Overwatch League Power Rankings: Season 2 Stage 2 Week 2
The Overwatch League wrapped up Week 2 of Stage 2 this past weekend. The Los Angeles Valiant finally secured their first win, and the top teams have continued their dominance. With the meta in a more stable place than Week 1, flaws and masteries are on full display. Heading into the middle of Stage 2, here’s how the TGH crew ranked the teams.
(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. Vancouver Titans – Record: 10-0 MPD: +26 (High: 1. Low: 2. LW: 1st)
Should they win both of their games next week the Titans will match the longest winning streak in OWL history. It would be a remarkable achievement, something that couldn’t have reasonably been expected when the season began. To make it even sweeter, the Boston Uprising will have the chance to stop Vancouver from matching their record from Season 1. This will be the toughest week the Titans face in Stage 2, the tallest hurdle on the way to a second straight perfect stage. Victory next weekend would further cement them in league history and secure them a playoff spot to defend their stage title.
– Bradley Long
2. New York Excelsior – Record 11-0 MPD: +31 (High: 2. Low: 3. LW: 2nd)
Despite having a somewhat easy return to the OWL stage, the Excelsior are still showing their strengths as they continue to roll each of their opponents. If they keep their same confidence and attention to detail as they get ready to face the Fusion again, their strong performances will only become stronger.
– Miranda Rodriguez
3. San Francisco Shock – Record: 7-3 MPD: +17 (High: 1. Low: 4. LW: 3rd)
The Shock had what was essentially an off week this week, as nothing challenging came their way whatsoever. The Charge game was about as one sided as it gets, and the Shock dominated throughout the match. It does get harder for the Shock next week, however, as they play Toronto and Hangzhou. It is very possible that these will just be more drubbings, as the Shock are one of the hottest, if not the hottest, team in the OWL right now.
– Sam Putney
4. Los Angeles Gladiators – Record: 7-4 MPD: +9 (High: 3. Low: 7. LW: 4th)
The Los Angeles Gladiators have improved to 4-0 in the Stage, placing them in 2nd behind New York. After two weeks where they played two games each, the Gladiators made easy work of the Charge and the Valiant. If the Gladiators are able to keep this form throughout the Stage, they can look for a deep playoff run. Next week Los Angeles takes on the rebuilding Florida mayhem. The Gladiators will improve to 5-0 in Week 3.
– Zach Stenzel
5. Dallas Fuel – Record: 6-3 MPD: +5 (High: 4. Low: 8. LW: 11th)
The pickup of Lucas “Note” Meissner has been promising for both parties. While not necessarily popping off on roles other than D.Va, he is holding his own. Note is showing his flexibility more than ever, playing Orisa, Tracer, Zarya and even Hanzo. The frontline of Dallas has looked strong, with both Zachary “ZachaREEE” Lombardo and Minseok “OGE” Son playing well. While defeating Vancouver might not be easy next week, Seoul is extremely doable.
– Ethan Cowan-Kazmi
6. London Spitfire – Record 6-4 MPD: +2 (High: 4. Low: 12. LW: 10th)
At last, London seems to be slowly figuring out how to play to their strengths in this meta. After a back and forth match against Philadelphia this week, London have taken back the crown from their former championship rivals. While the match was by no means an easy win for the Spitfire, their victory over the Fusion has certainly helped quell fears that they would never live up to their Season 1 performance. How they fare against Boston this week will make or break the claim that they deserve a spot back among the OWL’s best.
–Steven Bower
7. Philadelphia Fusion – Record: 7-4 MPD: +4 (High: 5. Low: 9. LW: 7th)
Things looked better for the Philadelphia Fusion in Week 2. After a rough Week 1, the Fusion had an incredible turnaround against the Toronto Defiant. While the Fusion were unable to beat the London Spitfire, they did have some moments of greatness. The game was close and the Fusion did the improbable by holding the Grand Champions off on Hanamura. The Fusion still have a lot to work on, primarily their communication. The rest of their schedule is going to be tough, but with the Fusion there is always a chance to turn things around.
