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OWL Preseason Predictions

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#1
Explodey

OWL Preseason Predictions

Now that the rosters for the OWL teams are mostly confirmed, I think it’s about appropriate time to make predictions on team standings for the preseason.
To help the ones who haven’t been following the roster announcements, I have included the rosters for the OWL teams.

Seoul Dynasty

  • Munchkin
    Fleta
    Miro
    Zunba
    Tobi
    Ryujehong
    Wekeed
    Esca
    Gido
    Xepher

London Spitfire

  • Profit
    Hooreg
    Gesture
    WOOHYAL
    Closer
    HaGoPeun
    Birdring
    Rascal
    Fissure
    Bdosin
    NUS
    Fury

Dallas Fuel

  • Taimou
    EFFECT
    cocco
    Mickie
    HarryHook
    Chipshajen
    Seagull
    xQc
    Custa

New York Excelsior

  • Saebyeolbe
    Libero
    Mano
    MekO
    Ark
    JJoNak
    janus
    Pine

Florida Mayhem

  • TviQ
    Logix
    CWoosH
    Manneten
    Zebbosai
    Zuppeh

Houston Outlaws

  • LiNKzr
    Jake
    Muma
    Coolmatt69
    Boink
    Bani
    Clockwork
    Mendokusaii
    SPREE
    Rawkus

Philadelphia Fusion

  • Carpe
    ShaDowBurn
    Snillo
    Fragi
    Poko
    Neptuno
    Boombox
    Joemeister
    Hotba
    DayFly
    Eqo
    SADO

San Francisco Shock

  • iddqd
    Nevix
    nomy
    Super
    dhak
    Sleepy
    sinatraa
    Danteh
    Babybay

Los Angeles Valiant

  • SoOn
    Agilities
    Fate
    SPACE
    Verbo
    uNKOE
    GrimReality
    Numlocked
    Envy
    KariV
    silkthread

Boston Uprising

  • Striker
    Mistakes
    Gamsu
    Kalios
    Kellex
    Snow
    DreamKazper
    NotE

Shanghai Dragons

  • uNDeAD
    Diya
    Roshan
    Mg
    5King
    Freefeel (previously known as b612)
    Xushu (previously known as Luca)
    Alterning (previously known as 130)

Los Angeles Gladiators

  • Surefour
    Hydration
    Asher
    iReMix
    Bischu
    BigG00se
    Shaz
#2
Explodey
1
Frags
+

I only started actively watching Overwatch around April, 2017 (towards the end of APEX season 2, TaKeOver 2, and so on), so I lack information about most of the players who have not played at pro level after April. Because of this, my assessment of the teams with many of these recently inactive players (like SF Shock and Boston) might be inaccurate. Hopefully, I will be able to make more sound assessment after the preseason.

-Top 2 closely contested between Seoul and London

  1. Seoul Dynasty
    Addition of Muchkin, Fleta, and Wekeed should supplement the weakness of the team. Also, the Mercy nerf and the Ana buff should help ryujehong to come back to his prime form.

  2. London Spitfire
    I am not sure how they are going to combine two very strong squads. I think the main strength of GC Busan came from the team synergy, and I am worried that the mix of squads will affect the team harmony. In the end, I think this team will only be slightly stronger than GC Busan (as I think Birdring and Rascal are stronger than Hooreg for most heroes). But who knows, maybe great coaching staffs will help the players to bring greater synergies together, in which case, I think they will take the top place.

-Top 3~4 closely contested between Dallas and New York

  1. Dallas Fuel
    My concern with EFFECT was that he seemed to only play Tracer, but it seems like he is getting better with other heroes as well. Unless Taimou enters one of those periods that he gets tired of the game again, I think this team should be strong enough to take the third place.

  2. New York Excelsior
    They have stellar DPS and tank line, but I am a little worried about their support. I was never impressed with Ark, and although I know JJoNak is a great Ana, but he has never played at pro level AFAIK. Also, JJoNak seems to play quite aggressively, which tends to work well in competitive, but at a pro level, aggressive supports often suffer from the opponents. If these issues can be dealt with, they might take the third place from Dallas Fuel and may even challenge Seoul and London.

.

  1. Florida Mayhem
    Their weakness has been shown in the grand final of contenders season 1, but I still believe they are one of the stronger teams in the league.

