What an incredible opening weekend of the Overwatch League. Scuffed streams, whacky compositions and a live event headlined the return of the much anticipated league play. The integration of Overwatch 2 has been somewhat seamless, but people are excited to have the Overwatch League back in action. There have been plenty of stomps but a few upsets have been enough to shake up the Power Rankings. Without seeing APAC teams, it is a bit unfair to move them up or down, so this edition of the TGH Power Rankings will focus solely on the NA teams.
Courtesy of the Overwatch League
1. San Francisco Shock (2-0)
Last Week: 4
The San Francisco Shock may have played some weaker opponents, but they thoroughly rolled through the inferior opponents. The rookie lineup from the Shock impressed viewers on their Overwatch League debut. The Shock will actually be tested this coming week as they match up against the Outlaws.
2. Atlanta Reign (2-0)
Last Week: 3
The first team to debut Doomfist tank rolled through their competition in the opening weekend of the OWL. The rookie back line certainly looked like they have been playing at the highest level for years, which shouldn’t surprise many after watching American Tornado dominate NA Contenders. Atlanta look like a squad that is going to get comfortable staying at the top of the Power Rankings.
3. Dallas Fuel (1-1)
Last Week: 2
After a horrendous opening match in front of a live crowd, the Dallas Fuel were able to course-correct by dismantling the Washington Justice. The Fuel certainly look more mortal than they did before the loss to Houston, but it’s important not to overreact too drastically after one loss. The Fuel will be tested again facing the Glads this upcoming week.
4.Los Angeles Gladiators (2-0)
Last Week: 1
Weird, last week’s number 1 ranked team didn’t lose and yet they still fell three spots. That’s the unfortunate bit of strength of schedule apparently. The Los Angeles Gladiators are a very strong team, they just didn’t look the part in the season opener. The DPS look solid, but it still looked like Patiphan “Patiphan” Chaiwong still has some rust to brush off. Losing maps to Boston and Florida highlighted how the team still has plenty of things to fix.
5. Houston Outlaws (1-1)
Last Week: 5
Nano boosting @PELICAN_OW is always the play 💉#AnteUp | #OWL2022
🖥️ https://t.co/tbTGBsbQac pic.twitter.com/9ewzXAJ2HT
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) May 9, 2022
How do you not love the Houston Outlaws? They do the same thing every year, and it somehow is funnier every year. They kick off the season with an impressive performance in front of the live audience, only to lose an absolute heartbreaker in five maps to the Toronto Defiant. Their new signings look amazing, and they should bounce back.
6. Florida Mayhem (1-1)
Last Week: 8
Illegal maneuvers aside, the Mayhem look solid. When Seung-hun “CHECKMATE” Baek isn’t stuck playing main tank, he looks pretty good. It is starting to look like this is a team that can punch up and upset some of the top-5 teams. Why does that sound so familiar?
7. Toronto Defiant (1-1)
Last Week: 7
The Defiant had a chance to defy some early season predictions, but they instead remain exactly in the same spot. Beating the Outlaws was certainly unexpected, and it is a big step towards being a top “middle-tier” team. Toronto’s DPS line can be the difference maker in their matches, and as time continues their rookies should gain more momentum to improve their play.
8. Washington Justice (1-1)
Last Week: 6
So anyways – @owhappy2 started blasting💥#JusticeIsServed | #OWL2022
📺https://t.co/tbTGBsbQac pic.twitter.com/xajfNKeLQ3
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) May 8, 2022
The stellar DPS line for the Justice might not be enough to carry every game – but they’ll try. The key for the team really will be the resurgence of second-year tank Tae-sung “Mag” Kim. It’ll be important that Mag to return to his Runaway form to help Washington break away from the bottom half of the league.
9. Boston Uprising (1-1)
Last Week: 9
Boston had some high highs but some really low lows in their first match in 2022. As the team boasting one of the largest rosters in the league, it was surprising to see every player on the team get a map. It was fun seeing the Uprising Academy call ups get their shot, but Boston may want to lean into playing the same five with Min-seo “Marve1” Hwang subbing in for Winston maps.
10. New York Excelsior (0-2)
Last Week: 10
New York seemed like they understood half of the assignment, but threw out the rest of their notes on the meta. NYXL were the first team to play Echo, but they truly struggled to get value from it. It looked as though the team was seriously hamstrung by losing Min-jae “Kellan” Kim for part of the offseason to deal with visa issues. They also had the misfortune of playing two elite teams to kick off the year.
11. London Spitfire (1-1)
Last Week: 13
They tried our comp, now we try theirs pic.twitter.com/38eIfdIFR1
— London Spitfire (@Spitfire) May 8, 2022
Funny enough, because of their map differential the London Spitfire sit above several teams that are “stronger” than them. The young team is looking to build off of their strong performance against the Titans to topple the Uprising. They are the only team to run Reinhardt brawl strategies, and it just might be their unique playstyle that will net them wins against unprepared teams.
12. Paris Eternal (0-2)
Last Week: 11
The Eternal did not have a fun time in their return to the OWL. They were the recipients of a beatdown courtesy of the San Francisco Shock and struggled to get much done against the Florida Mayhem. They recently welcomed in Cameron “Wub” Johnson to the roster in hopes to add a little more firepower at the DPs line.
13. Vancouver Titans (0-2)
Last Week: 12
Things went real south for the Vancouver Titans after losing to Boston on a C9. They did not look good at all against the Spitfire, which could be attributed to the teams rather inexperienced roster. There is a lot of talent here, it’ll be up to the coaching staff to put it all together to get Vancouver out from the bottom.
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