With Week 4 continuing today, its about time for our weekly Wrap-Up of Blizzard's Overwatch League. This week saw the most back-and-forth matches with six of the teams going to five games. It was also a week full of great rivalry match-ups that put on a fantastic show for the league's viewers and audience.
Additionally, the map set has changed coming into Week 4 with the Hybrid type moved up to the first spot, Assault to the second, Control to the third, and Payload moved down to the fourth spot. The change is due to fourth game ties that occurred that were "confusing" and "anti-climactic."
By the end, we see lines drawn that separate the best from the rest. As we will see in the standings below, it seems pretty clear who the top six teams are, with a few exceptions. These are the results of Week 3's matchups:
Day 1: January 24th, 2018
Match 1: San Francisco Shock vs. London Spitfire
https://player.twitch.tv/?autoplay=false&video=v222047430Watch Game 3 SFS @ LDN Stage 1 Week 3 from OverwatchLeague on www.twitch.tv
A fun little fact: this is the third consecutive week that the San Francisco Shock have kicked off the show.
The clear favorite in this matchup is the London Spitfire. They have been dominant in the first two weeks and I believe they will be a favorite to go to the finals. However, Spitfire changed things up in the first match — as previously stated, it is now a Hybrid type map — with Hooreg in the starting lineup instead of Profit.
For the San Francisco Shock, they are at a 2 - 2 record which makes this particular matchup a tough one. The team does have potential to make it to the top six, but with so many teams with that record, it is hard to tell if they are a team that can outperform the likes of the Los Angeles Valiant or the Philadelphia Fusion. Playing through BABYBAY — the star player of the Shock — would be integral to defeating London.
Unfortunately for San Francisco, they lost to the London Spitfire. When it comes down to it, in terms of player skill, the Spitfire is at an advantage. Anytime you go one-on-one with one of these guys — especially if you're like the San Francisco Shock that can't rely too much on clutch plays — more than likely, you will lose.
However, the Shock did play well against one of the top teams in the league which gives me hope that they do have the potential to be in the top six.
Match 2: Shanghai Dragons vs. Seoul Dynasty
https://player.twitch.tv/?autoplay=false&video=v222071510Watch Game 1 SHD @ SEO Stage 1 Week 3 from OverwatchLeague on www.twitch.tv
The Shanghai Dragons have had it rough. They are one of two teams who has lost every single match. Now they have to face arguably the best team in the league, the Seoul Dynasty.
However, would you believe that the Shanghai Dragons — a team who has struggled throughout the first two weeks of Overwatch League — got a win over the Seoul Dynasty? Yeah, I couldn't believe it either.
While the result was obvious, the Shanghai Dragons are clearly improving their play. Hopefully, they continue to work and improve so they can finally secure a win.
Match 3: Los Angeles Gladiators vs. Los Angeles Valiant
https://player.twitch.tv/?autoplay=false&video=v222114416Watch Game 3 GLA @ VAL Stage 1 Week 3 from OverwatchLeague on www.twitch.tv
Going into this matchup, both teams had a 2 - 2 record. However, looking at each team's match schedule and record for the past two weeks (check out our Week 1 and Week 2 Wrap-Ups), the Valiant has not only had a harder lineup of teams to face but have performed better than the Gladiators against top teams such as the New York Excelsior and the London Spitfire.
Despite the Valiant's favorable position, the Gladiators performed exceptionally taking the first two games in the match. It wasn't until game 3 where the Valiant started to gain momentum. Soon using the Widowmaker on both Ilios and Junkertown exemplified why he is a favorite among the Overwatch League community. Agilities also boasted some fantastic Genji play to secure the tiebreaker map and the victory.
Results:
San Francisco Shock vs. London Spitfire (1 - 3)
Shanghai Dragons vs. Seoul Dynasty (1 - 3)
Los Angeles Gladiators vs. Los Angeles Valiant (2 - 3)
*Note: Bolded teams denotes the winners of its match
Day 2: January 25th, 2018
Match 1: Boston Uprising vs. London Spitfire
https://player.twitch.tv/?autoplay=false&video=v222360429Watch Game 5 BOS @ LDN Stage 1 Week 3 from OverwatchLeague on www.twitch.tv
The Boston Uprising is a team I personally believe has the potential to clinch the Playoffs. While a bit scrappy, they have the ability to perform on the same level as a team such as the New York Excelsior (as seen in the first week of the league). It turns out Boston prepared for this matchup against the undefeated London Spitfire and took the win in a 5-game series.
What really helped Boston take the victory is their win on the second map. It is known that the Spitfire struggle on Control maps giving the Uprising the advantage in game 3. For Boston to get the hard-earned victory in game 2 and then get the easy win in game 3 gave them the momentum to either win it in game 4 or garner another Control win in game 5.
