Overwatch League Power Rankings: Stage 1 Week 1

The first week of the Overwatch League is officially in the books and it was electrifying. So as is customary, let’s start to put things into perspective with a weekly gauge of the best and the worst of the 12 league teams, in our first edition of Overwatch Power Rankings. Yes, the Seoul Dynasty is right where many expect them to be, but there are a few teams here that have surprising starts after two matches in, both in a good and a bad way.

1: Seoul Dynasty

Overwatch League Power Rankings: Stage 1 Week 1

Last Week: –

Match Record (W-L): 2-0

Map Record (W-D-L): 6-1-1

Next Week’s Schedule: Florida Mayhem, Boston Uprising

The Dynasty will have a lot of targets on their backs going forward, and for good reason. The former Apex Tournament champions pushed aside an early challenge from rivals Dallas on a hotly contested opening night, following that up with an even more impressive 4-0 sweep of a gallant Gladiators. Fleta’s outstandingly scary performance proved that even Pharah can be as accurate as Widowmaker in the right hands, setting a high standard in the process that other teams will no doubt be fearful of.  Next week’s opponents aren’t likely to put a dent in Seoul’s campaign, in fact don’t expect this team to move much from the top spot all season, if at all.

2: Los Angeles Valiant

Overwatch League Power Rankings: Stage 1 Week 1

Last Week: –

Match Record: 2-0

Map Record: 7-1-0

Next Week’s Schedule: New York Excelsior, London Spitfire

That 8-7 on Junkertown, damn. The Valiant might have had an easy time over the San Francisco Shock to start things off, some would even say that was a gimme, but a gutsy performance over a highly touted Dallas team has them sitting pretty near the top of the standings. Any team that can push a former Apex champion to breaking point is a team that will turn heads quickly, and the Valiant has the talent to now go far if they can keep this early momentum going. Pull off two more wins next week against even more quality opposition and they should cement themselves as early contenders for the crown.

3: London Spitfire

Overwatch League Power Rankings: Stage 1 Week 1

Last Week: –

Match Record: 2-0

Map Record: 7-0-1

Next Week’s Schedule: Dallas Fuel, Los Angeles Valiant

The Spitfire started slowly in their first match of the season, but it didn’t take long for the rust to fall by the wayside as they pulled off three straight wins over the Mayhem followed by an impressive 4-0 sweep of a Fusion team that has a lot of quality of their own. The decision to run an all South Korean team seems to be paying off early, but a true test awaits next week with a late match against the Fuel before facing up to the hot Valiant less than 24 hours later. Whatever happens there might determine where this team will settle in for the rest of the season, but so far so good.

4: New York Excelsior

Overwatch League Power Rankings: Stage 1 Week 1

Last Week: –

Match Record: 2-0

Map Record: 6-0-2

Next Week’s Schedule: Los Angeles Valiant, Los Angeles Gladiators

New York showed their potential with two solid wins, but there’s a few minor cracks in the armor to keep an eye on. They allowed Boston back into a contest they largely controlled then started a touch slower than Houston in game two. But when you have the luxury of subbing in the world’s best gunslinger in Pine, clearly the team knows it can handle whatever the rest can throw at them. A few questions remain, namely if Pine will remain on the bench against tougher opponents, and next week could provide an answer against the LA powerhouses.

5: Boston Uprising

Overwatch League Power Rankings: Stage 1 Week 1

Last Week: –

Match Record: 1-1

Map Record: 5-0-3

Next Week’s Schedule: Seoul Dynasty, San Francisco Shock

Boston has a skilled roster, there’s no doubt about that, but an opening loss to the Excels put them on the back foot early despite a lot of pep in their performance. Sweeping the Mayhem was a perfect way to respond but they aren’t going to have an easy time against the top team next week. Claw out at least a map win against Seoul and that should give them a massive confidence boost to build upon for the rest of the season, but right now they seem to be right in the middle of the pack.

6: Los Angeles Gladiators

Overwatch League Power Rankings: Stage 1 Week 1

Last Week: –

Match Record: 1-1

Map Record: 4-0-4

Next Week’s Schedule: Philadelphia Fusion, New York Excelsior

The Gladiators might have had too easy a run against the Dragons in their first match of the year. At least they made that look effortless, but to follow that up with an 0-4 against the Dynasty erased a lot of that good will. There’s plenty of positives, especially Shaz’s high level support play and a defensive skill set that made the Dynasty work early on. So they should find themselves in the top half of the draw if they can keep that up. Still, there’s a danger they could drop a few maps or even a game against either opponent next week if they let that loss get the better of them.

