Last week was a successful first week of hero pools for the Overwatch League in Washington. A new meta developed, mainly around old-school dive, and the entertainment/variety that OWL had been missing was finally rejuvenated. Love them or hate them, hero pools are switching things up. Now, McCree, Moira, Rein, and Widow back in rotation, with Lucio, Soldier, Sombra and Winston sitting out this week. Heading into Florida’s homestand, we may see a meta that harkens back to the first few weeks of this season, but as the analysts suggested, without Lucio’s speed boost, we may get treated to a few different compositions. This week offers a lot of great matchups, so here’s how the TGH team ranked everyone heading into Week 6.
Check us out at WatchHaus discussing last week and this weeks matches!
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(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)
The Fusion were brought back down to earth with a tough loss from the hands of the Eternal. They have London Spitfire this week and Jae-hyeok “Carpe” Lee has his bread and butter heroes unlocked. Philly will bounce back this weekend against a team trying to find their identity.
The NYXL have incredible depth on their DPS bench, and have the potential to do very well moving forward with hero pools. They haven’t been showing the consistency expected of a top tier team, but absolutely have all the tools necessary to buckle down and stay near the top.
The Reign bounced back this week with a swift dismantling of the Boston Uprising. Between the caliber of opponent and the fragile nature of a “meta” under Hero Pools, it’s tough to read too much into this game. At the very least, Xander “Hawk” Domecq was much improved, and Taehum “Edison” Kim shined in his OWL debut.
Overwatch League 2020 Season 2020-03-08 / Photo: CARLTON-BEENER for Activision Blizzard Entertainment
Well this week did not go as expected for Paris but it still turned out pretty alright. After a devastating 3-0 stomp by the Houston Outlaws, the Eternal buckled down and took the undefeated Fusion to perhaps the most heart-stopping Map 5 in OWL history. For 70 seconds of glorious overtime, the two teams battled it out on the 3rd point. Terrence “SoOn” Tarlier’s Tracer re-emerged from hibernation to remind fans of what Overwatch used to be like. Despite the massacre on Saturday, Paris proved they can bounce back and adapt for anything. With Reinhardt back in the mix this weeked and only one match to prep for, the Eternal shouldn’t have any issues staying at the top.
Washington had a good showing this week again at home. Even though hero pools hit some teams harder than others, Washington did manage to put together a respectable performance. A clear standout player was Ethan “Stratus” Yankel on Sombra, a hero he rarely had to use in the past. The coordination and communication of this team is top notch, and without Sombra in their upcoming match against the Defiant, Stratus will get to flex on yet another hero.
The Mayhem had a quiet 1-0 scoreline this week and moved just a tad upward in the power rankings toward the middle of the pack. It’s a shame that the Mayhem had only one match during last weekend’s hero pool, because they looked quite comfortable. Lucio is banned for this upcoming week of play, but unlike any other team, the Mayhem actually benefit from this because they prefer the Brigitte. Add onto that fact that they will be playing at their first homestand event in Miami and the Mayhem could see themselves on a mini winning streak come next week.
Via Toronto Defiant Flickr
Toronto are going into next week with possibly the worst hero pool they could have gotten. Adam “Beast” Denton can’t play Winston, Lane “Surefour” Roberts cannot play Sombra and Kristian “Kellex” Keller cannot play Lucio. Thankfully, the Defiant have only one game this week. However, it is up against a Washington Justice team that also only has one game. The Defiant have been relying on their Doomfist and Sombra composition all season so far; their ability to be flexible will be put to the test and will determine if they can course correct in this free-fall they’ve found themselves in.
The Outlaws only played one game last week, but it was a bracket-breaking 3-0 sweep of the Paris Eternal. Granted, Paris weren’t playing their best — they went on to give Philly their first defeat the next day — but so far, Houston’s homestand momentum hasn’t flagged. They don’t play again until Week 9 in Washington, which isn’t great for a team with such upward momentum. But coach Chris “Dream” Myrick indicated at the homestand that he believed the time off, both to rest and to watch the rest of the league adjust to hero pools, would be a benefit.
What a horrible, no good, very bad weekend for the Uprising. While the match against the Justice seemed pretty rough, Boston found a way to really out-do themselves against the Reign. Playing “off-meta” comps is one thing, but the beating Boston received hopefully knocked some sense into the coaching staff.
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Our voters for OWL Power Rankings: Brad Long, Kate Sheppard, Jezi Scott, 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
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