– Kate Shepard
8. Boston Uprising – Record: 6-4 MPD: +4 (High: 4. Low: 10. LW: 5th)
The Uprising had a tough week. In a game that went all the way, in a new Boston fashion, they lost in the very end of it all to the Hangzhou Spark. The game, however, was intensely close throughout the entire series. Additionally, this game was important, as this upcoming week, they face even stronger opponents. The London Spitfire could give them grounds for another win, but the Vancouver Titans are looking to continue their perfect win streak. If they can clean up their edges, they could prevent a full sweep. The London game will give fans a better clue as to what they can do, and if they can remain in a comfortable position for the Stage 2 Playoffs.
– Mallory McMahon
9. Seoul Dynasty – Record: 4-5 MPD: +2 (High: 6. Low: 13. LW: 8th)
Trying to claw back after two weeks of losses is going to be difficult. The rest of the season still has the Vancouver Titans at the end of the stage with a red hot Dallas as their next opponent in Week 3. Losing to the Fuel in Week 1 of the first stage, this is Seoul’s time to turn their stage around. It is interesting how the Dynasty have shuffled their roster in previous weeks. Whether it’s the aggressive style lead by Fissure or the more passive lead by Marve1, Seoul will have to show what they learned in these losses while deciding what roster to play.
-Andy Nekrich
10. Chengdu Hunters – Record: 5-5 MPD: -4 (High: 7. Low: 12. LW: 6th)
This week the Chengdu Hunters fell apart against the Shanghai Dragons. While their unconventional and unpredictable strategies managed to win them some fights, their lack of coordination lost them the match. Each member of the Hunters are very skilled. However, their communication seems to be an issue. If these highly skilled players can learn to work together and coordinate their attack, they will improve drastically. Otherwise, teams will start to figure out the Hunters and they will fall apart like they did this week.
– Chris Littlefield
11. Shanghai Dragons – Record: 4-6 MPD: -7 (High: 9. Low: 14. LW: 13th)
Moving into their last match with Chengdu, the match was strongly suggesting that it would not reflect their Stage 1 Week 3 match up. An evolving meta, the Hunters new resurgence of a deep hero pool, but the Dragons were not deterred. They played Chengdu’s game, and Jin-hyeok “DDing” Yang was phenomenal. His pool of Pharah, Junkrat, Bastion and Zarya was able to fill any gap in Shanghai’s composition and throw new looks at Chengdu. With the Mayhem and Outlaws as the Week 3 opponents, expect an undefeated week for the Dragons.
– Jacob Renie
12. Hangzhou Spark – Record: 4-5 MPD: -7 (High: 7. Low: 14. LW: 15th)
Hangzhou finally got a chance to impress this week, pulling out an exciting 3-2 victory over the Boston Uprising. In particular, they attracted a lot of attention for debuting Shilong “Krystal” Cai, who stood out throughout the series. Though the Spark have shown that they can shine when they build around the most talented players on their roster, their coordination still leaves much to be desired. With so many teams making crucial roster changes and improving as a result, the Spark will need to follow suit if they want a shot at climbing the standings.
-Darby Joyce
13. Toronto Defiant – Record: 6-5 MPD: +0 (High: 8. Low: 15. LW: 9th)
The Toronto Defiant fell a bit with their performance last week, dropping both matches to the Fuel and Fusion. While the Defiant had bright spots, there were clearly some communication issues. With these issues becoming more glaring in Stage 2, and with the meta more in flex depending on the map, the Defiant are lacking the clear-cut attack they had in Stage 1. Heading into their match this week against the deadly Shock, the Defiant look to recoup their season record, while they look poised to view Stage 2 playoffs from the sidelines.
– Dalton Jewell
14. Paris Eternal – Record: 5-6 MPD: -7 (High: 11. Low: 16. LW: 12th)
The Paris Eternal split their matches last weekend, taking a win against the Mayhem and a loss against the Fuel. Even with a win, there was cause for concern in the match against the Mayhem. For a team many view at the bottom of the League, Paris struggled to handle some of their compositions. Bunker comps in particular seem to be giving Paris a rough time. Though they lost against the Fuel, there were moments of greatness to gleam playing against a top team in Stage 2. With the constant flashes of talent, Paris will need to get things together to get back in the top 10 teams.
