If one thing is clear in the first couple of weeks of the 2019 Overwatch League season, it's that anyone can win any match.
There are only two winless teams left in the league and only three teams with unblemished records. Two teams that started 2-0 in first week ended the second with a 2-2 record.
While parity makes for an exciting league, it does not make for easy ranking. Teams have already made a habit of looking good in one game and bad in the next during the same week.
Still, the teams have been ordered from one to 20 in the newest set of power rankings. An effort was made to keep some semblance of stability, and therefore last week's rankings played a large part in where teams were ranked this week.
The third edition of Scrub's power rankings are upon us just as the league's third week is set to be underway.
Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment
1. (+2) Vancouver Titans (3-0)
The Vancouver Titans Vancouver Titans OWL Rank #19 Aspire Luka Rolovic dps MirroR Chris Trịnh dps False Nick Wiseman tank Masaa Petja Kantanen support Aztac Park Jeong-soo (박정수) support take over the top spot after a spotless second week. While their game with the Guangzhou Charge was uncomfortably close, they dismantled the San Francisco Shock. So far, RunAway's transition from Contenders to the Overwatch League has been smooth.
2. (-) New York Excelsior (4-0)
This week looked a little bit better for the New York Excelsior New York Excelsior OWL Rank #18 Gangnamjin Gang Nam-jin (강남진) flex support Myunb0ng Seo Sang-min (서상민) flex support Flora Lim Young-woo (임영우) dps Yaki Kim Jun-gi (김준기) dps Kellan Kim Min-jae tank as they beat a Valiant team that is likely better than their record suggests and followed that up by rolling over the Outlaws. They're the first team to clinch a winning record in Stage 1. They've picked it up right where the 2018 regular season champions left off.
3. (+4) Paris Eternal (2-0)
While they haven't played very many matches thus far, the Paris Eternal Paris Eternal OWL Rank #20 Kaan Emir Kaan Okumus flex support Glister Lim Gil-seong (임길성) dps Wub Cameron Johnson dps Dove Jesse Palomo dps Malthel Josh Gonzales dps Daan Daniël Vincentius Paulus Scheltema tank Krawi tank dridro Arthur Szanto support Lukemino Luke Fish support Rakattack Kyle Rakauskas support have looked solid the few times they've stepped onto the stage. Their final few weeks of Stage 1 will be a tough five matches that could allow them to cement themselves as a top team early in the season. They play against the Reign, the Titans, the Shock and the Fusion over the next few weeks.
4. (-3) Philadelphia Fusion (2-2)
The Philadelphia Fusion Philadelphia Fusion OWL Rank #11 AimGod Min-seok Kwon flex support MN3 Yoon Jae-hee dps ZEST Kim Hyun-woo (김현우) dps Belosrea tank FiXa Kwon Young Hoon (권영훈) support 's week may be cause for concern, but I am hesitant to punish them too much for a week of matches they played without a dedicated flex support player. For now, the Fusion are given the benefit of the doubt. That will change if the team continues to struggle once Boombox returns to the lineup next week.
5. (-1) San Francisco Shock (1-2)
The San Francisco Shock San Francisco Shock OWL Rank #2 Viol2t Park Min-ki flex support Finn Oh Se-jin (오세진) flex support Proper Kim Dong-hyeon (김동현) dps s9mm Samuel Santos dps Coluge Colin Arai tank should have played Titans to a closer game. Instead, the Shock were on the verge of being swept until a last map win ended the series 3-1. The Shock have an opportunity to turn around their losing record this week with matches against the Spark and the Justice.
6. (+3) Atlanta Reign (2-1)
The Atlanta Reign Atlanta Reign OWL Rank #10 Kai Kai Collins dps nero Charlie Zwarg dps Hawk Xander Domecq tank UltraViolet Benjamin David support Ojee Christian Han support 's 9-4 map record is the best of any team outside of the undefeated three. They look solid early, but face a Paris Eternal squad that has looked strong thus far in their only Week 3 match. A win over the Eternal will certainly be enough to vault the squad into the top five.