-Top 6~7 closely contested between Houston and Philadelphia

  1. Houston Outlaws
    I think they have solid players all around. Although I think Muma is decent, I was never impressed with him to the degree that many people seem to be praising him at. Maybe he will prove me wrong and take the team to the higher spot.

  2. Philadelphia Fusion
    Very decent roster from the name value, but I am concerned about the flexibility of the DPS. ShaDowBurn only showed his supremacy on Genji and Snillo only on Tracer. Yes, Carpe can play multiple heroes to somewhat compensate, but his form seems somewhat inconsistent. Also, tanks are decent, but could be better.

-Top 8~9 closely contested between SF Shock and LA Valiant

  1. San Francisco Shock
    This is the team I am least sure about. I don’t really know how good iddqd, nomy, Super, sleepy, and Danteh are. So this is just my rough guess of where I think they would end up. I think LA Valiant could easily take their spot unless they truly live up to the hype.

  2. Los Angeles Valant
    I think the current roster is a great improvement from the one in contenders. Few concerns still remain though. SoOn never looked great on anything but Tracer, and I haven’t seen Agilities being impressive on hit-scan. Also, the tanks and supports are good, but not as great as the top teams.

.

  1. Boston Uprising
    I don’t really agree with Harsha’s comment about the Boston team being very weak. I think they will be almost as good as SF Shock and LA Valiant. This is assuming Snow is on par with supports of the other OWL teams since I do not know how good he is. Maybe he was talking about the team before Kalios was added? (as it seems like his addition was later than other players)

  2. Shanghai Dragons
    This squad has decent talents all around, but I don’t think they are stronger than MY. If the whole MY roster was joining OWL, I would’ve predicted them to be around fifth~sixth strongest in the league, but this roster will still be competitive enough to challenge other teams in the league.

  3. Los Angeles Gladiators
    I could be wrong as I did not watch much of Kungarna’s games, but I was not impressed with iReMix and Bischu when I did. I think the supports are good, but DPS seems to be lacking as well. I know people speak highly of Surefour, but I don’t think he is as good as the top talents. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they are bad. Tbh, I feel like Seoul, London, Dallas, and NY are going to form top 4 and rest of the teams are going to be at similar level, going up and down the chart based on their condition on the match day.
#3
CamRa
0
Frags
+
Explodey [#2]

I only started actively watching Overwatch around April, 2017 (towards the end of APEX season 2, TaKeOver 2, and so on), so I lack information about most of the players who have not played at pro level after April. Because of this, my assessment of the teams with many of these recently inactive players (like SF Shock and Boston) might be inaccurate. Hopefully, I will be able to make more sound assessment after the preseason.

-Top 2 closely contested between Seoul and London

  1. Seoul Dynasty
    Addition of Muchkin, Fleta, and Wekeed should supplement the weakness of the team. Also, the Mercy nerf and the Ana buff should help ryujehong to come back to his prime form.

  2. London Spitfire
    I am not sure how they are going to combine two very strong squads. I think the main strength of GC Busan came from the team synergy, and I am worried that the mix of squads will affect the team harmony. In the end, I think this team will only be slightly stronger than GC Busan (as I think Birdring and Rascal are stronger than Hooreg for most heroes). But who knows, maybe great coaching staffs will help the players to bring greater synergies together, in which case, I think they will take the top place.

-Top 3~4 closely contested between Dallas and New York

  1. Dallas Fuel
    My concern with EFFECT was that he seemed to only play Tracer, but it seems like he is getting better with other heroes as well. Unless Taimou enters one of those periods that he gets tired of the game again, I think this team should be strong enough to take the third place.

  2. New York Excelsior
    They have stellar DPS and tank line, but I am a little worried about their support. I was never impressed with Ark, and although I know JJoNak is a great Ana, but he has never played at pro level AFAIK. Also, JJoNak seems to play quite aggressively, which tends to work well in competitive, but at a pro level, aggressive supports often suffer from the opponents. If these issues can be dealt with, they might take the third place from Dallas Fuel and may even challenge Seoul and London.

.

  1. Florida Mayhem
    Their weakness has been shown in the grand final of contenders season 1, but I still believe they are one of the stronger teams in the league.

-Top 6~7 closely contested between Houston and Philadelphia

  1. Houston Outlaws
    I think they have solid players all around. Although I think Muma is decent, I was never impressed with him to the degree that many people seem to be praising him at. Maybe he will prove me wrong and take the team to the higher spot.

