Stage 2 and the first half of the Overwatch League regular season have come to an end.
For just the second time this season, all 20 Overwatch League teams have played the same number of games. Everyone has 14 matches under their belt and just 14 more matches to end in playoff contention.
Those teams played seven of their matches in Stage 2, jockeying for a spot in the Stage 2 playoffs within those seven matches. Only eight teams could qualify, and the rest will get an extra week off during this extended break at the halfway point in the season.
This is the final week of matches between Overwatch League franchises until next month. After this weekend, fans will bide their time between Stages 2 and 3 with the Contenders showdowns and the Overwatch League All-Star Weekend.
The eight teams playing this weekend will hope to enter the extended break on a high note. Perhaps some teams can establish themselves as threats to the league's top teams.
Here are Scrub's Power Rankings following Stage 2 Week 5 of the Overwatch League.
Image credit: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment
1. (-) Vancouver Titans (14-0)
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
have now tied the Boston Uprising's record of 14 straight regular season matches won in a row and surpassed their record of 15 straight total matches won (the Titans have won their last 17). It's safe to say they're tough to beat.
2. (-) San Francisco Shock (11-3)
It was tempting to move 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
up to the top spot after they secured the Overwatch League's only perfect stage with their 28-0 map record. It it hard to fathom the Stage 2 finals will be anything other than a rematch between the Titans and Shock. Hello unstoppable force, meet immovable object.
3. (-) New York Excelsior (12-2)
Once again 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 to the Atlanta Reign. They hold onto rank three solely because the Gladiators also lost in a match they should have won and no one under the Gladiators has proven worthy of a top four spot.
4. (-) Los Angeles Gladiators (9-5)
As a result of their losses this past week, 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
will be the fourth seed in the Stage 2 playoffs and the Excelsior will be the fifth seed. That means the two will face each other in the first match of Stage 2 between any of the stage's top four teams.
5. (+1) London Spitfire (9-5)
While 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
will enter the Stage 2 playoffs with a higher seed than both the Excelsior and the Gladiators, none of their performances have convinced me they should be higher than either team. Still, they have rebounded nicely from an up-and-down Stage 1 and have solidified themselves as one of the league's better teams.
6. (-1) Seoul Dynasty (7-7)
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
missed the Stage 2 playoffs after playing the Titans twice and the Gladiators once during the stage. The loss to the Spark was concerning, but isn't a reason to panic.
7. (+1) Dallas Fuel (9-5)
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
have quietly put themselves in sixth in the overall league standings with a 9-5 match record. Should they finish the season in the same place, they will automatically qualify for the postseason playoffs. Sure, much of that success has been built off of the league's weaker teams, but don't use that to discredit the Fuel. There are only four to six teams in the league that actually look strong.
8. (+3) Hangzhou Spark (8-6)
With their win over the Seoul Dynasty, 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
are now beating good teams and are doing so whether
Adora
or
Krystal
is in their lineup. The Spark have a chance to make a real statement this weekend when they play the Spitfire in the first round of the stage playoffs. In fact, their performance against the Spitfire will be our lasting memory of how seriously to take the Spark for the next month.
9. (-) Shanghai Dragons (7-7)
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 qualified for their first ever stage playoffs. Yes, they made it with an average 13-13-2 (W/L/T) map record. And yeah, three of their wins were against the league's worst three teams. Still, no one could imagine such success for this franchise last year.
10. (+5) Atlanta Reign (7-7)
You wouldn't be blamed for thinking 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 first win over the Excelsior was a fluke (I certainly did). It's hard to argue it's a fluke after their second win. The Reign have looked weak throughout most of Stage 2, but their performances against the Excelsior in their last two matches should be enough to give the team confidence moving forward. Their 7-7 record currently leaves them in position to make the play-in tournament at the end of the season.
11. (-4) Philadelphia Fusion (8-6)
At last, the people are getting what they want!
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
are essentially the line separating the league's good teams from bad, and last week enough teams looked good to warrant moving the Fusion down.
Regardless of where they're ranked, however, the Fusion remain in pretty good shape in the standings. The Atlantic Division has four of the league's bottom six and only two of the league's top six. They must play every Atlantic team twice this season and have already played the division's top two teams (the Excelsior and the Spitfire) twice. Their schedule lends itself favorably to at least making the play-in tournament after beginning the season with an 8-6 record.
12. (-) Boston Uprising (7-7)
In the same week 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
beat the Gladiators, they lost to the Justice. How is anyone supposed to rank that performance?
13. (+3) Los Angeles Valiant (3-11)
While finishing with a winning record is likely a lost cause for the 3-11
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
, there is certainly still room for the Valiant to rise in the standings before the end of the season. They're still not a good team, but they don't really look like one of the league's worst teams at this point either.
14. (-4) Chengdu Hunters (6-8)
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
have now lost four of their last five matches. As stated in previous weeks, the Hunters are high on upset potential, but are not a great team otherwise. Still, their performance so far is redemption for a Chinese Overwatch scene embarrassed by the performance of the Dragons last season.
15. (-1) Toronto Defiant (7-7)
The only reason 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
were spared from a losing record at this point in the season was the Paris Eternal. Their losing streak was halted and some confidence was likely restored, but changes are still needed if they hope to end up in playoff contention at the end of the season.
16. (+1) Guangzhou Charge (5-9)
I would like to sign a petition to rename 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
into
Shu
's Money Crew.
17. (-4) Paris Eternal (5-9)
Between now and 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
's next match is the Atlantic Showdown. They should carefully scout the players in that tournament (and beyond) to fill their last two roster spots and improve their team. They could use the boost in talent.
18. (+1) Washington Justice (2-12)
Prior to
sleepy
joining 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
, the Justice were 1-10. That's a .091 win rate. Since then, the Justice are 1-2. That's a .333 win rate. That's a gross misuse of statistics but the Justice should be praised anyway for breaking from their contemporaries at the bottom of the table and actually improving their roster.
19. (-1) Houston Outlaws (3-11)
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
were swept in clean 4-0s three times in Stage 2 and lost in a 3-0 one other time. That means they failed to win a map in over half their matches this stage. I know no one has ever said this, but the Outlaws should probably look to improve their roster.
20. (-) Florida Mayhem (1-13)
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
had a better map record than the Outlaws did this stage and that's something to be proud of.
Weekly Wrap-up
There will be little change in the rankings next week as only eight teams -- all of which are in the top nine of these rankings -- will play next week. After that, Scrub's Power Rankings will enter hibernation as the league gives its players and staff (at least those not involved in the All-Star Weekend) an extended break. Vacation is good for everybody.