OWL POWER RANKINGS – STAGE 1 WEEK 5
And with that, Stage 1 is complete, and what an intriguing stage it was. What started out rather obviously became a roller coaster towards the last few weeks as the Dynasty tumbled and London rose to the top against the odds. Now bare in mind, the playoff results aren’t reflected in the match and map records in the Overwatch League. With that, how do the rankings shake up at the end of stage one?
1: London Spitfire
OWL POWER RANKINGS: STAGE 1 WEEK 5
Last Week: 2
Match Record (W-L): 7-3
Map Record (W-D-L): 29-0-14
Next Week’s Schedule: Houston Outlaws, New York Excelsior
What a way to end it. Yes, London came out the losing end of their last two regular season games against Houston and New York, but to come out and win both playoff games against the same two teams on that same weekend is a sign that this team can adapt and learn when they need to. They showed guts to play 14 maps in one night and deserve to be the top ranked team after stage one, playing some world class defense. The near two week break will give the Spitfire a chance to take in the victory before knuckling down for stage two, where the same two teams await them to begin it all again. No doubt have the confidence to try and repeat history after a week like that.
2: New York Excelsior
OWL POWER RANKINGS: STAGE 1 WEEK 5
Last Week: 1
Match Record: 9-1
Map Record: 31-2-10
Next Week’s Schedule: Florida Mayhem, London Spitfire
The one that got away might haunt the Excel for a little while, but they remain the top ranked team from a regular season point of view and for good reason. This is a team stacked with quality and it took a London side with just as much talent to finally topple them in the playoff final. New York should take heart in their record and the current form of Pine and Saebyeolbe, but there is still work that needs to be done to ensure they don’t fall at the last hurdle a second time.
3: Houston Outlaws
OWL POWER RANKINGS: STAGE 1 WEEK 5
Last Week: 4
Match Record: 7-3
Map Record: 30-0-13
Next Week’s Schedule: London Spitfire, Boston Uprising
Houston did everything they could over the last few weeks to fight for a finals spot, and it looked like everything was setup for a big finish to their impressive run except for one small thing; over confidence. It’s easy to fall into a groove that feels like nothing can go wrong, in Houston’s case they were on the back of a big win over London to start week five having gone 7-1 over the past four weeks. But that comfortable nature perhaps turned cocky for their playoff showdown and London used that against them, pulling out some big plays that the Outlaws just weren’t ready for. Houston should remain a playoff contender going forward, but they need to tighten their focus.
4: Seoul Dynasty
OWL POWER RANKINGS: STAGE 1 WEEK 5
Last Week: 3
Match Record: 7-3
Map Record: 25-2-16
Next Week’s Schedule: Los Angeles Valiant, San Francisco Shock
Given the hype surrounding the team and their earlier performances to start the season, an entirely disappointing Seoul Dynasty showed up in the final week of stage one and their power ranking reflects that poor performance. A stage 1 playoff spot should have been theirs, instead the Dynasty slipped out of contention with a 3-0 loss to the Valiant and followed that up with arguably their worst performance of the season so far against the Shock, a game they needed to win 4-0 and perhaps could have done if it were three weeks ago. Now, questions are now being asked of Ryujehong’s leadership skills and the normally dominant Fleta has found himself shut down on more than one occasion against teams they should be dominating. Certainly not the kind of problems the once top seed were expecting to talk about.
5: Boston Uprising
OWL POWER RANKINGS: STAGE 1 WEEK 5
Last Week: 5
Match Record: 6-4
Map Record: 27-0-17
Next Week’s Schedule: Philadelphia Fusion, Houston Outlaws
Boston only just missed out on a playoff spot, something that didn’t seem so likely a few weeks ago until their impressive run to wrap up the stage. Yes, they couldn’t get the win over Houston, but they put up an impressive battle in the process and nearly managed another surprise victory against the tide. They’ll now go into stage two with a renewed sense of confidence and the knowledge that they can hang with the best teams in the league, but hopefully the break doesn’t cool them off too much.
