Los Angeles Valiant look primed for a solid Week 2 in the Overwatch League Season 1 Stage 3, with matches against San Francisco Shock and Dallas Fuel coming up.
Custa helping shot calling
Valiant had a fairly disappointing Stage 2, falling to an eighth-place finish after an impressive fourth in the first stage.
However, a nice opening week in Stage 3 – which included a 4-0 win over Seoul Dynasty – gives cause for optimism considering the inconsistent opponents they face this week.
Shock remain dangerous as they look to integrate their newest additions, but they struggled against Seoul last week, succumbing to a 0-4 loss.
Valiant’s off-season acquisition of former Fuel player Custa appears to have done wonders for their shot calling, with continued hopes of improvement moving forward, yet where this leaves Fuel waits to be seen.
New York the team to beat
One team that should continue their winning ways are New York Excelsior, winners of Stage 2.
New York have continued their momentum from the previous stage, with a 2-0 opening week that included a dominant 4-0 win over London Spitfire.
Excelsior take on Boston and Houston this week and they should be able to come through those match-ups unscathed.
DreamKazper, Boston’s star player, is out indefinitely due to a major out of game issue and there are questions as to how the team will adapt moving forward.
Meanwhile, Houston have been arguably the most inconsistent team in the league, with their only prolonged success being against London Spitfire.
New York also showed more depth in Week 1 than expected, with Pine playing for the first time after a prolonged absence. One of New York’s greatest strengths is a match-up nightmare for Houston, with star Tracer player Saebyeolbe facing off against the revolving door of Clockwork, JAKE and LiNkzr.
Good test for Fusion
Philadelphia Fusion, runners-up in Stage 2, could be the team to watch in Week 2.
Fusion had a mediocre start to the new stage, with a 2-3 loss to Boston prior to a 3-1 win over Florida Mayhem.
Fusion would have expected to beat Boston given their stellar end to the previous stage and questions now come about regarding the long-term prospects of Philadelphia.
Houston and London could be perfect teams for the Fusion to test themselves against and they need to start picking up wins as they are set to face New York in Week 3.
Gladiators show signs of improvement
Los Angeles Gladiators will look to rebound after a disappointing first week that saw them fall to San Francisco 1-3.
Gladiators did manage a 3-1 triumph over Dallas, however, and were one of the teams that began to show promise towards the end of Stage 2.
The addition of Fissure to the Main Tank position appears to have transformed the team but an opening loss to the Shock leaves Gladiators in unknown territory moving forward.
Luckily for the Los Angeles outfit their first opponent is the still winless Shanghai Dragons, who continue to look abysmal even after an overhaul to their roster.
The next match-up for LA is against Seoul Dynasty, who are also a bit of an unknown quantity at this stage.
Dynasty inconsistent
Seoul were expected to win both of their initial matches (in which they went 1-1), but the most shocking part of their loss to Los Angeles Valiant was the 0-4 thrashing they received.
Seoul crushed Valiant 4-0 in the opening week of Stage 2, leaving many to question whether this time was more about a quality performance from Valiant or signs of inconsistency from Dynasty.
Seoul have a chance to put those questions aside with a clean win over Dallas alongside any margin of victory over Gladiators this week.
Conclusion
Once again New York Excelsior are the team to beat as they continue to set the standard in the Overwatch League. Winners of the Round-Robin in both Stages 1 and 2, New York will fancy their chances of doing so again and will be hoping to match their overall Stage 2 victory.