  2. Philadelphia Fusion
    Very decent roster from the name value, but I am concerned about the flexibility of the DPS. ShaDowBurn only showed his supremacy on Genji and Snillo only on Tracer. Yes, Carpe can play multiple heroes to somewhat compensate, but his form seems somewhat inconsistent. Also, tanks are decent, but could be better.

-Top 8~9 closely contested between SF Shock and LA Valiant

  1. San Francisco Shock
    This is the team I am least sure about. I don’t really know how good iddqd, nomy, Super, sleepy, and Danteh are. So this is just my rough guess of where I think they would end up. I think LA Valiant could easily take their spot unless they truly live up to the hype.

  2. Los Angeles Valant
    I think the current roster is a great improvement from the one in contenders. Few concerns still remain though. SoOn never looked great on anything but Tracer, and I haven’t seen Agilities being impressive on hit-scan. Also, the tanks and supports are good, but not as great as the top teams.

.

  1. Boston Uprising
    I don’t really agree with Harsha’s comment about the Boston team being very weak. I think they will be almost as good as SF Shock and LA Valiant. This is assuming Snow is on par with supports of the other OWL teams since I do not know how good he is. Maybe he was talking about the team before Kalios was added? (as it seems like his addition was later than other players)

  2. Shanghai Dragons
    This squad has decent talents all around, but I don’t think they are stronger than MY. If the whole MY roster was joining OWL, I would’ve predicted them to be around fifth~sixth strongest in the league, but this roster will still be competitive enough to challenge other teams in the league.

  3. Los Angeles Gladiators
    I could be wrong as I did not watch much of Kungarna’s games, but I was not impressed with iReMix and Bischu when I did. I think the supports are good, but DPS seems to be lacking as well. I know people speak highly of Surefour, but I don’t think he is as good as the top talents. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they are bad. Tbh, I feel like Seoul, London, Dallas, and NY are going to form top 4 and rest of the teams are going to be at similar level, going up and down the chart based on their condition on the match day.

Snillo played Mei and Soldier in S0, Shadowburn can play Doomfist

#4
remiska
0
Frags
+
Explodey [#2]

I only started actively watching Overwatch around April, 2017 (towards the end of APEX season 2, TaKeOver 2, and so on), so I lack information about most of the players who have not played at pro level after April. Because of this, my assessment of the teams with many of these recently inactive players (like SF Shock and Boston) might be inaccurate. Hopefully, I will be able to make more sound assessment after the preseason.

-Top 2 closely contested between Seoul and London

  1. Seoul Dynasty
    Addition of Muchkin, Fleta, and Wekeed should supplement the weakness of the team. Also, the Mercy nerf and the Ana buff should help ryujehong to come back to his prime form.

  2. London Spitfire
    I am not sure how they are going to combine two very strong squads. I think the main strength of GC Busan came from the team synergy, and I am worried that the mix of squads will affect the team harmony. In the end, I think this team will only be slightly stronger than GC Busan (as I think Birdring and Rascal are stronger than Hooreg for most heroes). But who knows, maybe great coaching staffs will help the players to bring greater synergies together, in which case, I think they will take the top place.

-Top 3~4 closely contested between Dallas and New York

  1. Dallas Fuel
    My concern with EFFECT was that he seemed to only play Tracer, but it seems like he is getting better with other heroes as well. Unless Taimou enters one of those periods that he gets tired of the game again, I think this team should be strong enough to take the third place.

  2. New York Excelsior
    They have stellar DPS and tank line, but I am a little worried about their support. I was never impressed with Ark, and although I know JJoNak is a great Ana, but he has never played at pro level AFAIK. Also, JJoNak seems to play quite aggressively, which tends to work well in competitive, but at a pro level, aggressive supports often suffer from the opponents. If these issues can be dealt with, they might take the third place from Dallas Fuel and may even challenge Seoul and London.

.

  1. Florida Mayhem
    Their weakness has been shown in the grand final of contenders season 1, but I still believe they are one of the stronger teams in the league.

-Top 6~7 closely contested between Houston and Philadelphia

  1. Houston Outlaws
    I think they have solid players all around. Although I think Muma is decent, I was never impressed with him to the degree that many people seem to be praising him at. Maybe he will prove me wrong and take the team to the higher spot.

  2. Philadelphia Fusion
    Very decent roster from the name value, but I am concerned about the flexibility of the DPS. ShaDowBurn only showed his supremacy on Genji and Snillo only on Tracer. Yes, Carpe can play multiple heroes to somewhat compensate, but his form seems somewhat inconsistent. Also, tanks are decent, but could be better.

