Written by: Bryce Jackson

Seoul Dynasty vs New York Excelsior

In the Match of the Week, the two best teams in Overwatch League faced off again in an all out melee. When the Dust settled after five maps, the NYXL come out on top in their second face off of the season. This matchup is officially a rivalry and the Excelsior have the current edge. IF there were any brighter stars in a game full of them, it would have to be Libero. But of course Saybyelobe didn’t let him keep that shine to himself. RyuJehong didn’t get many opportunities to shine because the NYXL as a whole didn’t allow him to live. With the loss followed up by an 0-4 loss to the Spitfire later in the week, the Dynasty could once again miss the stage playoffs as they sit 4th behind the Gladiators via map differential.

Florida Mayhem vs Las Angeles Valiant

My Mayhem Boys make me so proud this stage

On paper, the Valiant outclass the Mayhem. But that's why you play the games. In a stunning upset, the Mayhem decisively beat the Valiant 3-1. The Mayhem have been playing exceptionally well coming into this match and continued the trend. Led by Logix and TViq, the Mayhem stunted the Valiant at every turn. The Mayhem have punched above the weight class over the last 2 weeks taking the Outlaws the distance (they should have won), beat the Valiant, beat fan favorite (though weak in the league) Dallas Fuel, and took the Gladiators to task. So it'll be interesting to see how they perform in Stage 3 with more time to integrate Zappis and with aWesomeGuy and Sayaplayer still on the way.

Los Angeles Gladiators vs Houston Outlaws

The Gladiators continue their romp through Stage 2 opponents, beating the Outlaws 3-2. The Outlaws did what they could taking the Gladiators to 5 maps but couldn't overcome the versatility that the Gladiators threw at them. In the end, it took Hydration actually on Lucio to sacrifice himself to be on point during a Self-Destruct so that the point can remain contested for his teammates to follow up and eventually win the map.

League Notes

The Stage playoff race is now solidly a fight between the NYXL, London, LA Gladiators, Seoul, and Philadelphia. With Seoul dropping both matches between the NYXL and Spitfire, the sit precariously outside the top 3 for the Stage playoffs.

After 4 weeks, I’m confident in this hot take: The Mercy Meta may have been a crutch for some of these teams. The Boston Uprising, Los Angeles Valiant, and Houston Outlaws were all contenders in Stage 1 but have looked mid-tier at best in Stage 2. That isn’t to say mid-tier is bad. The Gladiators have busted out of the mid-tier for this stage and the Mayhem have been punching above their weight in the last 2-3 weeks. The only team that hasn't really moved between stages have been the Fusion, who have won some matches convincingly, then dropped some head-scratchers. 

Florida Mayhem Flex Tank Zappis made his OWL debut this week vs the Valiant at Hollywood. This week, the Mayhem chose to sub out Logix and run a triple tank comp on first point, with Manneten swapping to the DPS role on second point. They lost that map and lost this map again vs the Gladiators later in the week with the same substitution tactics. There is potential for him to do well but need time to coordinate with the rest of the team as he tends to be out of position while playing D.Va.

After losing Diya last week because he needed to return to China for family reasons, the Shanghai Dragons will also lose Undead for personal reasons. These absences will leave the Dragons with no DPS players for the remainder of the stage and In the case of Undead though, there is some spicy drama attached to Undead’s absence.

In Shanghai related news, players Fearless and Ado have cleared their immigration interviews, Geguri will have her interview this week and all will be available for Stage 3. Sky’s timetable for arrival is still in question.

Best Performers

Nevix (Flex, San Francisco Shock)

Bischu (Flex, Los Angeles Gladiators)

Logix (DPS, Florida Mayhem)

Hydration (DPS, Los Angeles Gladiators)

Gamsu (Tank, Boston Uprising)

Mano (Tank, New York Excelsior)

Neptuno (Support, Philadelphia Fusion)

BigGoose (Support, Los Angeles Gladiators)