times depended on Nam-jo “Striker” Kwon clutching out the fights after several players had fallen. The choice of Min-ho “Architect” Park starting on Ana shows that the coaching staff will keep opponents and fans on their toes, unafraid to place damage players on support roles. The map loss on Horizon shows that the team may not be quite as dominant as they were in the 2019 postseason, but they are still a team to fear.
– Matthew “Setanta” Kennedy
2. New York Excelsior (High: 1 Low: 5 LW: 2nd)
The NYXL came out of the gate swinging with a strong showing at their week one homestand. Dropping only one map the entire weekend, they did not appear to have any issues with the new members acclimating. They’ll take week two off, and come back week three in Washington to show what they can do on the road.
– Rhiannon “Psyryn” Boyce
3. Atlanta Reign (High: 3 Low: 6 LW: 3rd)
4. Vancouver Titans (High: 2 Low: 6 LW: 6th)
In the two games they played at the Dallas Homestand this past weekend the Titans were able to secure two victories. The games were both rather close however with the Gladiators pushing them to the limit and the Valiant keeping them on their toes despite a 3-0 loss. They don’t seem as overly dominant as they were last season just yet, but as they showed over the weekend they are still one of the most clutch teams in the league. Pulling wins from seemingly sure to be losses. Individually they are as skilled as ever, at each position they have a potential MVP for the year. As they continue to develop a deeper synergy with their new main tank Chan-hyung “Fissure” Baek, the Titans could very well climb to the top of the rankings.
– Ethan “DocGoose” Butler
5. Shanghai Dragons (High: 2 Low: 9 LW: 4th)
6. Los Angeles Gladiators (High: 5 Low: 9 LW: 8th)
Despite the new roster moves from the offseason, the Gladiators put up a strong showing against a relentless Vancouver team. Showing signs of promise, most players on the team have managed to perform optimally, including the once-questionable additions of Gia Huy “Mirror” Trinh and Jason “Jaru” White. So long as Roni “LHCloudy” Tiihonen can watch himself as long as he’s playing the main tank role, this team is sure to live in the upper half of the rankings throughout the season.
– Joe Gvora
7. Philadelphia Fusion (High: 3 Low: 13 LW: 5th)
8. Seoul Dynasty (High: 6 Low: 11 LW: 7th)
9. Guangzhou Charge (High: 8 Low: 14 LW: 9th)
10. Hangzhou Spark (High: 7 Low: 17 LW: 12th)
11. Washington Justice (High: 6 Low: 18 LW: 10th)
12. Toronto Defiant (High: 9 Low: 17 LW: 14)
Toronto started the season off right with a win against the Paris Eternal 3-1. Adam “Beast” Denton found his footing as the series progressed and showed a serviceable performance as an Overwatch League main tank. As expected, every DPS player on the Defiant had exceptional performances. Even the support line had several game changing moments throughout the series. However, the Defiant did struggle when the Eternal played an unconventional Symmetra on Lijiang. The Defiant will need to work on their in-game adaptability as well as continuing to refine team chemistry. They will be put to the test week when they face the Philadelphia Fusion in Washington.
– Brad Killion
13. Paris Eternal (High: 10 Low: 19 LW: 16th)
The Eternal looked tenacious against the Toronto Defiant, despite having to field two main tanks due to unfavorable circumstances. Cleanly winning the first map of the season they would eventually lose the match 3-1. Paris quickly picked themselves up and were unstoppable against the London Spitfire on Sunday, clutching the first 3-0 of the year. Their jump in ranking is clearly reflective of their unexpected performance thanks to Gihyo “Xzi” Jung’s impeccable aim and a jet-lagged Brice “FDGod” Monscavior’s infallible Lucio play. Fans can expect this team to keep climbing the rankings as they have a bye-week before adding off tank Hanbeen “Hanbin” Choi in week 3.
– Mandii Kennedy
T14. Chengdu Hunters (High: 11 Low: 17 LW: 13th)
T14. Florida Mayhem (High: 8 Low: 20 LW: 15)
16. Los Angeles Valiant (High: 10 Low: 19 LW: 19th)
The LA Valiant were the surprise of the first weekend to many people. After the scrim bucks hype that went around leading up the the weekend, the Valiant showed their potential in a 3-1 win over the Fuel. That win though was followed up by a relative dud against the talented Vancouver Titans. Kai “KSP” Collins has shown to be one of the premiere western hitscan players in the world and Kyle “KSF” Frandanisa has continued his consistent performance from last season. Rick “GiG” Salazar’s progression is going to be massively important for this team. He has had moments of brilliance, and moments of being NA Bumper. They will have plenty of time to figure out any issues over the next few weeks because of the homestand cancellations due to the continued outbreak of Coronavirus.
– Christian Wisniewski
17. Houston Outlaws (High: 10 Low: 20 LW: 11th)
18. London Spitfire (High: 12 Low: 20 LW: 18th)
Coming in with no expectations whatsoever might have been a blessing in disguise for the rookies of the London squad. Despite losses to Paris and NYXL, newcomers like Sangjun “Babel” Park and Gyumin “SanGuiNar” Lym showed enough promise to raise some confidence that, with some time to build synergy and experience, London could field a strong squad.
– Gabby Hidalgo
19. Dallas Fuel (High: 15 Low: 20 LW: 17th)
Dallas did not come prepared for the first few matches of their season. Even with the homestand crowd, the Fuel were extremely disorganized, hugely suffering from a messy tank line. Fuel buys back a couple of brownie points for full-holding Shock on Horizon Lunar Colony, but the majority of their play this weekend left much to be desired.
– London Bishop
20. Boston Uprising (High: 18 Low: 20 LW: 20th)
People were expecting some hostility towards the Uprising as they headed into rival territory, but the NYXL crowd took it up a notch. Luckily Kelsey “Colourhex” Birse and company took the heckling in stride, since the game didn’t go as they hoped. Boston has a couple weeks before their next match against Houston to practice some more comps, as Orisa/Rein didn’t bring any success. The talent seems to be there, it’ll be up to the coaching to bring it out of them.
– Bryan Rockwood
You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from great TGH writers!
Our voters for OWL Power Rankings: Brad Long, Kate Sheppard, Ethan Seftor, Mallory, Robert Hanes, Connor Knudsen, Dalton Jewell, Lotte, Sam O’Dwyer, Bryan Rockwood, Brad Killion, Seneca, Jess, Thoth, Gabby, Mandii, Rhiannon, Daebakowl, Matthew Kennedy, Christian Wisniewski, Jordan Garcia, Rocco Romeo, Tiffany Purcell, Joe Gvora, London Bishop, Sebastian Quintanilla, Ethan Butler,