Overwatch League: Week 1
The inaugural week of the Overwatch League concluded on January 13. Throughout the week, 12 very exciting matches took place, with the London Spitfire, Los Angeles Valiant, Seoul Dynasty, and New York Excelsior all coming out of the week on top of the league.
The Leaders
London Spitfire are sitting in the top spot after week one, with an undefeated record and a +13 point differential. They have shown themselves to be a team to watch, after completing a 4-0 sweep over Philadelphia Fusion and a 3-1 victory over Florida Mayhem.
The Los Angeles Valiant also started with a 2-0 record, which earned them a +10 point differential and the second place position in league following week 1 competition. They did not lose a single map this entire week, completing 2 sweeps against the San Francisco Shock and Dallas Fuel.
Seoul Dynasty continue their dominance, after finishing the preseason 3-0, and starting the league with two-straight victories. They are most likely the best team right now, but don’t count out the Spitfire, as they look to be a very strong team coming out of week one.
New York Excelsior were the final team to finish the week with a 2-0 record. They defeated both Boston Uprising and Houston Outlaws 3-1 to start off their league journey. Of the current 2-0 teams, they look to be the weakest, but are certainly still a large power in the league.
Middle of the Pack
Los Angeles Gladiators are one of four teams sitting at 1-1. They started the week with a huge 4-0 win against the Shanghai Dragons on opening night. They took their first loss of the season against the Seoul Dynasty, after getting swept 4-0. It’s difficult to tell how good they are after sweeping the worst team, and getting swept by the best team. By next week we should get a better idea of the skill level of this squad.
Boston Uprising are the top team at 1-1. They lost 1-3 against Excelsior, but returned with a 4-0 victory the next night against Florida Mayhem. This team showed signs of greatness in their match up against Florida, so we’ll see how well that translates into next weeks match ups.
San Francisco Shock competed in the inaugural match up against the Valiant, but received a 4-0 loss. They bounced back against the Shanghai Dragons, with a not-so-convincing 3-1 victory. This team does not look very strong, and could be taking a 1 way ticket to a bottom four spot in the league by next week.
Philadelphia Fusion started their Overwatch League journey with a 3-2 upset over the Outlaws. This was a very high intensity match up, but the Fusion clutched up, and were able to take the win at the end of the day. On the last day of week 1, they were swept by London Spitfire 4-0. Fusion seem to be a 5-8 place team, and are going to need some serious improvements to get to the top of the league.
Bottom of the Board
The Houston Outlaws had a very disappointing and heartbreaking week, taking a 3-2 loss to the Fusion, and a 3-1 loss to Excelsior. If they keep playing like they did this week, I expect them to finish in the bottom six of the league.
Dallas Fuel were the second team to finish 0-2 on the week. They took a loss to the Seoul Dynasty 2-1, and another to Valiant 3-0. They had to play two very good teams, so I think we’ll get a better idea of their skill after week two.
Florida Mayhem predictably started 0-2 after losing to both Boston and London, and going 1-7 in map count. After having a rough pre-season, an 0-2 start was definitely not desirable. They look to get their first win next week as they face off against both Seoul and Shanghai.
Shanghai Dragons started off 0-2, and show why they are clearly the worst team in the Overwatch league. I don’t see any way that this team can place any higher than 9th, and that’s with a miracle.
Week 1 Power Rankings
- London Spitfire
- Seoul Dynasty
- New York Excelsior
- Los Angeles Valiant
- Boston Uprising
- Philadelphia Fusion
- Los Angeles Gladiators
- Dallas Fuel
- San Francisco Shock
- Houston Outlaws
- Florida Mayhem
- Shanghai Dragons