In the end, the match ended on the tiebreaker map with Boston Uprising getting the victory thanks to Gamsu's fantastic Winston performance.
Match 2: Philadelphia Fusion vs. New York Excelsior
https://player.twitch.tv/?autoplay=false&video=v222402538Watch Game 5 PHI @ NYE Stage 1 Week 3 from OverwatchLeague on www.twitch.tv
It is no secret that I am a New York Excelsior fan. Throughout these past two weeks, I loved watching this team perform, especially when Pine comes in for the Control maps. Similar to the situation with the Boston Uprising, the Philadelphia Fusion come in with a 2 - 2 record against an undefeated team. Once again, the underdog comes out with a win moving the Fusion up in the standings.
While New York Excelsior played as well as ever, the DPS duo of Carpe and ShaDowBurn shut down any hope New York had to secure a win. Throughout the entire match, both these players excelled in their positions and brought their team the win.
A questionable strategy (or lack thereof) was not putting in Pine for game 5. As it stands, he is undefeated on Control type maps. When a win is on the line, why would you not sub in one of your best Control map players? I think if Pine had been in, New York could have garnered the victory.
Match 3: Houston Outlaws vs. Florida Mayhem
https://player.twitch.tv/?autoplay=false&video=v222420458Watch Game 2 HOU @ FLA Stage 1 Week 3 from OverwatchLeague on www.twitch.tv
The Houston Outlaws are an early favorite to go to the finals. Looking at the standings, it is hard to tell whether these guys are an actual contender. On the other hand, the Florida Mayhem has proven they have playmakers like TviQ and Logix but have struggled to get a victory over anyone save for the Shanghai Dragons.
Fortunately for the Outlaws, LiNkzr was a monster in his DPS role garnering 17,639 hero damage done, 50 eliminations and 30 final blows with Widowmaker throughout the match.
Results:
Boston Uprising vs. London Spitfire (3 - 2)
Philadelphia Fusion vs. New York Excelsior (3 - 2)
Houston Outlaws vs. Florida Mayhem (4 - 0)
*Note: Bolded teams denotes the winners of its match
Day 3: January 26th, 2018
Match 1: Seoul Dynasty vs. New York Excelsior
https://player.twitch.tv/?autoplay=false&video=v222740361Watch Game 3 SEO @ NYE Stage 1 Week 3 from OverwatchLeague on www.twitch.tv
This is the match I have been waiting for. Arguably, the two best teams go head-to-head to see who is truly the dominant team going forward. This match-up did not disappoint. Going into a five-game series, the New York Excelsior gave the Seoul Dynasty their first loss of the season.
While the Dynasty had FLETA, who has proven he is one of the best DPS players in Overwatch League, the Excelsior was able to outperform them, most notably Saebyeolbe.
One of the puzzling strategies that ended up in New York's favor was the lack of Pine on the Control map. As previously stated, Pine has gone undefeated in every game he has been in; I was almost certain he would turn up in a match-up against one of the best teams in the league. However, he was never subbed in which may have helped them get the win. Dynasty must have been prepared for Pine and when he didn't show up, their strategy had to change on the fly.
Match 2: Shanghai Dragons vs. Philadelphia Fusion
https://player.twitch.tv/?autoplay=false&video=v222788494Watch Game 4 SHD @ PHI Stage 1 Week 3 from OverwatchLeague on www.twitch.tv
While they have yet to get their first win, the Shanghai Dragons have shown the most improvement since their first game of the regular season. They have transformed from a disorganized mess to a team that can compete with some of the best.
In some ways, this was an underperformance from the Philadelphia Fusion. After obtaining a victory against the New York Excelsior, a match against the Shanghai Dragons should be an easy win. I'm not sure if this is a sign that the Dragons are improving or the Fusion didn't play as well as they could have.
Match 3: Dallas Fuel vs. San Francisco Shock
https://player.twitch.tv/?autoplay=false&video=v222811597Watch Game 2 DAL @ SFS Stage 1 Week 3 from OverwatchLeague on www.twitch.tv
The Dallas Fuel finally picked up their first win of the regular season. Honestly, I still don't know how to feel about this team. They have played some close games with some of the better teams in the leagues, but until now, they have yet to capitalize on any of those situations. The Fuel was an early favorite in the beginning of the season, but it is hard to tell whether they will make it to the Playoffs.
Results:
Seoul Dynasty vs. New York Excelsior (2 - 3)
Shanghai Dragons vs. Philadelphia Fusion (2 - 3)
Dallas Fuel vs. San Francisco Shock (3 - 0)
*Note: Bolded teams denotes the winners of its match
Day 4: January 27th, 2018
Match 1: Dallas Fuel vs. Boston Uprising
https://player.twitch.tv/?autoplay=false&video=v223040685Watch Game 5 DAL @ BOS Stage 1 Week 3 from OverwatchLeague on www.twitch.tv
In order for Dallas to have a chance to get into the Stage 1 title match, they had to win this match. With their win against the San Francisco Shock, I thought they would carry that momentum with them against the Boston Uprising. While it did look like they did just that in the first match, the Uprising rose to the occasion and garnered their second win in a row.
