OWL Power Rankings: Stage 2 Week 2

OWL Power Rankings – Stage 2 Week 2

Another week is in the books, and the power rankings are slowly starting to look similar to how they were prior to the stage’s start. There’s a small, clear upper class, a lot of capable middle of the pack squads, and then a clear and obvious bottom tier that still has a lot of progress to make before even thinking about contending for a bottom playoff seed.

1: London Spitfire

OWL Power Rankings: Stage 2 Week 2

Last Week: 1

Match Record (W-L): 10-4

Map Differential: +21

Next Week’s Schedule: Boston Uprising, Los Angeles Gladiators

After winning the first stage’s playoffs, London hasn’t missed a beat. While Houston showed flashes of greatness last week, they tumbled back down to Earth. London, meanwhile, has stayed consistent, added an impressive 4-0 over Philadelphia, and are back atop of our power rankings. Both the Uprising and the Gladiators should be no problem for the Spitfire while they are at the top of their game.

2: New York Excelsior

OWL Power Rankings: Stage 2 Week 2

Last Week: 3

Match Record (W-L): 12-3

Map Differential: +30

Next Week’s Schedule: Philadelphia Fusion, San Francisco Shock

New York and London are the clear cream of the crop in the Overwatch League right now. At this point they could be ranked 1A and 1B. However, despite the stronger map score, London still holds the edge over the Excelsior considering the latter’s stronger start to stage 2 which includes another win over New York. The Fusion could be tricky, as they have lost to them before, but New York should walk out of week 3 with two more wins.

3: Seoul Dynasty

OWL Power Rankings: Stage 2 Week 2

Last Week: 4

Match Record (W-L): 11-3

Map Differential: +19

Next Week’s Schedule: Shanghai Dragons, Philadelphia Fusion

Seoul is still living in the shadow of New York and London, but that doesn’t mean they should be taken lightly. After a fantastic start to stage 1, the Dynasty struggled a bit later. However, over the first two weeks of stage 2, they have won without too much trouble and unless the Fusion surprise them, Seoul should continue to pick up wins.

4: Houston Outlaws

OWL Power Rankings: Stage 2 Week 2

Last Week: 1

Match Record (W-L): 9-5

Map Differential: +17

Next Week’s Schedule: Los Angeles Valiant, Florida Mayhem

Oof. After an impressive first week, the Outlaws dropped right back down after bad losses to both Philadelphia and New York. Clearly the Outlaws are among the best teams, but they are going to have to earn back our trust before we put them above the big three again. Their match against the Valiant will be a good opportunity for the Outlaws to bounce back.

5: Philadelphia Fusion

OWL Power Rankings: Stage 2 Week 2

Last Week: 5

Match Record (W-L): 9-5

Map Differential: +1

Next Week’s Schedule: Seoul Dynasty, New York Excelsior

The Fusion continue to be an enigma and by far the most unpredictable team in the league; capable of beating anyone or losing to anyone, on any given week. They beat a very strong Houston Outlaws squad but then proceeded to get 4-0’d by London. Next week is going to be their biggest test of the season. Even coming away 1-1 would solidify the Fusion as being more than a gimmicky, streaky team.

6: Los Angeles Valiant

OWL Power Rankings: Stage 2 Week 2

Last Week: 6

Match Record (W-L): 10-4

Map Differential: +16

Next Week’s Schedule: Los Angeles Gladiators, Houston Outlaws

The Los Angeles Valiant are the anti-Fusion. The Valiant rarely lose to teams they are supposed to beat, but in a pinch, I’d still bet on Philadelphia to beat the top tier teams before the Valiant. However, their consistency has rewarded them with a better record and playoff positioning. A win over the Outlaws could leap the Valiant up as high as they have been on our power rankings thus far if the Fusion struggle against Seoul and New York.

7: Boston Uprising

OWL Power Rankings: Stage 2 Week 2

Last Week: 7

Match Record (W-L): 7-7

Map Differential: +2

Next Week’s Schedule: Shanghai Dragons, London Spitfire

Boston is consistently mediocre, the League is split in two and Boston is the line between the best and the worst teams. This fact was highlighted in their results from last week. They 4-0’d Florida and then got 4-0’d by New York. If Boston is going to catch up to Philly and Los Angeles, they need to start consistently getting wins against better teams. Next week they’ll have their chance to leapfrog up in the standings if they can take care of business against the Dragons and get a big win over London.

8: Dallas Fuel

OWL Power Rankings: Stage 2 Week 2

Last Week: 9

Match Record (W-L): 5-9

Map Differential: –11

Next Week’s Schedule: San Francisco Shock, Florida Mayhem

A fresh start with the new stage hasn’t done anything to improve Dallas’ extremely disappointing OWL season. They struggled against both the Dynasty and the Valiant. There’s no shame in losing to either of those teams, and they at least took maps, but their chances of ever climbing back up gets slimmer by the week. At least they have two match-ups where they could be considered the favorite next week.

9: Los Angeles Gladiators

OWL Power Rankings: Stage 2 Week 2

Last Week: 8

Match Record (W-L): 6-8

Map Differential: -6

Next Week’s Schedule: Los Angeles Valiant, Houston Outlaws

The Gladiators didn’t do much last week to change anyone’s opinion about them. They are competitive against the better teams, but don’t seem capable yet of taking enough maps to consistently win games. If they could somehow walk out of next week 1-1 or 2-0, that would be the jolt this team needs.

10: San Francisco Shock

OWL Power Rankings: Stage 2 Week 2

Last Week: 9

Match Record (W-L): 4-10

Map Differential: -12

Next Week’s Schedule: Dallas Fuel, Florida Mayhem

Out of all the bottom tier teams, the Shock at least has the potential to take some surprise wins… they just haven’t, really. Last week they took care of business versus the Dragons (literally everyone has, though) and lost 3-1 to the Valiant. The Shock need to start taking wins off of those middle of the pack teams before they can be taken seriously. Beating the Fuel next week would be a start at least.

11: Florida Mayhem

OWL Power Rankings: Stage 2 Week 2

Last Week: 11

Match Record (W-L): 1-13

Map Differential: -34

Next Week’s Schedule: Houston Outlaws, Dallas Fuel

Florida right now only looks capable of beating the Dragons, and even then, they are also the most likely team to donate Shanghai their first win. It’s unlikely that they will win either of their games next week, or ever be any higher than 11 the rest of the way barring a dramatic change of pace.

12: Shanghai Dragons

OWL Power Rankings: Stage 2 Week 2

Last Week: 12

Match Record (W-L): 0-14

Map Differential: -43

Next Week’s Schedule: Seoul Dynasty, Boston Uprising

Shanghai continues to rack up losses and are searching desperately for their elusive first win. It’s doubtful that they will get it next week, but keep an eye on their match against Boston as that’s their best shot. You wouldn’t want to miss out on seeing their first win.