Overwatch League Stage 2 Week 1
Written by: Bryce Jackson
Notable Matches
Boston Uprising vs Philadelphia Fusion
Throw your preconceived storyline ideas out the window, this is a new meta and a new challenger has appeared. The Fusion manhandled the Boston Uprising 4-0. Boston who ended Stage 1 as one of the hottest teams in the league came out tepid at best, showing little to none of the dominance they showed in the final weeks of Stage 1. On the opposite side, newcomer EQO put on a masterful display in his Overwatch League debut. Various reasons have been speculated as to why EQO has only arrived in the United States from Israel but he made his presence known in the place of ShadowBurN. They both play Genji very well but EQO’s abilities seemed to shine brighter thus he leads the way in the Fusion’s Stage 2 look.
Houston Outlaws vs London Spitfire
Playing for the 3rd time in 2 weeks, it’s safe to say this is one of the leagues big rivalries now. Houston wanted revenge after London blocked them from a big payday and got it, winning this duel 3-2 in a back and forth affair. The difference maker for the Outlaws aside was for the Meta was the versatility of the lineups that they used throughout the match. The Spitfire couldn't deal with the insertion of Zarya specialist Spree who made is OWL debut and Linkzr on Hanzo at King’s Row and Houston threw multiple new looks at a team that was very familiar with them. With London not switching up as much, Outlaws were prepared to handle whatever the Spitfire had in the match-deciding 5th set.
Dallas Fuel vs Los Angeles Gladiators
Dallas has entered Stage 2 with the same energy that they ended Stage 1 with, beating the LA Gladiators 3-1 and going 2-0 on the week. New addition aKm stole the show this week. We can definitively call him the best Soldier 76 in the league without question. aKm along with Mickie, (sporting hot pink hair) were the standouts in the Fuels victories. xQc made his return to the lineup in this match and showed why he is important to the team’s Tank play.
League Notes
New Meta effect?
Through one week, we have seen more versatile team compositions now that Mercy isn’t deemed a must pick. Teams have experimented with triple tanks or Slambulance (quad tank) comps to varying levels of success. Mercy has not completely gone away but teams are not handcuffed to the pick. Junkrat pick rate however has dropped off a cliff since his concussion mine nerf is now live in the OWL server. I only remember about 2 teams using him this week and way more situational than how we saw the Rat run in Stage 1. Sombra’s pick rate has increased and is being utilized as a DPS/Support hybrid. Used mostly to hack health packs on defense, Sombra’s EMP was ready almost every other team fight which can easily end the opposition’s push when used correctly. The Valiant, Spitfire, and Gladiators used this in some capacity.
The new rotation of maps have been a refreshing aspect of Stage 2 and though we can expect that stale feeling by about Week 3, we must appreciate these maps while we can.
Personnel Issues
As of writing, very few of the Overwatch League’s International Signings have reported to their teams. French DPS player aKm is with the Dallas Fuel has supplanted Seagull from one of the two starting DPS roles. Rumors that either the visa approval timeline’s or mandatory Israeli military service time kept EQO away in Stage 1. Sayaplayer, Zappis, aWesomeGuy (Florida Mayhem), Ado, Geguri, Fearless, and Sky (Shanghai Dragons) are still in the process of obtaining their visas.
After being transferred from London, Tank player Fissure and and DPS player Rascal have settled into their new team’s lineups. Fissure easily has been set as the Gladiators’ new anchor tank and fans really get to see him shine after he was stuck on the Spitfire bench. Rascal is finding his role on the Fuel as a super sub, of sorts.