And we continue our Overwatch League recap with the last ten teams that played during week two. For those who didn’t read part one, I didn’t yet name my team of the week. This is the second part of my weekly review, where I go over each OWL team and how well they did for the week alone. Let’s finish this week’s reviews with…
New York Excelsior
One of the two undefeated teams in the league continue their dominance. The Excelsior seem to have put their poor playoffs behind them, focusing more on success now more than ever. Their first match of the week was against the Los Angeles Valiant, where they barely got a 3-2 win. To make up for it, they faced the Houston Outlaws next and swept them convincingly 4-0. While the Valiant match was close, the Outlaws match was as dominant as a match could be. There were numerous times where New York completed the map with over five minutes in the time bank, and then proceeded to full hold Houston on defense. Some bright spots were the continued surprise rookie Yeon-kwan “Nenne” Jeong, as well as Dong-gyu “Mano” Kim and Tae-hong “MekO” Kim’s synergy.
EZPZ, right @Mano_OWL? 🐒😎#OWL2019https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/g5kYoZoh7W
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) February 24, 2019
This week held two wins for the Excelsior, and they’re hoping to continue their winning streak. I’m giving them an 8/10.
Los Angeles Valiant
One of the few winless teams in the league right now, the Valiant are in a tough spot. Their first match wasn’t easy, but they took league-leading New York Excelsior to five maps in a loss, 3-2. But their second match against a new Toronto Defiant match was equally as hard, losing 2-1. This leaves the Valiant in an awkward place, as their fans know that they’re good and make sure the games are close. The best players for the Valiant have been rookie Zenyatta player Min-chul “Izayaki” Kim and the return of veteran player Scott “Custa” Kennedy. The fans know that their early schedule wasn’t easy, but the Toronto game was winnable. It looks like this lineup has good teamwork but just can’t get over the hump to get the win.
Target ACQUIRED. @Fate_ow #OWL2019
Live now: https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/N5ni2nQXkY
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) February 23, 2019
Unlucky week for the Valiant, but sometimes you have to make your own luck, and the Valiant need to. I’m giving them a 4/10.
Shanghai Dragons
They did it. They finally did it. For those who don’t know, this team last season went winless for all forty games. I even wrote an article about how it all went down. With only one match this week against an easier opponent, they got their first ever win in the Overwatch League. It wasn’t a close match, either – they dominated the Boston Uprising 3-1. The clear best player for the Dragons was new addition Jin-hyeok “DDing” Yang, dominating on Pharah and Sombra. Even more enjoyably for the Dragons, their new acquisition Young-jin “Gamsu” Noh from their current opponents led them to their first ever win. Even with a brand new roster, Se-yeon “Geguri” Kim played their first map very well and teared up in joy when they finally won their first game.
IT HAPPENED!!! #OWL2019
THE @ShanghaiDragons SECURE THEIR FIRST WIN!https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/Nfux0Zvl7H
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) February 23, 2019
Nothing more to say other than they finally won. I’m giving them a 7.5/10.
Boston Uprising
This is the team that unfortunately got the marker of “first team to lose to Shanghai.” Even though they got a brand-new roster, this was a winnable match for Boston. Just like the Dragons, this was their only match for the week, the only match to prepare for, and they lost 3-1. With Gamsu having been traded to Shanghai from Boston, this game had tension. Cameron “Fusions” Bosworth was a surprise, as he was left out of the roster due to his two-way contract. But, they did finally get DPS player Kelsey “Colourhex” Birse back from suspension, playing him on Zarya. It didn’t look like their roster was together yet, with plenty of mistakes coming from every player. But much like other teams this week, this was more of a case of Shanghai playing great than Boston playing poorly.
"Remember me?" – @GamsuOW probably. #OWL2019https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/OVDyjTjCBm
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) February 23, 2019
One game, one loss. I’m giving them a 3/10.
Houston Outlaws
This team showed flashes of brilliance this week, but ended with one win and one loss. Their first match was against last week’s best team, the Hangzhou Spark, where they won 3-1. But they ended the week getting blasted by the New York Excelsior 4-0. It was a very high win, but also a very low loss. The highlights were Austin “Muma” Wilmot on main tank, along with Dante “Danteh” Cruz on Zarya and Sombra. They showed promise in the Spark match, but that was immediately gone in their next game against New York. Hopefully that was just due to how talented New York is, and they can bounce back for next week.
