This week the Overwatch League begins the Summer Showdown. All teams besides the Boston Uprising will be participating, with the other 12 NA teams facing off and all APAC teams facing each other. Just as last week, there will be no hero pools in effect. Most teams took full advantage of this in Week 21 with a heavy usage of Brigitte, a hero that had been banned for Weeks 19 and 20. With a weekend long tournament on the horizon, here are The Game Haus power rankings for the Summer Showdown.
(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)
Pure Dominance. The Shock just took out the top dogs in the Atlantic Division with relative ease. Perhaps the only team that could match them now is the Shanghai Dragons, but that matchup won’t come for quite a while. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Shock charge their way through to another tournament championship.
- Matthew Kennedy
2. Shanghai Dragons (High: 1 Low: 3 LW: 2nd)
The Dragons were able to secure the first seed for the APAC Summer Showdown and will observe the other teams Saturday. This team has proven to be unflappable in the face of many things, and the extra tape of the other teams will allow them even more preparation. Another chance at becoming tournament champions is easily within Shanghai’s grasp. With all that, every other team in the APAC region has shown improved play since the May Melee concluded, and every match promises to showcase immense talent.
- Dalton Jewell
3. Philadelphia Fusion (High: 2 Low: 5 LW: 3rd)
The Fusion were dealt their second loss of the season last weekend to the powerful SF Shock. They deserve to move down in the power rankings this week because of rather poor performance and failure to adjust. They still remain a top five team in the league but they move down a small peg.
- Rocco Romeo
4. Guangzhou Charge (High: 4 Low: 8 LW: 4th)
The Guangzhou Charge are a top-level team and could challenge the Dragons for the Summer Showdown. There, it has been said and there is no taking it back. The amount of people sleeping on the Charge is truly still surprising and it is time that the show everyone that this ranking and a run deep into the playoffs at the end of the season are both deserved and possible.
- Rob Hanes
5. New York Excelsior (High: 4 Low: 7 LW: 5th)
The NYXL are the third seed heading into the Summer Showdown and face the toughest road to the finals. The toughest path to becoming tournament champions would see them face the Spark, then Charge, and finally the Dragons. It’s a brutal path that will truly showcase the talent on this roster. In the past few weeks the NYXL have taken both the Spark and Charge to five maps, and the high level of competition will only be increased in a tournament setting. A tough path is ahead of them but it’s a great way to show that they’re truly a top-team if they come out on the right side of things.
- Dalton Jewell
6. Florida Mayhem (High: 4 Low: 10 LW: 7th)
The Mayhem have been struggling in their past few matches and it’s hard to tell if the rest of the league is starting to catch up to the better teams or if Florida’s stunning May tournament performance was somewhat of a fluke. Despite this lacklustre string of matches, the team has still been able to find a couple of wins. With the next monthly tournament scheduled to begin this week, hopefully the Mayhem can regain the same form they found last time around that saw them looking much better than they do now.
- Sam O’Dwyer
T7. Los Angeles Valiant (High: 6 Low: 11 LW: 6th)
Well that did not go as expected. The Valiant were stomped by the Eternal in rather convincing fashion this past week. That result raises questions about the Valiant as a team. What do they look like outside of the Tracer/Ashe meta? Will they run Genji during the Summer Showdown? The Valiant are a good team, they just need to find themselves again.
- Christian Wisniewski
T7. Paris Eternal (High: 5 Low: 10 LW: 9th)
Is this team starting to come together? A win against a tough Valiant team shows that they might be ready to make a deep run in the Summer Showdown. Their first match against the Fuel should be a relatively easy one but stranger things have happened. After that, they should hope that the Shock are on the opposite side of the bracket. If so then they could have a chance at facing them in the finals.
- Rob Hanes
9. Seoul Dynasty (High: 5 Low: 12 LW: 10th)
The Seoul Dynasty go into the Summer Showdown with a win under their belt. With the no hero pools and tournament on the line, the Tiger Nation has a great hope to see the Dynasty pull another upset like they did in the May Melee.
- Lauren “daebakowl” Olson
10. Los Angeles Gladiators (High: 9 Low: 14 LW: 12th)
Los Angeles struggled this week in their victory versus Washington. For the Summer Showdown tournament, they have chosen to face Washington once again. Hopefully, they understand that they’ll need to beat tougher teams in order to move up the rankings. Kevin “Kevster” Persson looks like a solid addition to the roster.
- Joe Gvora
11. Atlanta Reign (High: 8 Low: 13 LW: 11th)
The Atlanta Reign swept the Vancouver Titans and secured a second seed spot for the Summer Showdown tournament. Atlanta has proven time and again that they reign supreme over lower ranked teams but have yet to prove themselves against the top tier teams they were expected to comfortably dominate at the start of the season. The Summer Showdown will be an opportunity for the Reign to turn their season around and climb back up the ranks.