While EFFECT played a fantastic game and Mickie showed some improvement with his Roadhog play, the synergy between STRIKER and DreamKazper could not be contested by executing some clutch plays leading to the victory.
Match 2: Los Angeles Valiant vs. Florida Mayhem
https://player.twitch.tv/?autoplay=false&video=v223074418Watch Game 4 VAL @ FLA Stage 1 Week 3 from OverwatchLeague on www.twitch.tv
As expected, Los Angeles Valiant grabbed the win against the Florida Mayhem. The guys in green continue to show that they are the best western team in the league. Soon remains to be one of the best DPS in Overwatch League as seen throughout this match-up.
The Valiant's tank Fate also did some fantastic work as Winston with 106 eliminations, 34 of those being jump-pack eliminations. This Los Angeles team is certainly a Stage 1 title match candidate.
The Florida Mayhem did not look too good in this matchup. Where they did show signs of hope is on Dorado. This is a map that they seem to excel in and that may be due to their particular playing style. However, the win on that map was too late for it to be a factor in winning the match.
Match 3: Los Angeles Gladiators vs. Houston Outlaws
https://player.twitch.tv/?autoplay=false&video=v223096652Watch Game 3 GLA @ HOU Stage 1 Week 3 from OverwatchLeague on www.twitch.tv
While they did lose their match against the Los Angeles Valiant, the Los Angeles Gladiators showed that they can compete on the same level as one of the best western teams in the League. However, the Houston Outlaws are on a three-game winning streak giving them a lot of momentum going into this match.
The Gladiators did not play on the same level we are used to seeing them play. After the first game on Numbani, they saw no game points on the board. It's odd because we've seen this team do well against some great teams like the aforementioned Valiant, as well as the Philadelphia Fusion. While the Houston Outlaws, in my mind, are one of the top teams in the league, I thought we would have seen a more competitive matchup.
Results:
Dallas Fuel vs. Boston Uprising (2 - 3)
Los Angeles Valiant vs. Florida Mayhem (3 - 1)
Los Angeles Gladiators vs. Houston Outlaws (0 - 4)
*Note: Bolded teams denotes the winners of its match
That is it for Week 3 of the Overwatch League. As we progress through each week, those who are Playoff-worthy start to stand out in the standings. Here is where each team ranks after the third week of action:
Standings
- Seoul Dynasty - 5 wins, 1 loss
- New York Excelsior - 5 wins, 1 loss
- London Spitfire - 5 wins, 1 loss
- Houston Outlaws - 4 wins, 2 losses
- Los Angeles Valiant - 4 wins, 2 losses
- Philadelphia Fusion - 4 wins, 2 losses
- Boston Uprising - 3 wins, 3 losses
- Los Angeles Gladiators - 2 wins, 4 losses
- San Francisco Shock - 2 wins, 4 losses
- Dallas Fuel - 1 win, 5 losses
- Florida Mayhem - 1 win, 5 losses
- Shanghai Dragons - 0 wins, 6 losses
Interestingly, the top three teams from last week each got a loss. However, no changes in rank were made among the top five teams from last week. We did see some alterations occur from rank 6 to 11: the San Francisco Shock move down from 6th to 9th; the Los Angeles Gladiators move down from 7th to 8th; the Philadelphia Fusion move up from 8th to 6th; the Boston Uprising move up from 9th to 7th; the Florida Mayhem move down from 10th to 11th; the Dallas Fuel move up from 11th to 10th.
I believe the current top five teams will make it to the Playoffs. That 6th place spot is where things get interesting. In the end, I do think the Philadelphia Fusion does clinch the Playoffs with that spot, but the Boston Uprising continues to show promise each week. The Gladiators did struggle this week, but they are a contender for that spot as well.
To pose a more pessimistic question, who will be the two teams that don't advance to the Playoffs? While I do think they have improved drastically, the Shanghai Dragons would have to win way too many games to clinch a Playoffs spot. However, if the Florida Mayhem and the Dallas Fuel continue to not capitalize on game-changing plays, the Dragons may pull it off... if they can get some wins on the board.
Opinion
This was the most entertaining week of Overwatch League. There were a lot of back-and-forth matches between some of the best teams in the league. Each squad seems to be getting acclimated to their positions and their teams creating more engaging and compelling matches than any week thus far.
The Overwatch League continues this week from January 31st to February 3rd with more action from Blizzard's popular hero shooter. Check back soon for our weekly Wrap-Up for Week 4.