Overwatch League Stage 2 Week 4 Power Rankings
The Dynasty falter and the Valiant and Outlaws fall together, while the Mayhem and the Shock show their mettle.
Stage 2 has been a blur, with the final week of action upon us. As each and every game goes to a cumulative record for the end of season playoffs, the lower half of the league has been a tumultuous affair with teams jockeying for position in the standings. While these lower-half teams are out of playoff contention, their games are not without merit. The Stage 2 playoffs are still an important affair regardless of the opponent, as 5 teams still have a chance to take 1 of the 3 slots. Let’s break down the final power rankings preview for Stage 2:
1st — New York Excelsior
STILL IN THE PLAYOFF PICTURE
The top dogs of the Overwatch League have cemented their place! After a highly awaited and hotly contested bout against the Seoul Dynasty, the New York Excelsior took the win 3–2. The series was intense from the start, with Hanamura going the distance of three full rounds of action. When they lost the next two maps, the Excelsior got the clutch factor practice they needed, winning the last map of Watchpoint: Gibraltar and the tiebreaker map of Ilios with their standard lineup. After a clean sweep of the Dragons, the Excelsior only need 1 win against either the Fuel or the Valiant to get into the playoffs, and with 2 wins they secure the top spot and the bye for the Stage 2 Finals.
2nd— London Spitfire (+1)
STILL IN THE PLAYOFF PICTURE
The Spitfire is back in form with the usual lineup, and with a tiny bit of experimentation this time instead. In contrast with the extreme lineup swaps of last week, this time the Spitfire only had one player substituted for each of their series- Hooreg came in the Shock series while WooHyal spearheaded the Dynasty series. Both series went the way of the Spitfire, who proved their very strong core is ready for the incoming Stage playoffs. The Spitfire need a good week with 2 decisive wins to defend their stage crowns. Their schedule gives them a prime position to do so as they have the Dragons and the Fuel ahead of them.
3rd — Seoul Dynasty (-1)
STILL IN THE PLAYOFF PICTURE
This was the worst possible result for the Seoul Dynasty. Once again they are at the bottom of the Korean triumvirate, with a heartbreaking loss to New York Excelsior. The Seoul Dynasty proved to take the Excelsior to the wire, with the closest matches in all 5 maps of action, only faltering at the last possible moment. On the other hand, the Spitfire showed the Dynasty who was boss and a clean sweep was given to Seoul. Now, Seoul needs convincing wins against the Outlaws and the Mayhem this week to reach the stage playoffs. The map score losses they have given up are looking to haunt them once again, which is very reminiscent of their Stage 1 dilemma.
4th- Los Angeles Gladiators (+1)
STILL IN THE PLAYOFF PICTURE
While I have heard opinions that the Gladiators were the sleeper pick of the stage, I didn’t expect it to be this drastic of an improvement! Showing the most versatile lineup in the whole Overwatch League, their series against the Outlaws was an interesting one, especially on the tiebreaker map of Ilios. With the map going to Ruins, the Gladiators had players flex off their roles- BigGoose went to his pocket pick of the Sombra, the flex-support Shaz player the Tracer, and DPS player Hydration ended up on the Lucio! This lineup caught the Outlaws by surprise and gave Gladiators the series win, 3–2. After this, they took down the Mayhem as well in a close 2–1 series. The Gladiators have proven to be at the top of their class, and are inches away from the playoff spot not many saw possible. They do have a tough schedule ahead, with the Fusion and the Uprising in their way. If they do make it to the playoffs, they will cement themselves as the best Western team and will be up to the task to take on the Korean juggernauts.
5th — Philadelphia Fusion (-1)
STILL IN THE PLAYOFF PICTURE
I know what some of you might be thinking, why in the world would the team that had a 0–2 last week go up the power rankings then, but a 2–0 this week make them go down the proverbial ladder? Well, the Fusion had a pretty easy schedule with sweeps against the Dragons and the Fuel. The Fusion allowed Carpe to rest the week off, with snillo having a chance to shine on the main stage. He did not disappoint, and with the additional 8 map wins the Fusion are still in the playoff picture- albeit with the smallest chance. The Fusion has the tough task of needing to win both their series against the Los Angeles teams, and do so convincingly while hoping that Seoul, London, or the Gladiators struggle.
