Overwatch League Season 2 Power Rankings – Stage 1 Week 3

With the second week of the League coming to a dramatic close, it is time once again to examine how each team ranks against the others in our Overwatch League Week 3 Power Rankings. Each team in the league has shown the ability to play at a very high level, and even the worst teams on this list are capable of making significant upsets in the coming weeks. With only two weeks of matches to go off of, it is completely possible that teams at the bottom today could be at the top tomorrow. Now that that is out of the way, let’s take a look at the power rankings for Overwatch League Season – Stage 1 Week 3.

NYXL AND TITANS TOP THE CHARTS

With good results this past week, the New York Excelsior comes in at #1. New York had a game 5 set against the Valiant, but despite the close match NYXL looked strong. The tank duo of Mano and MekO performed adamantly, helping secure the series in the end for the Excelsior. Finishing off the week against the Houston Outlaws, New York maintained their perfect record with a clean 4 – 0 victory for the week. The team looked exceptionally strong against Houston, with Mano and MekO dominating crucial teamfights. With both of these solid results, the NYXL take #1 this week.

The Vancouver Titans also hold onto their win streak with two solid wins against both the Guangzhou Charge and San Francisco Shock. The Charge brought Vancouver to a fifth map on Saturday, making for a very exciting game to watch, but ultimately Vancouver sealed the deal with well-executed plays and multikills. Despite the set going to map five, the Titans looked dominant. Wrapping up the week’s matches against the Shock, Vancouver put on a great show. The Titan’s tankline, Bumper and JJANU, worked together to great effect and secured their third win of the season 3 – 1. While many believed that San Francisco would take the set, the Titans showed everyone that they are a force to be reckoned with.

RISE OF THE EXPANSION TEAMS

Two of the highly anticipated expansion teams secure their spots at #3 and #4, the Paris Eternal and the Atlanta Reign. The Paris Eternal played only one match this week, against the Los Angeles Gladiators on Friday. Flex tank Finnsi managed to land several critical multi-kills with D.Va, which helped Paris to win 2 – 1 over the veteran Gladiators in the series.

The Atlanta Reign come in at #4 after a 3 – 1 win over the Toronto Defiant. Atlanta has been looking suprisingly competitive this stage, only losing to the Fusion in a close set during the Week 1. With the Defiant shaping up to be a respectable team, Atlanta’s decisive victory over them helped earn their spot at #4.

With only one set each, the Seoul Dynasty (#5) and San Francisco Shock (#6) take the next spots on our power rankings. Seoul swept through the Chengdu Hunters on Thursday, and although Chengdu showed signs of life, they couldn't stop the Dynasty. Seoul proved this week that they are capable of strong play in this metagame, and came back strong after an up and down Week 1. The Shock played against the dominant Titans to round off the week, and while the score looked in strong favor of Vancouver, San Francisco put up a great fight. In a very exciting set, the Shock showed their capabilities with good fundamentals and teamwork. Despite having a negative record, the Shock have maintained a positive map differential.

A Crowded Middle of the Pack

Several teams that performed well last week fell off a cliff during Week 2. The Philadelphia Fusion (#7) and Hangzhou Spark (#8) fit squarely in this category, and, as a result, tumbled down our rankings. Philadelphia came up with two rather bad losses to the Florida Mayhem and Dallas Fuel. Many would believe the Fusion were favored in these matchups, but Philly disappointingly couldn’t secure either win. With their Zenyatta specialist Boombox out sick this week, Philadelphia should be praying for his swift return. Without him, this drop in the rankings could be small compared to where they could eventually end up.

In a similar vein, the Hangzhou Spark lost to the Houston Outlaws (1-3) and the London Spitfire(1-3). Despite having some impressive moments and what seemed like good teamwork, the Spark were unable to secure the win against Houston. In the London game, The Spark looked weak and were completely outperformed by a resurgent London team.

The London Spitfire (#9) didn’t start out the week looking good, however.  The Spitfire had to take their series against the Washington Justice to map five to secure the win and the reverse sweep.  Winning this way isn't ideal, but compared to their Week 1 performance, the Spitfire showed improvement. London's progress was most apparent in their final match  against the Spark, where they looked like the team that everyone had been expecting. London has to hope to maintain this upward momentum heading into Week 3 with a few more strong showings.