6: Los Angeles Valiant
OWL POWER RANKINGS: STAGE 1 WEEK 5
Last Week: 6
Match Record: 7-3
Map Record: 26-3-13
Next Week’s Schedule: Seoul Dynasty, Shanghai Dragons
The Valiant shut Seoul out, and followed that up with an easy 4-0 over the Dragons. The return to form was a little too late to make the playoffs, but the signs are positive that this young team can continue to learn from their mistakes and improve in the process. An argument can be made that they met Seoul at just the right time, but the win will do them the world of good as they fight for a higher seeding going forward.
7: Philadelphia Fusion
OWL POWER RANKINGS: STAGE 1 WEEK 5
Last Week: 7
Match Record: 6-4
Map Record: 20-1-24
Next Week’s Schedule: Boston Uprising, Florida Mayhem
The continually frustrating to watch Philly Fusion finished the first stage with a positive match record, but their map record tells a very different and troubling story. A majority of their wins have been pushed to a fifth map, and once again they found themselves coming back from behind to get a win against a Florida side they should have dominated. Consistency continues to be their Achilles’ heel, they just can’t string the wins together or maintain a level of quality in their play when they need it. Worse still, when they lose, they lose badly.
8: Los Angeles Gladiators
OWL POWER RANKINGS: STAGE 1 WEEK 5
Last Week: 9
Match Record: 4-6
Map Record: 16-0-26
Next Week’s Schedule: San Francisco Shock, Dallas Fuel
The Gladiators went behind early against San Francisco but managed to bring it back, in an at times scrappy affair. Worse, they allowed Dallas to finally find some form, though they’ll take some heart in a 3-0 win on Dorado to end the series. All in all, it’s an opening stage that had the potential to be big, but too many close calls on the losing end and some poor losses where it mattered left them with little to be happy about. It’s going to take a lot of hard work from here if the Gladiators can get back into contention.
9: San Francisco Shock
OWL POWER RANKINGS: STAGE 1 WEEK 5
Last Week: 8
Match Record: 3-7
Map Record: 16-2-24
Next Week’s Schedule: Los Angeles Gladiators, Seoul Dynasty
Like the Gladiators and Fusion, the Shock have had a few bright moments to look back on amongst a lot of poor performances during stage one. Their biggest win of the stage came against a Boston side that wasn’t quite in their stride, with their other two wins coming against teams lower than them on the ladder. Still, they manged to put together their most compelling match of the season so far against Seoul Dynasty to end week five, a game they nearly won that would have sent a lot of ‘shock’ through the system.
10: Dallas Fuel
OWL POWER RANKINGS: STAGE 1 WEEK 5
Last Week: 10
Match Record: 3-7
Map Record: 14-3-25
Next Week’s Schedule: Shanghai Dragons, Los Angeles Gladiators
Dallas finally managed to string two straight wins in one week. Key players like Mickie and Taimou finally showed their true colors, playing far better than they were earlier on, and that can only spell danger for the rest of the competition if they can continue to improve. As Taimou himself said after their win over the Gladiators, there’s no time to rest during this mini break and the team will continue to practice and put in the time to ensure they can come out with a much improve record for stage two. The league would be better for it.
11: Florida Mayhem
OWL POWER RANKINGS: STAGE 1 WEEK 5
Last Week: 11
Match Record: 1-9
Map Record: 9-1-31
Next Week’s Schedule: New York Excelsior, Philadelphia Fusion
It’s been an opening stage that the Mayhem would largely like to forget and move on from as quickly as possible. They again let a win slip through their fingers in the final week, this time going to a fifth map against the Fusion, but a map win against the Excel is something to at least cheer about.
12: Shanghai Dragons
OWL POWER RANKINGS: STAGE 1 WEEK 5
Last Week: 12
Match Record: 0-10
Map Record: 6-0-36
Next Week’s Schedule: Dallas Fuel, Los Angeles Valiant
And so it is that the Dragons remain without a win to end the first stage, but they came mighty close against Dallas. From here it’s all down to how well they can recruit and train ahead of stage two, because as much as this team has evolved in the right direction compared to where they were at the start of the season, they still have a ways to go.
Published: Feb 12, 2018 10:57 am