The dark reader chrome extension works wonders for me when I find myself writing late at night and don't wish to be blinded.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/dark-reader/eimadpbcbfnmbkopoojfekhnkhdbieeh?hl=en-US

PogChamp

All I'm going to say is Houston isn't going up in my power rankings next week. That was painful to watch

https://youtu.be/juwPkfisS64

An update to this story has been made following HuK's announcement that Fusions is now eligible to play.

These have not aged well so far...

Well this has certainly shaken up my power rankings a bit now

Now for my bottom 10 for the league

11. Hangzhou Spark
    • Assuming the reports of the Spark being tough for existing teams are true, this roster being a fan favorite can really compete with the bottom of my top 10 teams, namely Seoul and Boston. It was tough putting them below Boston, but I can't rank them that high based on old results from the X6 part of the roster and the two Chinese world cup finalists in guxue and Krystal.
12. Atlanta Reign
    • There's a lot of question marks around this team since it's a mixed English and Korean roster, but I want to see everyone on this team succeed. If Pokpo and Daco are on the same page, they won't be at risk of being upset by teams too far lower than them. With that being said LET'S GO DOOD.
13. Paris Eternal
    • I'm only rating Paris as highly as they are because of the meta that we're in. I think BenBest has the carry potential that this team needs to trade blows with other teams ranked around them. Once the meta shifts and BenBest can't operate like he usually can on Rein, then this team will really need to come together and harness the talent that So0n, SDB, NiCO, and Danye have.
14. Houston Outlaws
    • The Outlaws have a lot of potential in their roster, but last season were a very patch-reliant team for their successes. Danteh's addition to their roster does cover their weaknesses that they had during last season, but the patch we're currently in is vastly different than the patches that were played last season. If they are able to harness the power of SPREE in their 3/3 comp and are willing to sit out one of their DPS players so he can operate, this team has potential to beat teams above them. If not, expect them to be just another mid table team.
15. Toronto Defiant
    • Not sure how I feel about this roster. I haven't done much research on them, but not many other places that have published power rankings have put the Defiant very high up.
16. Shanghai Dragons
    • The revamped Dragons roster already looks much better than last season, but not improving after going 0-40 in the first season to the roster they currently have isn't an impressive step up. I don't expect them to go win-less again, but they're likely going to remain near the bottom of the standings.
17. Guangzhou Charge
    • With the Charge going 2-2 with the Dynasty in the Pacific challenge, I wanted to have faith in this roster to step up in this meta, but I just can't see this roster beating a team that's above them, whether close to their rank or far away.
18. Washington Justice
    • I like a lot of players on this team. I really do. But unless there is carry potential that the world hasn't seen yet from Janus, Gido, and Corey, I don't expect them to compete with many other teams rated above them.
19. Florida Mayhem
    • Still a sub optimal roster at best, like last season. They might rise in standings if the meta shifts, but I wouldn't expect much from this roster.
20. Chengdu Hunters
    • As much as I love Chengdu's colors and logo, I just don't see them getting out of the bottom three rankings. A lot of their players are unknown and aren't really that heralded. Hopefully they won't be this season's Shanghai Dragons and go 0-40.