-Top 8~9 closely contested between SF Shock and LA Valiant

  1. San Francisco Shock
    This is the team I am least sure about. I don’t really know how good iddqd, nomy, Super, sleepy, and Danteh are. So this is just my rough guess of where I think they would end up. I think LA Valiant could easily take their spot unless they truly live up to the hype.

  2. Los Angeles Valant
    I think the current roster is a great improvement from the one in contenders. Few concerns still remain though. SoOn never looked great on anything but Tracer, and I haven’t seen Agilities being impressive on hit-scan. Also, the tanks and supports are good, but not as great as the top teams.

.

  1. Boston Uprising
    I don’t really agree with Harsha’s comment about the Boston team being very weak. I think they will be almost as good as SF Shock and LA Valiant. This is assuming Snow is on par with supports of the other OWL teams since I do not know how good he is. Maybe he was talking about the team before Kalios was added? (as it seems like his addition was later than other players)

  2. Shanghai Dragons
    This squad has decent talents all around, but I don’t think they are stronger than MY. If the whole MY roster was joining OWL, I would’ve predicted them to be around fifth~sixth strongest in the league, but this roster will still be competitive enough to challenge other teams in the league.

  3. Los Angeles Gladiators
    I could be wrong as I did not watch much of Kungarna’s games, but I was not impressed with iReMix and Bischu when I did. I think the supports are good, but DPS seems to be lacking as well. I know people speak highly of Surefour, but I don’t think he is as good as the top talents. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they are bad. Tbh, I feel like Seoul, London, Dallas, and NY are going to form top 4 and rest of the teams are going to be at similar level, going up and down the chart based on their condition on the match day.

you overrate koreans based off of apex, its very unfriendly tournament for western teams
very tiring physically and mentally

#5
Explodey
0
Frags
+
CamRa [#3]

Snillo played Mei and Soldier in S0, Shadowburn can play Doomfist

Yeah, but I feel like Doomfist is falling out of meta, and Mei is only useful in certain situations. Snillo's soldier, as far as I have seen, was only decent. But still, this is just one prediction, I would be happy to find out that the players are much better than what I have expected.

#6
Explodey
0
Frags
+
remiska [#4]

you overrate koreans based off of apex, its very unfriendly tournament for western teams
very tiring physically and mentally

Very well could be overrating them since I have been watching those games more closely. We will find out soon! :)

#7
LordOfHorns
1
Frags
+

LA Valiant have GrimReality, who is a good enough DPS. Silkthread is a decent DPS as well. And Immortals did not have a great tracer. That's the entire reason they got SoOn. They needed a tracer
And Agilities is one of the worlds best Genji players. Just a god on the hero

#8
poi98
2
Frags
+

I am waiting the two players than boston has to annouce, with also the hope to have some other players on LA 2 and Mayhem

But i liked your interpetration even if i disagree on some points :)

#9
poi98
0
Frags
+
Explodey [#2]

I only started actively watching Overwatch around April, 2017 (towards the end of APEX season 2, TaKeOver 2, and so on), so I lack information about most of the players who have not played at pro level after April. Because of this, my assessment of the teams with many of these recently inactive players (like SF Shock and Boston) might be inaccurate. Hopefully, I will be able to make more sound assessment after the preseason.

-Top 2 closely contested between Seoul and London

  1. Seoul Dynasty
    Addition of Muchkin, Fleta, and Wekeed should supplement the weakness of the team. Also, the Mercy nerf and the Ana buff should help ryujehong to come back to his prime form.

  2. London Spitfire
    I am not sure how they are going to combine two very strong squads. I think the main strength of GC Busan came from the team synergy, and I am worried that the mix of squads will affect the team harmony. In the end, I think this team will only be slightly stronger than GC Busan (as I think Birdring and Rascal are stronger than Hooreg for most heroes). But who knows, maybe great coaching staffs will help the players to bring greater synergies together, in which case, I think they will take the top place.

-Top 3~4 closely contested between Dallas and New York

  1. Dallas Fuel
    My concern with EFFECT was that he seemed to only play Tracer, but it seems like he is getting better with other heroes as well. Unless Taimou enters one of those periods that he gets tired of the game again, I think this team should be strong enough to take the third place.