6th — Boston Uprising (+2)
Now let’s move on the tumultuous setting that is the — “not in the playoffs but jockeying for position region”. The Boston Uprising tops this at the moment, with a better return to form reminiscent of their late Stage 1 run. After demolishing Dallas, the Boston Uprising had a hard-fought series against the Valiant. With an impressive showing from DreamKazper and better team cohesion, the Uprising eked out the 3–2 win. This puts them on the cusp of the playoff picture for the Season, and hopefully, they can keep this form to make it there.
7th — San Francisco Shock (+2)
The arrival of Mr. $150K is here, and he is confirmed to be playing in their first upcoming series! The Shock seem to have been energized by this eligibility as well, and put on an impressive week prior. They took a map off London before taking down the Outlaws 3–1, and the team looks to be a proper unit. Moth has brought a more careful support style that works better for the team while Danteh looked like he had something to prove to all with his increasingly impressive DPS play. The future looks finally bright for the Shock as it is March, and Sinatraa will have the chance to get used to the main stage in the final week of Stage 2. Keep an eye out for these guys this Stage 3, as super and Architect will be suited up for the Shock as well.
8th- Florida Mayhem (+2)
The Florida Mayhem right now are a prime example of why you still need a bench even in an esports setting. With Zappis available for action, he suited up and gave the Mayhem a 7-squad roster to work with. He did not disappoint in his debut, and the Mayhem got their 3rd overall win against the Los Angeles Valiant. They looked close to get their first perfect week as well against the Gladiators, but the last two maps went the way of the LA squad. Mayhem are still finding their groove and chemistry after abysmal showings on both series in Hollywood, but overall are in an upswing.
9th — Los Angeles Valiant (-3)
For weeks I did not touch the Valiant’s position, as they have had many ups and downs as a squad but were always competitive enough to be at the cusp of the top half. Now, the Valiant look like the stage is all but loss, and their experiments with their lineups proved this. Team synergy was lost in both the series against the Mayhem and the Uprising, and returning player Agilities was more akin to a spectator rather than a player. The Valiant were given a free map by the Mayhem before showing more of a contest against the Uprising, but a 0–2 record finally drops the Valiant way down the list as the 3 teams above them have shown vast improvements in the last parts of Stage 2.
10th — Houston Outlaws (-3)
Ask Houston how they can go from 1st during the first week of Stage 2 and reach all the way down to 10th with the last week incoming? The answer is very simple- Tracer is meta, and the players have admitted this. Looking back, the Outlaws excelled in the Mercy meta not due to the reliance on the support, but the Mercy enabled a plethora of slower DPS heroes. Now with Dive a staple strategy once again, the Outlaws are being out-dueled on the iconic flanker. Losing matches against the Gladiators and the Shock, the Outlaws’ back-lines were easily destroyed by the enemy Tracer players. Once again they post a losing record as the plans for the roster are still under wraps, but it seems like they are looking forward to the soft reset that is Stage 3.
11th — Dallas Fuel
The DPS slot for the Dallas Fuel looks to be a bit more flexible now, as we have seen Rascal see some playtime. That is the only thing that Dallas did right this week, as this Stage is once again completely lost to them. The team looks to be playing in different play styles and lacking confidence, and their results against the Uprising and the Fusion show it. Not even taking a single map, the Fuel really needs a bright spot before the stage ends. It looks like there are so many problems behind the scenes just waiting to explode to the general public, but the record already shows it all.
12th- Shanghai Dragons
I’m already more interested in watching the fights between the Shanghai Dragons and US Immigration. Undead is still re-applying for entry and is out of action, while Diya increases his sabbatical as his family issues are still unresolved. The Dragons were swept by both the Fusion and the Excelsior while running different players on the DPS roles as a result of these absences. With still no wins for both the stage and the season, the Shanghai does have a bright spot this week- Ado and Fearless have arrived, and will be playing for the last week of Stage 2. Beyond that though, I can’t wait to see the next exciting clash between the Dragons and the US immigration process.