Going to split this up into two top 10 rankings rather than a top 20

1. New York Excelsior
   • These guys need no introduction, and their DPS additions only give their already elite tier DPS line even more of a punch. My only concern might be in the coaching staff since WizardHyeong was released during the offseason, but I'm confident that New York can tackle any challenge that comes their way.
2. London Spitfire
   • The season 1 champions didn't make many changes to their core roster over the offseason, only acquiring Guard and Krillin. The discussion about whether these additions were good for the team are obviously debatable, but this core still has the capability to win another season title.
3. LA Gladiators
   • I was hesitant at first to rate the Gladiators so highly, but if Decay is as good as how much he was bought for, Gladiators fans should be excited for him and S4 to be their DPS duo. The same goes for r0ar, but if things go south for them, they have Panker who is likely chomping at the bit to start for them.
4. SF Shock
   • Every position is well fitted with depth, but I am concerned that like the Excelsior, they will have too many players and not enough matches to play them in. I expect Crusty to have this team in top condition by the time the season begins. If Super or Smurf can't step up to carry this team with all of their DPS talent, I don't expect them to perform nearly as well until a meta shift.
5. Vancouver Titans
   • As a RunAway fan I'm probably very biased towards this roster, but I think they've really got the capability to trade blows with the upper mid-table teams that finished in Season 1 (LAV and Fusion more specifically).
6. LA Valiant
   • With KariV moving from flex support to DPS for the Valiant, I can't help but wonder if a weakness has been created in their flex support position. I hope Izayaki can step up to fill KariV's shoes, but I want to see consistent results from him before I rank the Valiant higher.
7. Philadelphia Fusion
   • I don't think the new meta will be very kind to the Fusion. Having Carpe relegated to Zarya duty instead of Tracer or Widow makes me sad, but this really puts a lot of pressure on Fragi or Sado to step up and prove that the Fusion belong in the higher tier of OWL teams.
8. Dallas Fuel
   • Losing Seagull was obviously a big blow to the Fuel over the offseason, but if this team can rally around each other in the way that they did in Stage 4 of last season, we can easily see them upset teams three or four rankings above them. I want to see standout performances from EFFECT and rCk (assuming he will be starting) before I rate them any higher.
9. Seoul Dynasty
   • Fissure's addition to this roster will certainly give them a well needed boost, considering the main tank disaster they had last season. But I'm not fully convinced he alone is going to catapult this roster to immediate stardom like during the Lunatic-Hai days. The meta now is a bit more likely to favor them, but once we shift away from a tank-heavy meta, it's going to be a serious gut check for everyone on Seoul.
10. Boston Uprising
    • Losing Colourhex for the first 2 games of the season is really going to sting for them, but I don't think they should be rated as far down as other analysts are rating them. That being said, if their current coaching staff of Gunba, Shake, and Mini can prepare them like Crusty did when he was their coach, I think they won't suffer too many blows from teams around them.

Legend says if you spam 🦀ANY CRABBERS🦀there will be another article with this very rare flag

*pumping money into OWL

While I'm not entirely sure how contenders contracts work, Boston does have the ability to make one of their academy players a two way player. So that is an avenue for them if they don't want to shop around for another DPS player

https://youtu.be/QicHjfA9N4c

SFS, like NYXL and London before the beginning of Season 1, looks incredibly stacked with talent.

Hopefully they can have a really good performance this upcoming season given their finish in the season prior.

Thank you. I updated the article with that information

https://youtu.be/ArpwaH-T09c

This thread is basically inactive now :(

There's the over.gg pug server that's relatively active. Overf5 (a team with a number of regulars to the site) play there, so you can probably get your feet wet there. If not I know that Jayne's discord server hosts pugs relatively regularly so that's where you can also start.

Updates:

• Mayhem signs BEARHANDS as Assistant GM
• KyKy released from Outlaws
• Hayes and NamedHwi named co-head coaches of Fusion
• Dallas Fuel bring in Closer
• Florida Mayhem sign three pending league approval

enigma was a top TF2 player for many years before he came to Overwatch

:(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emoJrdLKPvk

From back in August when I was doing stuff with overf5, in the process of making another frag clip from scrims and ladder :)

ez 4 Australia

This was worth staying up until 4 AM to watch. What a comeback.

I can see a world where Florida decides to let go of all of their non-Koreans and bring the roster of a team like RunAway in for Season 2. It would make them highly competitive with at very least the mid-table teams and give the Mayhem fans a real team that can stand their own against competition that isn't the 0-40 Dragons. If that's the case, I'd predict Sayaplayer (and maybe aWesomeGuy) being the only one(s) returning to Season 2 in a Mayhem jersey.

Happy to see a representing city for Canada :D If the Paris expansion team is actually for sure happening, Season 2 is going to be incredibly hype!

The line between streaming and being a pro player was always difficult for Seagull, and wanting both to exist clearly would take a lot out of him in some of his streams. I'm sad to see him go from OWL, but on the other hand streaming has really been his true calling ever since his channel blew up back in the early days of Overwatch.

Whoever the Fuel chooses to replace Seagull will have some big shoes to fill for Season 2

Surprised the reported Paris team wasn't in this announcement. Hopefully it didn't fall though. I really want to see another European team in the League

As an Outlaws fan I wasn't really impressed with Rawkus most of the season. He was either slightly above average or just average, which isn't good enough to compete in the upper echelon of teams. Hopefully his performance on Team USA can show that he is really capable of being one of the premier Western flex supports, because there were quite a number of people that weren't happy with him being picked over Sleepy. Boink will likely remain a sub or be made a two-way player since it's pretty evident based on how much stage time bani got this season which of the two main supports is preferred.