  2. New York Excelsior
    They have stellar DPS and tank line, but I am a little worried about their support. I was never impressed with Ark, and although I know JJoNak is a great Ana, but he has never played at pro level AFAIK. Also, JJoNak seems to play quite aggressively, which tends to work well in competitive, but at a pro level, aggressive supports often suffer from the opponents. If these issues can be dealt with, they might take the third place from Dallas Fuel and may even challenge Seoul and London.

.

  1. Florida Mayhem
    Their weakness has been shown in the grand final of contenders season 1, but I still believe they are one of the stronger teams in the league.

-Top 6~7 closely contested between Houston and Philadelphia

  1. Houston Outlaws
    I think they have solid players all around. Although I think Muma is decent, I was never impressed with him to the degree that many people seem to be praising him at. Maybe he will prove me wrong and take the team to the higher spot.

  2. Philadelphia Fusion
    Very decent roster from the name value, but I am concerned about the flexibility of the DPS. ShaDowBurn only showed his supremacy on Genji and Snillo only on Tracer. Yes, Carpe can play multiple heroes to somewhat compensate, but his form seems somewhat inconsistent. Also, tanks are decent, but could be better.

-Top 8~9 closely contested between SF Shock and LA Valiant

  1. San Francisco Shock
    This is the team I am least sure about. I don’t really know how good iddqd, nomy, Super, sleepy, and Danteh are. So this is just my rough guess of where I think they would end up. I think LA Valiant could easily take their spot unless they truly live up to the hype.

  2. Los Angeles Valant
    I think the current roster is a great improvement from the one in contenders. Few concerns still remain though. SoOn never looked great on anything but Tracer, and I haven’t seen Agilities being impressive on hit-scan. Also, the tanks and supports are good, but not as great as the top teams.

.

  1. Boston Uprising
    I don’t really agree with Harsha’s comment about the Boston team being very weak. I think they will be almost as good as SF Shock and LA Valiant. This is assuming Snow is on par with supports of the other OWL teams since I do not know how good he is. Maybe he was talking about the team before Kalios was added? (as it seems like his addition was later than other players)

  2. Shanghai Dragons
    This squad has decent talents all around, but I don’t think they are stronger than MY. If the whole MY roster was joining OWL, I would’ve predicted them to be around fifth~sixth strongest in the league, but this roster will still be competitive enough to challenge other teams in the league.

  3. Los Angeles Gladiators
    I could be wrong as I did not watch much of Kungarna’s games, but I was not impressed with iReMix and Bischu when I did. I think the supports are good, but DPS seems to be lacking as well. I know people speak highly of Surefour, but I don’t think he is as good as the top talents. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they are bad. Tbh, I feel like Seoul, London, Dallas, and NY are going to form top 4 and rest of the teams are going to be at similar level, going up and down the chart based on their condition on the match day.

Soon was a top tier dps even before he shows is tracer :). When he was on misfits he had a great Mccree and , if i am not wrong, a great reaper

Also Shadowburn is a god on phara and looks pretty solid on Dva on 4 tank meta

#10
Explodey
0
Frags
+
poi98 [#9]

Soon was a top tier dps even before he shows is tracer :). When he was on misfits he had a great Mccree and , if i am not wrong, a great reaper

Also Shadowburn is a god on phara and looks pretty solid on Dva on 4 tank meta

These are some of the info I am missing obviously. But is ShaDowBurn really god on Pharah? I have seen his Pharah, but I wasn't really impressed at all. Hopefully I will have better idea on how things will go after the pre-season!

#11
poi98
0
Frags
+
Explodey [#10]

These are some of the info I am missing obviously. But is ShaDowBurn really god on Pharah? I have seen his Pharah, but I wasn't really impressed at all. Hopefully I will have better idea on how things will go after the pre-season!

Yea! Imho SDB is a god on phara duel than phara against enemy team without phara

#12
KuroiRyuu9625
0
Frags
+

Guess I'll add my ranking to this thread too, cause equality yo.

A Tier

  1. Seoul Dynasty
  2. London Spitfire
  3. Dallas Fuel

B Tier

  1. New York Excelsior
  2. Philadelphia Fusion
  3. LA Gladiators
  4. Florida Mayhem

C Tier

  1. Houston Outlaws
  2. Shanghai Dragons
  3. Los Angeles Valiant
  4. San Francisco Shock
  5. Boston Uprising

I'm 150% unsure about the actual rankings, because I have pretty much nothing to base them on, but this is what the tiers feel like to me.

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