7. (+3) Seoul Dynasty (2-1)
The Seoul Dynasty Seoul Dynasty OWL Rank #3 Ir1s Kim Seung-Hyun (김승현) FITS Kim Dong-eon (김동언) dps Profit Park Joon-yeong (박준영) dps smurf Yoo Myeong-Hwan tank Vindaim Junwoo Park support rebounded from their atrocious match with the Fuel to sweep the Hunters 4-0. Among their matches next week is one against the New York Excelsior. A win there will go a long way for erasing that match from memory for good.
8. (-2) Los Angeles Gladiators (1-2)
The toughest schedule of Stage 1 may belong to the Los Angeles Gladiators Los Angeles Gladiators OWL Rank #4 Shu Kim Jin-seo flex support kevster Kevin Persson dps Patiphan Patiphan Chaiwong dps Reiner Corey Scoda tank FunnyAstro Daniel Hathaway support . All three of their opening matches have been against teams ranked in the top seven of these rankings. Three of their final four are also against teams in the top 10. Escaping Stage 1 with a winning record will be no small feat and doing so would ensure the Gladiators stay in the top 10 themselves.
9. (-4) Hangzhou Spark (2-2)
After starting 2-0, the Hangzhou Spark Hangzhou Spark OWL Rank #6 BERNAR Shin Se-won (신세원) off tank irony Kim Hyeong-woo (김형우) flex support Shy Zheng Yangjie (郑杨杰) dps AlphaYi Kim Joon (김준) dps guxue Xu Qiulin (徐秋林) tank superich Wu Gengtuo (吴梗拓) support lost twice this week, including one to a very beatable Houston Outlaws team. Their schedule next week is far from easy -- they play the Shock and the Gladiators. The Spark need to win at least one of those to have a chance at a winning record in Stage 1. That will be no small feat given the quality of their opposition.
10. (+1) London Spitfire (2-2)
The London Spitfire London Spitfire OWL Rank #12 Landon flex support SparkR William Andersson dps Backbone Jamie O'Neill dps Hadi Daniel Bleinagel tank Admiral Oliver Vahar support put up a much better showing in Week 2 after falling flat on their faces in Week 1. If the Spitfire have indeed found their footing in this meta, the rest of the league should be worried.
11. (+1) Dallas Fuel (2-2)
The Dallas Fuel Dallas Fuel OWL Rank #1 Fielder Kwon Joon (권준) flex support Doha Kim Dong-Ha (김동하) dps SP9RK1E Kim Young-han (김영한) dps FEARLESS Lee Eui-seok (이의석) tank ChiYo Han Hyeon-syuk (한현석) support continue to be up and down. This week, they were swept by the Guangzhou Charge before defeating the Fusion 3-1. The Fuel will remain near the middle of the rankings until they start trending, whether negatively or positively.
12. (+3) Toronto Defiant (2-1)
A win against the Los Angeles Valiant should be the proof the Toronto Defiant Toronto Defiant OWL Rank #14 Twilight Lee Joo-seok (이주석) flex support Heesu Jeong Hee-su (정희수) dps Finale dps MuZe Kim Young-hun (김영훈) tank Ch0r0ng support need to prove they're for real. The Defiant have the Excelsior up next. A win could help push them into the top 10.
13. (-5) Los Angeles Valiant (0-3)
The Los Angeles Valiant Los Angeles Valiant OWL Rank #15 Molly He Chengzhi (何诚智) flex support Diya Lu Weida (陆炜达) dps innovation Oh Seok-hyun (오석현) dps Becky Il-ha Kim (김일하) dps Ezhan dps Marve1 Hwang Min-seo (황민서) tank Lengsa Chen Jingyi (陈婧逸) support have played every match close. They've played against good teams. Regardless, 0-3 is still 0-3 and their place in the rankings need to reflect that. They play the top-ranked Titans and a Charge team that looked much better last week. There's a chance the Valiant could drop to 0-5.
14. (-) Shanghai Dragons (1-2)
The Shanghai Dragons Shanghai Dragons OWL Rank #5 Izayaki Kim Min-chul (김민철) flex support Void Kang Jun-woo (강준우) off tank Fleta Kim Byung-sun (김병선) dps LIP Lee Jae-won (이재원) dps Fate Koo Pan-seung (구판승) tank LeeJaeGon Lee Jae-gon (이재곤) support have finally won a match after going winless for the first 42 matches in their history. Gamsu seems to be settling in with his new teammates and the future looks brighter than it has ever been for the Dragons.
