Stage 1 of Overwatch League Season 2 wrapped up late last week with one of the best Overwatch matches in the history of the League. With the Vancouver Titans as the Stage 1 Champions, certain players were looking to make claims that they are the best in their respective position. These players were putting on a clinic all stage long, showcasing the skills that make them special. While you can check out who The Game Haus predicted for the overall Overwatch League Season 2 awards here, below is who was picked for these awards at the end of Stage 1.
Note: in the Season 2 awards we voted on best main tank, however for Stage 1 we voted on best tank, regardless of main or flex tank.
Courtesy of the Boston Uprising twitter.
Cameron “Fusions” Bosworth burst onto everyone’s radar with his performance at the Overwatch World Cup 2018, and the pick-up by the Boston Uprising had everyone anxious to see more. With Fusions taking the main tank role after the trade of Young-jin “Gamsu” Noh, he did not disappoint. Fusions was the main, (some would argue only), reason that the Uprising made the playoffs. Fusions has given hope to a team that looked poised to have a down season, and his Earthshatter power cannot be underestimated. Although the team around him didn’t perform perfectly, Fusions always shined bright.
Courtesy of the Chengdu Hunters
Yi “JinMu” Hu wasn’t on most people’s radar much before Stage 1 started, but then their eyes were glued to him and the Hunters every time they took the stage. JinMu was able to flex the most to other heroes, as the Hunters continually ran DPS centered compositions. A quick look shows that JinMu has spent time playing the following heroes; Brigitte, Pharah, Hanzo, Genji, Junkrat, Torbjorn, Sombra and Mei. His performances on Pharah and Brigitte in particular provided the Hunters a chance to win every engagement. JinMu and his versatility were a large part of the Hunters 3-4 record. This was a team people were counting out, now it’s a team they can’t look away from.
Courtesy of the Guangzhou Charge and Vancouver Titans
Jin-seo “Shu” Kim and Juseok “Twilight” Lee split the votes for best support of Stage 1, and it’s not hard to tell why. They represent two of the top performing support heroes in Ana and Zenyatta. Shu’s Ana game was insane, and it seemed like there was always somebody sleeping on the enemy team when they fought against him. Twilight on the other hand, was an expert Zenyatta, consistently gaining a pick for his team with a well placed discord and headshot. One could flip either Shu to Zenyatta and Twilight to Ana, and the results would stay the same, absolute dominance. These two supports stood above the rest throughout Stage 1.
Image Courtesy of twitter.com/sfshock
With Supports receiving 3 points for a kill, 3 points for an Ultimate, 4 points for getting the First Kill and a unique category in 1.5 points for a resurrection, it is no surprise to see Min-Ki “Viol2t” Park at the top of the list. Viol2t is 1st in the League when it comes to healing per 10 minutes, and 28th when it comes to dishing out damage. Both of these numbers are better then both Twilight and Seonghyun “JJonak” Bang. Viol2t was a large part of the Shock’s top tier potential, and it was on full display during the championship bout. Whether they needed him to pick off on opposing player or keep the Shock alive, Viol2t made it happen.
2019-03-16 / Photo: Stewart Volland For Blizzard Entertainment
The Game Haus staff had a strong feeling on who the top rookie was. Not even projected to be the starting main tank, Fusions is the definition of rookie. The fact that he charged his team into the playoffs just gives him even more validity. If he is the best Main Tank for Stage 1, then it stands to reason he’s the Best Rookie of Stage 1.
Photo: Overwatch League
Our predictions for the MVP of the Season 2 featured none of these names. Hyunwoo “JJANU” Choi’s performance on D.va was phenomenal. While his damage and final blows are good, it’s his eliminations and average deaths per 10 minutes that stand out. JJANU ranks 4th in eliminations and 2nd in deaths, averaging less than 3 deaths every 10 minutes. With a character like D.va, staying alive to be able to combat an enemies graviton surge is key. JJANU’s survivability allows his team to stay in a fight, even if it looks like a lost one. Another way JJANU snagged this was his ability to beat out the competition at every turn during the Stage 1 playoffs, capturing victory for the Titans.
The TGH Staff is excited for the rest of Season 2 of the Overwatch League. With NYXL falling short once again and an expansion team taking Stage 1, Stage 2 looks poised for more greatness. Make sure to check back here for amazing coverage of everything OWL throughout the year.
Do you agree with these award winners? Let us know who you would pick in the comments!
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