A Week in the Overwatch League - Stage 2 Week 1

And so Stage 2 finally begins! It feels like an age since the end of Stage 1 two weeks ago, but this week the Overwatch League has kicked off again with a bang . After some much needed recuperation, not to mention a few roster changes here and there, every team was back with a vengeance to begin the second leg of their Overwatch League journey. So with a few format changes in mind let’s take a look and see how they all did in the first of five weeks before the Stage 2 playoffs!

Match Results

 NOTE: All match dates are synced to GMT.

Players of the Week

Bunny - Soeul Dynasty                                                

Bunny is a DPS player. Not only that, he’s an Overwatch League standard DPS player. That position alone should be more than enough to convince you that he is a player of exceptional skill. In the matches he played this week Bunny really came alive for Soeul, leading his team to very one sided victories against both Valiant and the Shock. He’s widely considered one of the best Tracer players in the League, and when compared to those like Saebyeolbe that’s high praise indeed.

Pine - New York Excelsior               

Surprise surprise, it’s Pine! Nothing I say here hasn’t been said before. Pine is a monster of a player, and if left unchecked he can and most likely will demolish any team almost single handedly. You may wonder then why NYXL don’t play Pine in every match if he’s as dominant as the rumours say. The answer is simple; Pine is Excel’s wild card. His record is not flawless, and his heavy focus on flanking strategies can end just as poorly for him and his team as it could for their opponents. But when it does work, there are few who could hope to stand up to the legend himself.

Boink - Houston Outlaws            

Boink didn’t see a whole lot of play in Stage 1, most likely due to the very prominent Mercy meta that was in effect, and Mercy is not a hero he’s that comfortable with. But alas, Mercy has fallen from grace, and the other supports now have a chance to shine once more. Enter Boink, who’s outstanding Lúcio play did wonders for his team, most notably against the Stage 1 champions London Spitfire. Support players very rarely see the limelight in many games where the DPS stars tend to steal the show. So when a rare case like Boink appears it would be remiss for us to not give them worthy praise.

Taimou - Dallas Fuel               

Every team needs good Tank players; they disrupt the enemy team’s assaults and lead the charge for their own team, and they are often the ones deciding the pace of the match. The Overwatch League as a whole is naturally then full of superb Tank players on every team. Taimou stood out from that crowd this week for being the anchor that his team revolved around. It can be easy for players to not get recognition for their skills if they don’t show up much in the killfeed, but Taimou’s excellent ability to call shots for his team and control the pace of his matches are ultimately what led Fuel to such a successful first week for Stage 2.

Standings