7: Philadelphia Fusion

Overwatch League Power Rankings: Stage 1 Week 1

Last Week: –

Match Record: 1-1

Map Record: 3-0-6

Next Week’s Schedule: San Francisco Shock, Los Angeles Gladiators

No one gave the Fusion much of a chance in their mach against Houston, so to not only be competitive but also get an outright win surprised just about everyone. Credit to the team for proving everyone wrong, but there’s a lot of lessons that still need to be learned after London swept them out. The language barrier will be their biggest test going forward, with the team being put together very last minute. It’s going to be a long season so with a little time they could gel and make a strong run for a wildcard playoff spot. That first win proves they have it in them.

8: Dallas Fuel

Overwatch League Power Rankings: Stage 1 Week 1

Last Week: –

Match Record: 0-2

Map Record: 1-1-5

Next Week’s Schedule: Houston Outlaws, London Spitfire

Don’t let the record fool you, Dallas isn’t going to stay down for long. Both losses may be tough to swallow, but it’s not a proper indication of what this team can offer this league and where they’ll end up by its end. When you’re this stacked with talent that work very well together, the expectation should be a bounce back victory over Houston before a much tougher contest against a London outfit that could cause them some problems in much the same way the Valiant did. Overcome that, and the road should look a little more as was anticipated before the season began.

9: Houston Outlaws

Overwatch League Power Rankings: Stage 1 Week 1

Last Week: –

Match Record: 0-2

Map Record: 3-0-6

Next Week’s Schedule: Shanghai Dragons, Dallas Fuel

Houston looked shaky on more than one occasion in their loss to the surprisingly good Fusion, though a few map victories showed some light at the end of the tunnel. There were similar signs against New York with an early map advantage, but from there things took a turn for the worst and showed a team that still has a lot of work to do if they’re going to be a force. Next week won’t be so easy either with the Fuel looking to regain some form of their own, but any kind of loss to the Dragons could spell trouble for the Outlaws.

10: San Francisco Shock

Overwatch League Power Rankings: Stage 1 Week 1

Last Week: –

Match Record: 1-1

Map Record: 3-0-5

Next Week’s Schedule: Philadelphia Fusion, Boston Uprising

San Francisco didn’t look at all competitive against a steamrolling Valiant, and they were equally as unconvincing in their first win of the season against lowly Shanghai. It’s going to take a lot more than that if teams higher up the rankings are going to take them seriously, and next week could bring about further danger against two sides with the ability to surprise and adapt if given a chance. Whether it’s pure form or perhaps a few jitters, the sooner they can come together as a team the better, because it’s not going to get any easier from here.

11: Florida Mayhem

Overwatch League Power Rankings: Stage 1 Week 1

Last Week: –

Match Record: 0-2

Map Record: 1-0-7

Next Week’s Schedule: Seoul Dynasty, Shanghai Dragons

Florida showed some grit early on to take the first map off of London, but whatever confidence that might have been discovered from that didn’t last all that long at all. Whatever lessons that were learned after a follow-up loss to Boston better be absorbed quickly, because the top seed isn’t going to go easy on them and a blowout loss could be demoralizing. Having said that, there’s also an opportunity grab a morale boosting win against the Dragons, so next week will ultimately prove how much grit they truly have.

12: Shanghai Dragons

Overwatch League Power Rankings: Stage 1 Week 1

Last Week: –

Match Record: 0-2

Map Record: 1-0-7

Next Week’s Schedule: Houston Outlaws, Florida Mayhem

Shanghai needs to go back to the drawing board. They looked woeful at times on defense and attack in both games, seemingly not able to adapt to new strategies from opposing teams when thrown at them. They need to get their heads out of the meta and hit the books, studying the other games of the first week from second to second, because right now they don’t look competitive at all. It’s troubling, that’s the risk the Overwatch League brings with it when it comes to finding the right team chemistry, but luckily the Dragons, it’s early enough in the season to correct these mistakes and try to at least not get buried again. Next week’s opponents are certainly beatable if they play better.

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