- Rhiannon Boyce
12. Hangzhou Spark (High: 9 Low: 15 LW: 8th)
Hangzhou suffered an off-week last week after not being able to win a single map in both games. While the team still has a strong seed in the Summer Showdown, they were not able to live up to the “2nd best team in the APAC region” standards that many placed upon them. They fall back to the same place they have been in previous weeks but still have plenty of time to make up for it.
- Jordy Garcia
13. London Spitfire (High: 10 Low: 15 LW: 13th)
The London Spitfire aren’t really improving in a noticeable way, but they are holding their own against some tough teams in the APAC region. Just like the other side of the bracket, the path for the Spitfire won’t be easy. The good news is that the Spitfire have been able to defeat tougher teams like the Spark last week, but have also been taken down like the Dragons and NYXL. The deep bench of rookies that the Spitfire hold continues to pay dividends with hero pools gone, as this team is able to just continuously sub in players to fit map styles. The Seoul Dynasty await the Spitfire on Saturday, and if they’re able to snag a win it will be a huge step forward for this young squad.
- Dalton Jewell
14. Houston Outlaws (High: 10 Low: 15 LW: 14th)
The Houston Outlaws continued to show signs of improvement last weekend. After going down 0-2 against the Florida Mayhem, the Outlaws were able to rally and send it to a Map 5. Their bid for a reverse sweep ended after Florida dominated on the fifth map. Nonetheless, a few weeks ago this Houston team would’ve been thrashed by the likes of the Mayhem. Now they’re clearly able to compete with teams of that calibre. This Friday, the Outlaws get a chance at redemption. Florida has selected them as their matchup for the first round of Summer Showdown. Can the Outlaw’s hard work finally pay off with a win against a top-tier Mayhem squad in tournament play?
- Barry Giglio
15. Dallas Fuel (High: 13 Low: 17 LW: 17th)
Dallas looked like a well-oiled machine in their 3-0 victory against the Toronto Defiant, a far cry from their match against Vancouver the previous week. Stefan “Onigod” Fiskerstrand and Dong-ha “Doha” Kim have proved that they can put the team on their backs even without superstar Gui-un “Decay” Jang. At this point, the Fuel are looking at consistency. Can they dial it in well enough to take down Paris?
- London Bishop
16. Chengdu Hunters (High: 14 Low: 18 LW: 15th)
After picking up only one map out of seven played, Chengdu are in a rough spot heading into the Summer Showdown. They were able to take the one map against the Charge, who had the first choice in selecting their opponents. Chengdu is viewed as a weak team among the rest of the APAC region, and their recent play has not been as good as others. A team loaded with DPS options could easily rotate without hero pools, but the rest of the team isn’t quite as strong. It’s a rough road ahead for the Hunters, who will most likely be the Hunted on Saturday.
- Dalton Jewell
17. Vancouver Titans (High: 16 Low: 20 LW: 19th)
The Titans established their first win streak since the new roster in Week 21. They looked incredibly strong sweeping the Boston Uprising, but then fell to the Atlanta Reign in a non-qualifying game. The DPS line continues to be the strongest part of the team, and the others are improving with each match. The Summer Showdown will not be easy for this team, but it is possible for upsets to happen.
- Ethan Butler
18. Toronto Defiant (High: 17 Low: 20 LW: 18th)
If the Defiant don’t play their Canadian counterparts then they lose. Unfortunately for them they get a Valiant team that is probably still upset about their last time out against the Eternal. Combine that all together and it sadly means an early exit from the Summer Showdown for Toronto.
- Rob Hanes
19. Boston Uprising (High: 17 Low: 20 LW: 16th)
Back to the drawing board for Boston apparently. This weekend of matches may have just been the worst this season – but not for the normal reasons. After weeks of improvement and growth, the Boston Uprising failed to make any sort of progress in the standings. Now out of the Summer Showdown, the Uprising will take this time to work out some issues and hopefully return a better team.
- Bryan “Brock” Rockwood
20. Washington Justice (High: 17 Low: 20 LW: 20th)
The retooled Justice were finally able to snag their first win, allowing them entry into the Summer Showdown. While the Uprising aren’t a particularly tough team, it still showcased that this team is heading in the right direction. Unfortunately they’ll be going up against the Gladiators and showed their winning strategy. If Ho-Sung “TTuba” Lee is challenged, the nano-blades won’t be nearly as effective. Hopefully this team continues to shine and marches towards more improvement.
- Dalton Jewell
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Our voters for OWL Power Rankings: Ethan Seftor, Mallory, Robert Hanes, Dalton Jewell, Lotte, Sam O’Dwyer, Bryan Rockwood, Brad Killion, Mandii, Rhiannon, Laruen “Daebakowl” Olson, Matthew Kennedy, Christian Wisniewski, Jordan Garcia, Rocco Romeo, Tiffany Purcell, Joe Gvora, London Bishop, Sebastian Quintanilla, Ethan Butler, Barry Giglio, Jezi Scott