The start of Stage 4 has brought a major shift to the meta, with teams already looking vastly different compared to their play in Stage 3.
Outlaws fast out of the gate
One of the teams that benefited the most is clearly the Houston Outlaws, who secured a 2-0 week with victories over the London Spitfire and the Boston Uprising. Houston looked incredible this past week, utilising a myriad of suddenly viable heroes while also looking improved in team coordination.
The two DPS players in JAKE and LiNkzr in particular stood out, yet for largely opposite reasons. JAKE showed quality in his hero depth, playing the likes of Hanzo, Brigitte and Pharah to a high rate of success. On the other side of the coin, LiNkzr primarily played Widowmaker, looking brilliant on the long-range sniper in particular in his ability to out-snipe the opposing Widow.
Houston have another difficult test next week, with the ever-rising Los Angeles Gladiators slated as their first opponent.
Fusion return to form
Another squad that came barreling out of the gate was that of the Philadelphia Fusion, who finally returned to their Stage 2 form with a 2-0 week over the Boston Uprising and the Florida Mayhem. Philadelphia were one of the most disappointing teams in Stage 3, following up a Stage 2 Finals appearance by missing the playoffs completely by finishing eighth.
The curious part of Philly’s success this week was their continued domination when utilising the dive composition; the exact type of play that was expected to suffer this stage with nerfs to Tracer coupled with the introduction of anti-dive hero Brigitte. Philadelphia already appear to be a top contender though due to the addition of Main Tank SADO after serving his 30-game suspension for account boosting prior to signing for the team.
Dragons still losing
In by far their best chance to date to secure their first win all season, the Shanghai Dragons came up short against both the Dallas Fuel and the Los Angeles Valiant. The loss to the Valiant is of no shame, with them coming off a playoff appearance in Stage 3 alongside an opening win against Seoul Dynasty. However, Dallas are in the midst of a nose dive, with their far and away best player EFFECT taking a break for an unknown length of time. Shanghai had high hopes with Geguri returning to her fabled Zarya in this meta, but there was a clear lack of understanding on how to play against Brigitte, which sealed the Dragons’ fate.
Next week is absolutely brutal for Shanghai, with the suddenly surging Philadelphia Fusion and the back-to-back stage champions New York Excelsior due up.
Seoul miss opportunity
Another team that struggled this week was Seoul Dynasty, who fell to both the Los Angeles Valiant (in overtime) as well as the San Francisco Shock. Seoul are still looking to reinvent themselves with star Support turned Main Tank ryujehong continuing to see playing time over Miro.
These are crucial matches that Seoul could not afford to lose, now falling one game back of the Valiant in the overall standings of the Pacific Division. Next week brings another difficult slate of games, with New York Excelsior alongside London Spitfire.
Spitfire stumble
The same London Spitfire side had a predictably tough start to the season, with losses to the Houston Outlaws and the New York Excelsior. Even during their peak play in Stage 1 London struggled with Houston, while there is no shame in losing to the reigning champions in the Excelsior. The return of birdring appeared to bear decent fruit against New York at least, as the series was nearly pushed to an overtime map.
London have a better shot at bouncing back next week compared to Seoul, with their other match-up against the San Francisco Shock.
Conclusion
What has become obvious with the new patch is that some significant changes are underway. New York Excelsior continue to play well, but there are now opportunities for the likes of Houston and Philadelphia to make a late charge before the Playoff places are set.