The tank line needs no fixings. SPREE/coolmatt and Muma/FCTFCTN are well rounded enough IMO that no changes need to be made here. If anything, FCTFCTN might end up being designated as a two-way player so he can get actual playtime as opposed to just being a scrim player but if he were to go to GGEA he'd be competing with smurf for the starting MT spot.

But of course the biggest fish that Houston needs to fry before making themselves a true upper-echelon team is their 2nd (and/or 3rd) DPS. LiNKzr for obvious reasons will remain a staple for them, but if Houston doesn't develop ArHaN, Jake, or clockwork in the offseason to be up to par with a top DPS combo like So0n/Agilities, SBB/Libero, Profit/birdring, they will continue to struggle. Jake and ArHaN have potential to compliment LiNKzr finely, but I'm not so sure about clockwork. He's got amazing mechanics, but the limited time that he was given to prove himself doesn't really show that he's worthwhile of getting regular starting time. Hopefully I'm wrong, but I expect him to be designated as a two-way player.

my heart says Philly but my mind says London

I want to see a map 3 of this series :D

I thought I missed something in this. Thanks for pointing it out!

Good catch. Should be fixed now

It's been a tough day for Brits...

https://twitter.com/Mendokusaii/status/1012778088567115782

Mendo apparently got an offer but declined it

Wrecking ball main btw

This just shows how much the T2 scene needs help. Funding for teams can't just continue to come out of thin air, and organizations are almost certainly going to continue to follow suit like EnVision if nothing is done to help these guys

Good catch. Fixed the typo

Now I can be the one-trick doomfist in competitive deathmatch that I've always wanted to be!

Houston to get 2nd place since the Jakerat nerf won't be in Kappa

At least we'll get to see more Reinhardt play :D

Magic

The thread title made me really miss the pick/ban map system from pre-OWL tournaments, mainly because 2cp would just get auto-banned by both teams

Still a pick/ban system for heroes doesn't make much sense. Swapping to counter is an overall much better system and there's no reason to switch from it. If you can't counter something because you can't properly counter it, banning it does nothing productive for either party.

Doesn't seem like it. They're not on the org's twitter banner so I'd doubt it. My guess is their contract might've expired with HASTE and NRG didn't choose to renew it

Unless xQc gets denied entry by Blizzard I think he's probably going to be Canada's main tank this year

Good game but the most recent patches to it have made me shy away from it, mainly the changes to weapon switch speeds

Also if Epic is adding new content to the game every single week they're eventually going to run out of (good) stuff to put in the game

I enjoyed his CS:GO casting, but his OWL casting often has me wishing they'd have someone else casting. I think Bren would be fantastic but I'm biased because he was without a doubt one of my favorite casters when he was doing TF2 casting

#BringBackHexAndZPCasts

Looks like it's time for me to transfer to UCBerkley

New lucio poggers

If you want the TL:DW of this, basically xQc said that for the most part, the players were in the dark about a lot of major decisions that were made, especially with Rascal and OGE's additions to the team. There were no supposed tryouts for either of the 2 players and they were picked up with the expectation that issues were eventually going to fix themselves. He made it sound like there were people making important decisions that were not qualified at all to make those decisions. And the consequences of those decisions ended up coming down on KyKy unjustly.

He also explains the cocco situation and why he didn't get any playtime, which I won't go into for spoilers, but that combined with Custa's comments on Oversight about cocco probably not having a future with the Fuel ends up making sense

Understand that at lower ranks, more "meta" doesn't mean that you'll automatically win. The factors of execution going into things as well as how the enemy team is playing is something that you honestly should be paying attention to more. That being said, learning how the meta functions and how certain roles function is great.

Unfortunately you have to learn how to play matchmaking instead of playing Overwatch. But in the rare instances that you do end up playing actual Overwatch with people coordinating and talking strategy, those games are what really stand out.

https://twitter.com/super_OW/status/984878124029460480

Super out because sick, Nomy most likely in. Could this mean SHD's first win?