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.