15. (+2) Guangzhou Charge (1-2)
The Guangzhou Charge Guangzhou Charge OWL Rank #9 Cr0ng Nam Ki-cheol (남기철) off tank Farway1987 Cao Jiale (曹家乐) flex support choisehwan Choi Se-Hwan (최세환) dps Develop Chae Rak-hoon (채락훈) dps Rio Oh Seung-pyo (오승표) tank Unique Yoo Dong-hyun support nearly took the series win against the Vancouver Titans Vancouver Titans OWL Rank #19 Aspire Luka Rolovic dps MirroR Chris Trịnh dps False Nick Wiseman tank Masaa Petja Kantanen support Aztac Park Jeong-soo (박정수) support in a week that looked much better than their first. The only reason the Charge didn't move higher is because the parity of the first couple of weeks has left little room for other teams to move up. They won't stay so low in the rankings for long if they can keep up their performance from Week 2, however.
16. (-) Chengdu Hunters (2-1)
The Chengdu Hunters Chengdu Hunters OWL Rank #13 Mmonk Zhou Xiang (周翔) flex support Daizi Ni Yuandong (倪远东) off tank Jinmu Yi Hu (易虎) dps Leave Huang Xin (黄馨) dps GA9A Qiu Jiaxin (仇佳鑫) tank Nisha Tan Li (谭力) support are now 2-1 after going 1-1 on the week. Their performances thus far seem to establish that they're better than the teams at the bottom of the league but not better than any of the top teams.
17. (+2) Florida Mayhem (1-2)
A victory over the Philadelphia Fusion, with or without Boombox, is huge for the Florida Mayhem Florida Mayhem OWL Rank #8 SirMajed Majed Alrashied flex support Checkmate Baek Seung-hun dps Hydron Isaiah Rodriguez dps someone tank ANAMO Jeong Tae-seong (정태성) support . Their next match of the week, a loss to the Chengdu Hunters, kicked off a string of five straight matches against every other team ranked 15 through 20 in these rankings. Their performance in these matches should clearly define where the Mayhem stand at the end of this stage.
18. (-) Houston Outlaws (1-3)
The Houston Outlaws Houston Outlaws OWL Rank #7 Lastro Moon Jung-won (문정원) flex support creative Kim Young-wan (김영완) flex support Danteh Dante Cruz dps Pelican Oh Se-hyun (오세현) dps Mer1t Choi Tae-min dps Piggy Shin Min-jun tank followed a good victory over the Hangzhou Spark with a pitiful performance against the Excelsior. They only captured a single point during the entirety of the match. In a first couple of weeks in which almost everyone has gotten a win, their victory over the Spark stands out a lot less than how badly they loss to the Excelsior.
19. (-6) Boston Uprising (1-2)
Originally, the Boston Uprising Boston Uprising OWL Rank #16 Valentine Kim Byoungju dps punk Leyton Gilchrist tank Faith Hong Gyu Kim support Crimzo William Hernandez support were brought so far down the rankings because it was ruled Week 1's star main tank Fusions was ineligible for the remainder of Stage 1. Since then, Uprising general manager Huk has revealed Fusions can return to action next week. The rankings were finalized earlier this week, so the Uprising won't be moved back up. Nonetheless, let this rankings be a testament to how bad the prospects were for the Uprising when they were without Fusions.
20. (-) Washington Justice (0-2)
Despite being only one of two teams yet to earn a week in the first two weeks, the Washington Justice Washington Justice OWL Rank #17 Decay Jang Gui-un (장귀운) dps Happy Lee Jung-woo (이정우) dps Mag Kim Tae-sung (김태성) tank Krillin Jeong Young-hoon support Opener An Gi-beom support have some positives to take away. They took a map off of the Excelsior and two off of the Spitfire. Only time will tell if they can convert map wins into match wins.
Weekly Wrap-up
Matches in the Overwatch League thus far have proven to be unpredictable. Should that trend continue, we should get an interesting stage playoffs. That and wildly changing power rankings.