KA-CHOW. 😎 @Muma #OWL2019https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/aVGJ0bcF73
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) February 23, 2019
A solid win but also a convincing loss. I’m giving them a 6/10.
Hangzhou Spark
From the best team of last week to a very disappointing one this week, the Spark showed signs of being a top team but those hopes were let down. Their first match against a struggling Houston Outlaws was a surprising loss, 3-1. The next match was against another poor team, the London Spitfire, where they got dominated for three maps and lost 3-1. Their standout players were still good, but it felt like they underperformed in both games. Seong-Wook “Ria” Park went from getting insane D.Va bombs to being fairly silent, with Kyeong-bo “GodsB” Kim stepping up in their two map wins. I do feel like these two matches were a dip in form and they will get better, but this week was poor.
"Enjoy that trip back from spawn." 👉 @GodsB_OW likely. #OWL2019https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/nxBcneUHYx
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) February 24, 2019
A disappointing week for the Spark. I’m giving them a 3/10.
Los Angeles Gladiators
The Gladiators, off of having a weird week one, continue to show skill. They only had one game this week against a tough opponent, losing to the Paris Eternal 2-1. It was a close match, but they couldn’t beat the coordination and teamwork of the Paris squad. The good news about the Gladiators was that they looked closer to their win last week than their loss, with better teamwork and synergy. Chang-hoon “rOar” Gye looked like he was getting better with his new team, and Jun-woo “Void” Kang impressed alongside him. It sucks that they only had one game against a tough opponent, because I still think they can surprise people.
The @rOar_ow is LOUD with this one! #OWL2019 https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/6BSu2JTUiq
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) February 23, 2019
With only one match this week, the loss stings. I’m giving them a 4/10.
Paris Eternal
The European super-team is continuing their dominance in this meta. Paris is showing that their team has one thing that almost every other team doesn’t: experience in three-tank three-support compositions. This was shown in their only match of the week against the Los Angeles Gladiators, where they won a close match 2-1. Paris could’ve easily slipped against them, as they were improving, but they held onto a win. Harrison “Kruise” Pond continued his great Lucio play, but the standout player for them this week was off-tank Finnbjörn “Finnsi” Jónasson.
🤯 @KruiseOW living life on the VERY EDGE. #OWL2019
LIVE NOW: https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/8IySQgc1aW
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) February 23, 2019
A solid win for their only match of the week. I’m giving them a 7/10.
Vancouver Titans
This team looks truly scary. The Titans are the most clutch team of the season so far, only rivaled in strength right now by the Excelsior. Their two matches this week were against tough opponents, but they managed to win both. The first match for them was against the entertaining Guangzhou Charge, where they won in a map five 3-2. But, even more enjoyably, they were great in their 3-1 against the San Francisco Shock. In both matches, Hyeon-Woo “JJANU” Choi was immense, getting insane D.Va bombs to win both matches. Sang-beom “Bumper” Park continued his great form as well, crucial to their wins. This team not only had the most hype going into the season, but going into week three.
THIS IS MADNESS!! @VancouverTitans #OWL2019https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/GtBKVjNCRe
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) February 25, 2019
With their great games and teamwork, this team is on fire and running away with wins. I’m giving them a 8.5/10 and naming them my team of the week.
San Francisco Shock
The only game for the Shock this week was the heavily anticipated match versus the Titans. They lost it in the end, but boy was it enjoyable to watch two powerhouses going at it. The Shock lost against the Vancouver Titans 3-1. In their only match, Myeong-hwan “smurf” Yoo and Jay “sinatraa” Won looked great, and Grant “moth” Espe might be the most underrated support in the Overweatch League right now. Even in the loss, it looks like they still are a great team; they just faced a better one. With this being their one match, it might be easy to lower them down in the rankings, but they are still challenging to play against.
👊👊 @moth_ow giving 'em the ole 1, 2 punch! #OWL2019https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/JNePaPKzZ0
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) February 25, 2019
With this being the Shock’s only game, it’s tough to give them a really low ranking. I’m giving them a 4/10.
And that is all for this week of Overwatch League! Be sure to tune into the league at twitch.tv/overwatchleague on Thursday nights to Sunday nights to watch the games live.