– Dalton Jewell
15. Atlanta Reign- Record: 5-6 MPD: +2 (High: 13. Low: 18. LW: 16th)
The Atlanta Reign have shown struggles adapting to new players and a new meta. While they seem to finally be stabilizing, their schedule this stage only gets harder from here. Hopefully by the time they come out of their two game New York Excelsior gauntlet they will have the tools and synergy to climb back up the rankings. Until then, or unless they can find an unlikely win against New York, the Reign find themselves in the middle of the pack.
– Garrett “Norcetto” Golden
16. Houston Outlaws – Record: 3-5 MPD: -5 (High: 11. Low: 18. LW: 17th)
The Houston Outlaws are beginning to come into their own. Despite losing against the Vancouver Titans, they showed off how scrappy they could play. However, Houston still insists on playing a straight forward GOATs composition, despite their success with Sombra GOATs. Houston needs to either work out a game plan where they always have Dante “Danteh” Cruz on Sombra or they need to start moving away from the Meta and start utilizing off-meta picks similar to Shanghai and Chengdu’s playstyle. Houston faces some tough opponents in week 3. If Houston manages to further solidify their adjusted playstyle during the week, this could be a fun team to watch.
– Steven Zamora
17. Los Angeles Valiant – Record 1-9 MPD: -13 (High: 15. Low: 19. LW: 20th)
The LA Valiant finally snagged their first win of the season in this week, and followed it up with a close 2-1 loss to their rivals, the Gladiators. They’ve shown obvious improvement, but not yet enough to really jump majorly on the leader boards. For now, they seem to be finally putting the chemistry they built last season to work. With a match against the Justice this week, the Valiant are poised to beat one of the few teams with a worse map differential.
– Aaron Gerr and Dalton Jewell
18. Guangzhou Charge – Record: 3-8 MPD: -17 (High: 14. Low: 20. LW: 14th)
It’s a hard time to be a Guangzhou fan. They sit at the very bottom of the ranking with a -16 map differential just from this stage. The one ray of hope is that they’ve finished playing some of the league’s hardest teams and now have an easier go. However they’ll need a huge turn around to raise up the rankings again, and any loss after this can no longer be attributed to “difficult strength of schedule”. It’s time for the Charge to show where they really stand in the rankings.
– Ethan Seftor
19. Washington Justice – Record: 1-10 MPD: -21 (High: 18. Low: 20. LW: 18th)
After another disappointing week the Justice continue to earn their low rank. A 4-0 loss to the NYXL is excusable, but losing to Atlanta 3-1, when the Reign had looked so shaky post Daniel “Dafran” Francesca is damning. Corey “Corey” Nigra remains a bright spot, but despite being flashy he can’t carry this team to victory on his own.
– Brian Marr
20. Florida Mayhem – Record: 1-10 MPD: -21 (High: 19. Low: 20. LW: 19th)
Any optimism about Florida and their recent improvement is fading as the team needs a win. The Mayhem started slow against the Paris Eternal but were able to be competitive in later maps. In their second match of the week against New York, the Mayhem looked lost. With staff and player changes confirmed to be on the horizon it seems those changes cannot come quickly enough as the Mayhem’s tank duo might just be the worst in Overwatch League history. The Mayhem have just one game next week against a team on the rise in the Shanghai Dragons. If the Mayhem can take one or even two maps, it will be a success.
– Sam O’Dwyer
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Our voters for OWL Power Rankings: Preseason- Bradley Long, Kate Shepard, Felipe Labarca, Darby Joyce, Robert Hanes, Katie Gripne, Ethan Cowan-Kazmi, Mallory McMahon, Dalton Jewell, Zach Stenzel, Garrett “Norcetto” Golden, Ethan Seftor, Miranda Rodriguez, Dave Grove, Sam Putney, Aaron Gerr, Steven Bower, Sam O’Dwyer, Connor Knudsen, Jake Renie, Steven Zamora, Brandon Padilla, Eren “Kenobi” Erkey, Andy Nekrich, Brian Marr