There is now only one undefeated team left in the Overwatch League this season.
The New York Excelsior lost to the Atlanta Reign -- just a week after the Reign lost to the winless Valiant -- for their first regular season loss. The Vancouver Titans are now the sole team on top of the Overwatch League standings.
They are not the only team on top of the Stage 2 standings, however. There are still four teams undefeated in Stage 2, including one team that has yet to lose a map this stage (the Shock).
While it may be easy to pick out the league's top teams, it quickly gets murky behind them. Not helping is the Reign's loss to the Guangzhou Charge -- a team that entered the week without a map win in five matches -- soon after defeating the Excelsior.
Eight teams will now head east to play in Dallas for the league's first ever home matches. While this is a test for the Overwatch League to determine feasibility and fan enthusiasm for home games, this is also a test for teams to determine if any players have jitters from traveling away from the Blizzard Arena.
Image credit: Ben Pursell for Blizzard Entertainment
1. (-) Vancouver Titans (12-0)
In their 12 regular season matches this season, 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 have lost eight maps. That means the Titans lose less than one map per match, on average.
2. (-) San Francisco Shock (9-3)
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 can one-up that -- at least for this stage. They sit at 20-0 in maps this stage. That's two less maps lost than the Titans.
3. (-) New York Excelsior (12-1)
Yes, 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 lost last week. Yes, the loss was to a team that just gave the Valiant their first win of the season. Yes, it was a match where the team looked far worse than normal and Mano seemed constantly caught out. No, the Gladiators did not look good enough to warrant moving the Excelsior down following the result.
4. (-) Los Angeles Gladiators (9-4)
Only the Boston Uprising stand in between 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 and an undefeated Stage 2 regular season. It's an impressive rebound for a Gladiators team that started the season 1-4 and are now quietly riding an eight match win streak. Still, the Gladiators don't look nearly as dominant as the three teams ahead of them. They have only swept one team this stage despite their schedule including the Charge, Mayhem and Valiant. They're a very good team, but I wouldn't say they're a dominant team.
5. (+1) London Spitfire (7-4)
Speaking of teams that are quietly putting together win streaks, 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 are 4-0 in Stage 2. This includes only two lost maps (and two draws). As said last week, their schedule hasn't been particularly difficult. Nonetheless, teams deserve credit for putting away the opponents they're supposed to beat (looking at you NYXL). If the Spitfire keep this up, they may just go 7-0 this stage.
6. (+1) Seoul Dynasty (5-5)
Do not be fooled by 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 's 5-5 record or their 1-2 stage record. They look like a good team right now -- or at least a team that's better than most of the league. They took care of a hot Dallas Fuel without dropping a map. Their record should get a boost as long as they don't lose form playing in Dallas as they take on both the Outlaws and Valiant in the homestand.
7. (+2) Philadelphia Fusion (8-5)
As said before about the Spitfire, 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 get credit for beating the teams they're supposed to beat. The Excelsior beat them comfortably, but they didn't let the Outlaws take a map (it would have been alarming if they did). At no point have the Fusion really looked impressive this season, however they have also not looked terrible at any point in the season. Treat the Fusion as the dividing line between teams that are trending upward and teams that are in bad form.
8. (-3) Dallas Fuel (6-5)
The moment you begin to get excited about 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 , they disappoint to keep expectations realistic. Sure, a sweep to the Vancouver Titans is something a lot of teams go through and is nothing to be ashamed of. However, getting swept by the Seoul Dynasty is concerning. The Dynasty are better than their record suggests, but not so good that the Fuel shouldn't be able to at least keep the match competitive.
9. (+3) Shanghai Dragons (6-6)
For the first time in team history, 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 are ranked in the top 10 of a midseason ranking. Another first is also possible for the team. If they beat the Justice in their first Week 5 match, the Dragons may have a winning record for the first time in team history.
10. (-) Chengdu Hunters (5-6)
If the last two weeks are any indication, 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 ' brief time in the sun may have ended. However, there is still a chance for the league's most popular team to get back on track. They need to win two out of their final three matches in Stage 2 to end the stage with a winning record and a chance at the stage playoffs. That's quite possible with a remaining Stage 2 schedule of the Spark, Spitfire and Valiant.
11. (-3) Boston Uprising (6-6)
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 face a similar punishment as the Dallas Fuel. A defeat to the Titans is expected and a sweep isn't that unthinkable. However, the Uprising should have been able to remain more competitive with the Spitfire.
12. (+2) Paris Eternal (5-6)
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 been awarded two spots for not losing last week. Sure, they didn't play last week, but several teams would have looked better had they simply not played at all.
13. (-2) Toronto Defiant (6-6)
Losing in a sweep to the San Francisco Shock isn't nearly as bad as being swept by the Dallas Fuel, but back-to-back sweeps serve as further evidence of 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 's plummet since Stage 1 ended.
14. (-1) Hangzhou Spark (5-6)
It's about time 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 consider experimenting with Krystal on Zarya. He has been the team's stand-out DPS player thus far in the short period he has gotten to play on stage. The switch worked well for the Spitfire when they moved their best DPS player in Profit from Brigitte to Zarya. There's a chance it might not make the team anymore successful, but it's at least worth a shot for a struggling team with high preseason expectations.
15. (+1) Los Angeles Valiant (2-9)
With their second win of the season, 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 now fully separated themselves from the league's bottom two teams == each of who have just one win. They Valiant are still not a good team, but at least they aren't the very bottom of the barrel anymore.
16. (+1) Atlanta Reign (6-7)
This week's 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 may very well be the hardest single team to rank in any week this season. The Reign did a good job of separating Mano from his teammates and punishing his aggression, but then failed to carry that over to their next match against the floundering Charge. The team is still struggling, but at least they showed their potential against the Excelsior.
17. (+1) Guangzhou Charge (4-9)
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 ended their map losing streak by taking two off of the Spark. They then ended their match losing streak when they beat the Reign. That's progress.
18. (-3) Houston Outlaws (3-7)
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 have managed a single map win this stage. That glimmer of promise they showed in their match against the Titans? It's already gone.
19. (-) Washington Justice (1-11)
sleepy is definitely an upgrade for 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 at flex support and the team now has a pretty decent support line between him and ArK . The Justice made it apparent they don't like to ease in their new players, though. sleepy played his match for the Justice the same day they announced he was on the roster. Talk about a trial by fire.
20. (-) Florida Mayhem (1-12)
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 have a surprising knack for taking a singular map off of their opponents this stage.
Weekly Wrap-up
The Dallas Fuel Homestand Weekend will be an exciting first for the Overwatch League and may be a sneak peek into the logistics of league travel.
It may also be a preview into league scheduling.
Eight teams will only play eight matches on Saturday and Sunday as opposed to the regular slate of games spread from Thursday to Sunday. Fewer teams, fewer matches, and fewer days on the schedule are all in store for teams this week as the Fuel play in front of their home crowd.
This will surely be a welcome break for many teams. However, even the teams that don't play must be ranked. Next week's power rankings could become difficult.