The final week of Stage 3 before Atlanta's home weekend has come with more upsets and close matches.
Included in the lists of both upsets and close matches was the Shock's 3-2 defeat at the p̶a̶w̶s̶ hands of the Chengdu Hunters. That defeat marks the third straight week these rankings' number one team has lost.
For most of the league's teams, Stage 3's regular season has ended. For eight teams, there is still one more week to be played in the Peach State.
Among those teams are Stage 3's only undefeated team and all three teams that have gone winless in Stage 3. Of the three winless teams, only the Reign and Defiant play each other, meaning there is a possibility two teams go winless in Stage 3.
Seven teams have locked themselves into the Stage 3 playoffs. As for the eighth spot, the Dragons are in pretty good shape to clinch their way in and just need a win over the Fusion to do so.
So here are how Scrub's OWL Power Rankings look entering the final week of Stage 3.
Image credit: Ben Pursell for Blizzard Entertainment
1. (+1) Vancouver Titans (20-1)
The dance between 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
and the Shock for the number one spot continues this week as the Titans take it over once again. They looked much better running Sombra compositions with
Stitch
in to play Sombra and with
JJANU
substituted out to let
SeoMinSoo
play Zarya. This might be the lineup that wins the Stage 3 title.
2. (+2) Hangzhou Spark (14-7)
For the first time in ages, there is a new team entering the top three. 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
have played well throughout Stage 3 -- in fact, they nearly beat out the Titans for the Pacific team with the best Stage 3 record. Their close victories over the Valiant and Dynasty proved they can beat good teams and they now find themselves firmly in the top four of the season's standings.
3. (-) New York Excelsior (17-2)
A slow start against the Fuel keeps 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
from taking the second spot in this week's rankings. However, barring any disasters, the Excelsior should finish Stage 3 undefeated and only one game behind the Titans for the best record in the league. The Excelsior are in great shape and will be eager to prove themselves in the Stage 3 playoffs.
4. (-3) San Francisco Shock (16-5)
It's not easy to pin down why 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
have been slow to make the changes necessary to adapt to Stage 3's meta -- it could be that they've continued to win most of their games and thus have been reluctant to make changes, it may be that they realized they needed to adapt too late and now don't want to bother adapting to a meta that will soon be out the door (assuming that 2-2-2 lock is indeed coming in Stage 4) or it could simply be that they cannot adapt well. It's unlikely the stage playoffs will give us any clearer of a picture, so we may need to wait until next stage to find out.
5. (-) Los Angeles Valiant (8-13)
Don't look now, the once 0-8
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
are now in the top 12. That's trouble for the other teams on the bubble of the top 12.
6. (-) Seoul Dynasty (12-9)
After floating around .500 for much of the season, 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
are finally stringing together wins. They're now in position to contend for a top six spot to automatically qualify for the postseason playoffs.
7. (-) Shanghai Dragons (11-8)
Two wins in Atlanta will push 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
to a 6-1 record in Stage 3 and a 13-8 record, good enough for sixth place, on the season. They've slowly gotten better with time this season and have quietly put themselves in contention for an automatic bid into the postseason playoffs.
8. (-) Los Angeles Gladiators (13-8)
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
were unlucky enough to run into the Titans right as they found their magic in this meta with their new lineup. Still, they should be playing the top teams more competitively at this point in the season.
9. (+2) Houston Outlaws (8-13)
While 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 looked pretty good this stage, they haven't played any good teams since beating the Shock. They're locked into the stage playoffs and will have plenty of good competition there to prove themselves against.
10. (-1) London Spitfire (12-9)
Under no circumstances should
Profit
be on 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
bench. He is the team's star player and is a dark horse MVP candidate. Sitting him against the Shock was not the correct way to try and adapt to Stage 3's meta.
11. (-1) Philadelphia Fusion (11-8)
It's true that 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
look better when playing DPS heroes as opposed to GOATs, but the difference isn't enough to convince me they'll be in good shape once the meta changes. Yes, their mostly unchanged starting lineup finished second last season. However, they were the sixth and final team to make last season's playoffs and this is a new season with better teams. I have confidence they'll make the play-in tournament, but I have doubts they'll make it further.
12. (+2) Chengdu Hunters (9-12)
Time and time again 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
look done. They lose too often to weaker teams and it seems their plummet through the standings is inevitable. Time and time again they then upset a much better team -- or at least put up a good fight -- and look like they have a chance at fighting for the playoffs again. This week's high was incredibly short -- right after they beat the Shock they lost in a devastating 3-0 to the Dynasty.
13. (-1) Guangzhou Charge (7-12)
Week 5 will give 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
an opportunity to rematch the Dragons immediately following their 3-1 defeat to the team. A victory over such a tough team would be a huge boost for the Charge as they enter the race for a spot in the postseason's play-in tournament.
14. (-1) Paris Eternal (8-13)
After a 3-1 start to Stage 3, 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
looked poised to make their first ever stage playoffs. Three straight losses led to that quickly falling by the wayside. Still, they aren't the worst of the worst. The Eternal are by no means spectacular, but they've done enough to put themselves in play-in contention.
15. (+1) Dallas Fuel (10-11)
Taimou
helped 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
put up a good fight against Stage 3's only unbeaten team in a performance that brought excitement and was reminiscent of his Envy days. His later substitution out of the match reveals a problem with having both
aKm
and Taimou on the same team that has persisted since the beginning: their hero pools are too similar to play both. That means the Fuel must play one or the other and if the Fuel wanted aKm for any reason (that reason being that they could play GOATs with him on Zarya), then Taimou had to leave the game.
16. (-1) Boston Uprising (8-13)
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
can finally breathe a sigh of relief as their nightmarish Stage 3 has come to an end. They lose a spot this week because losing in five maps to the Fusion is less impressive than losing in five maps to the Excelsior.
17. (-) Atlanta Reign (7-12)
All five of 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 matches to open Stage 3 have been against teams with winning records. Their final two matches are against a pair near the bottom of the standings and thus should be winnable for the Reign.
18. (-) Toronto Defiant (7-12)
It's hard to get a good read on how 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 new additions fit into the lineup after just one week of play. The players will likely need some time to gel and get accustomed to playing with their new teammates in this new environment. Unfortunately, the Defiant don't have a lot of time to let
Logix
and
Mangachu
do that -- they only have nine matches left to get themselves back into position to make the postseason play-in tournament.
19. (-) Florida Mayhem (2-17)
There isn't much to say about 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
except that their match against the Spark went as expected.
20. (-) Washington Justice (2-17)
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 yet to go winless in a stage this season. If they lose their two matches this upcoming week in Atlanta, Stage 3 will be a different story.
Weekly Wrap-up
The majority of the teams playing in Atlanta's Homestand Weekend will miss the stage playoffs, meaning that most of the teams in the stage playoffs will enter it with a one week break.
It will be interesting to see how that works against or for the Excelsior and the Dragons (assuming they qualify for the stage playoffs) when they play against rested opponents the following week.