With a close loss to the Eternal, the Los Angeles Gladiators drop to #10 this week. The Gladiators managed to win one map and draw another.   Despite being unable to take the set, LA has looked better as they continue incorporate their new players, including rOar, into the roster.

defiant and charge round out the top 12

The Toronto Defiant (#11) had an average week, losing to a strong Atlanta and winning against the Valiant. That said, Toronto put up a good fight against Atlanta with notable play from their support duo, RoKy and Aid. Despite their efforts, Defiant could not secure the win. Toronto did manage to beat the Valiant, however, in a 2 – 1 victory. Although the Defiant was able to put away the Valiant, LA has hardly been an impressive team this season. Therefore, this victory is not enough to help offset their previous losses, which drops them from #9 last week to #11 this week.

The Guangzhou Charge (#12) had an impressive week, starting off with a clean 4 – 0 sweep of the Dallas Fuel. With dominant performances from Widow specialist Happy and others, the Charge secured an impressive win over Dallas. However, since Dallas has been looking rather inconsistent this season, this win alone doesn't propel them up the our rankings. Despite that, the Charge fought well this weekend to bring their game against the Titans to a fifth map. Guangzhou tried many varying strategies, including flexing Eileen onto Sombra, but couldn’t secure the win. That said, these wins are enough on our book to move the Charge to #12 from #16 last week.

Unpredictable teams mean unpredictable rankings

The Chengdu Hunters clawed their way up the rankings this week despite coming into the season looking like one of the weakest teams in the League. They have proven themselves as one of the more innovative teams, with their main tank Ameng playing Wrecking Ball to great effect. The Hunters started off the week on the wrong foot, however, with a rather brutal loss to the Seoul Dynasty. They bounced back with a five-map slugfest against the Florida Mayhem. While this may not seem like the most impressive win, the Mayhem were also able to beat Philadelphia earlier this week. Chengdu has earned #13 (up from #16) this week due to both of these matches.

The Dallas Fuel were especially difficult to place this week. The Fuel have proven to be one of the most unpredictable teams in the League at the moment, with a solid win over the Philadelphia Fusion and a bad loss to the Guangzhou Charge. Due to both of these, the Fuel has moved down to #14 for this week, but their placement could be somewhere completely different after next weeks matches. That said, inconsistency is often called the “killer of seasons,” and for good reason. If the Fuel can't nail down their performances, don't be surprised if you continue to see them at the bottom of the rankings.

Valiant continue to fall, Dragons get their first win

The Los Angeles Valiant (#15) continue on their losing streak for the season, with close losses to the New York Excelsior and the Toronto Defiant. The Valiant have had some impressive plays and teamwork along the way, but have failed each time to close out the set. They will have to step up their game soon if they plan on returning to their Season 1 form.

The Shanghai Dragons were all smiles as they made history this past week by securing their very first win after a 42-match losing streak. Only dropping one map to Boston, the Dragons earned their spot this week at #16, up from #19. If Shanghai can continue to win matches this stage, they could prove to be more of a threat than originally thought.

Bottom of the Barrel

The lowest placing teams this week need to step up their game in significant ways in order to be a legitimate threat in the League. That said, the overall spread from the worst team to the best team is much closer this season than we saw during Season 1. Almost all of these teams are capable of making significant upsets, but there are things holding them back from doing so.

The Houston Outlaws (#17) started off the week by taking down one of the dominant teams from Week 1 but finished off the weekend sets with a devastating loss to the NYXL. Houston might be capable of bringing it back in the upcoming weeks with opponents such as Florida, but they have looked extremely poor when compared to the inaugural season.

The Florida Mayhem (#18) impressed many with a decisive win over the Philadelphia Fusion, but came up short this week against the Chengdu Hunters. With the right composition and proper execution, Florida is certainly capable of making more upsets. The 3-3 meta may not be the best for Florida, unfortunately, as they looked weak even with Sayaplayer.

Is it over for the Uprising?

The Boston Uprising also had a disappointing week. They lost to the Dragons, giving them their first win in 43 games, but Fusions was declared ineligible because of a two-way contract. Both of these factors dropped Boston from #15 down to #19 this week. Since there isn't much hope of seeing Fusions again any time soon, Boston is in some real trouble.

Rounding off the rankings for this week is the Washington Justice, coming in at #20. Washington came up short in their only match this weekend against the London Spitfire (2-3). Despite starting off strong, Washington failed spectacularly this week and remains one of the only two teams to not have a win yet this season. With matches coming up next week against the Fusion and Shock, it looks like this losing streak may continue for our Washington team.

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