A week has gone by and all 16 teams of Contenders North America have completed their first match of the new season. With an almost entirely new lineup compared to last season, a week one performance can set the tone for the rest of the season.
Trials teams took their first steps into Contenders proper, while the returning teams look to repeat or exceed previous performances. With plenty of debuts and rookie performances, here are Frozen’s week 1 North America Power Rankings.
1. Team Envy (-) (1-0 | 4-0) (Match record | Map record)
Team Envy
Team Envy
Inactive
Finnsi
Finnbjörn Jónasson
off tank
AFoxx
Fabio Veigas
flex support
kevster
Kevin Persson
dps
ONIGOD
Stefan Fiskerstrand
dps
Salieri
Carter Harrison
tank
Ojee
Christian Han
support
, with their new tankline, look very solid. While they did not completely roll over Wave Check, they had the upper hand throughout the match. Second Wind and Revival should prove to be more capable opponents.
2. ATL Academy (-) (1-0 | 4-0)
Well, FunnyAstro called his shot, and so far the team has made good on his 28-0 callout. Kodak has been slotted in fairly well and the squad has not lost a step since the Atlantic Showdown. Similar to Envy, their week two and three opponents should prove a better litmus test.
3. Gladiators Legion (-) (1-0 | 3-1)
Stand1 and eMIL are a surprisingly good tank tandem and they have improved the team even more from last season. It is going to be interesting how the team will integrate Panker back into the lineup given Stand1’s impressive debut.
4. Revival (+2) (1-0 | 3-2)
You know, somehow I forgot this was
Mayhem Academy
Mayhem Academy
Inactive
. The team looked about the same as last season even with the new frontline. I'm even kind of liking
Apply
on Zarya. However, the poaching bug has struck already as Head Coach
reprize
has moved up to help the retooling Los Angeles Valiant. To replace him,
Curryshot
has been promoted to head coach alongside new coach
Hqrdest
. I don’t think a coaching change should negatively affect this team given the experience of everyone involved and the familiarity with Curryshot. I’m personally saddened that hqrdest isn’t playing this season, however.
5. Second Wind (-) (0-1 | 2-3)
Despite their loss against
Revival
Revival
Inactive
Tr33
dps
the squad looked very impressive. It was mostly the DPS show for Second Wind, but the rest of the squad has the ability to carry the team should the need arise.
ShRedLock
did not look bad, and if their recent track record says anything, it will only be a matter of time before he pops off and is eventually poached to an academy team.
6. Skyfoxes (-2) (1-0 | 3-1)
When you have no off-tank, just play Sombra GOATs!
Attitude
performed well on Sombra, but was eventually figured out by Bermuda. Granted it was on Havana where the rules don’t apply (for now). Three things can happen in
Skyfoxes
Skyfoxes
Contenders NA
Rank #22
Sargasm
dps
Atlas
dps
Faded
tank
Fallen
support
' future. One: they find an off-tank, two: one of the DPS players plays off-tank heroes or three: they play more DPS compositions similar to that of Overwatch League teams.
7. Triumph (+2) (1-0 | 3-1)
Triumph
Triumph
Inactive
OFF
Lee Jae-in
off tank
valen
Valentín Ontivero
dps
BucK
Viktor Nikolov
dps
nich
Nicholas Taylor
tank
looked like a competent Contenders team in their debut. The first half was a little sloppy (losing Busan/taking four+ minutes to take one tick after a good first attack on Temple of Anubis), but the second half was all Triumph. While
Decod
is performing as expected,
iCy
's D.Va play might be something to look at for future matches.
8. XL2 Academy (+2) (1-0 | 3-1)
Whenever they played more DPS compositions,
XL2 Academy
XL2 Academy
Inactive
Haku
flex support
Speedily
Nicholas Zou
dps
Kai
Kai Collins
dps
GIG
Rick Salazar
tank
buds
Casey McIlwaine
flex
Ojee
Christian Han
support
looked impressive. However, their 3-3 left a lot to be desired. I did not expect to see
buds
on D.Va and I don't expect it to be a recurring thing.
Speedily
showed some promise and I expect him to be the more consistent DPS on the roster, especially if they go more towards 3-3.
9. Montreal Rebellion (-1) (0-1 | 1-3)
The British tank line of Smex and JkAru19 looked good, though the latter did lose the Reinhardt battle over time. UltraViolet getting the start was surprising, but he showed some strong moments in his debut with the team. It’s gonna take a hot second for this team to come together, especially if Jkaru19 was only a ringer for the team.
10. Grunto Esports (+2) (1-0 | 3-1)
harbleu showed some variety in his DPS play in their victory over Uprising Academy, though his Zarya was still the best out of his entire hero pool. A thing to note was that a team house was mentioned in the initial announcement, meaning TiZi might or is already playing in North America. That coupled with new coach GetAmazed of Eagle Gaming fame could entail a big upswing from the former chickens.
11. Uprising Academy (-5) (0-1 | 1-3)
Uprising Academy
Uprising Academy
Contenders NA
Rank #4
Adam
Adam Soong
off tank
Mozser
Michael Moser
flex support
Stellar
Lee Do-Hyung
dps
Finale
dps
GIG
Rick Salazar
tank
Dank
Damien Ryding
tank
FiXa
Kwon Young Hoon (권영훈)
support
ran out of gas as their series with
GRUNTo Esports
GRUNTo Esports
Inactive
salty
Noah Smith
off tank
robdab
Robert Garcia
flex support
Wub
Cameron Johnson
dps
ONIGOD
Stefan Fiskerstrand
dps
Umtae
Um Tae-hyeong (엄태형)
tank
Zholik
Blake Solberg
support
went on. However, they looked better than their last Contenders outing. Losing
Dino
is going to hurt the team especially given Zenyatta's place in the meta. They could continue to bend the import rules by importing a flex support, they're two regions away from completing the full set!
12. Square One (-1) (0-1 | 1-3)
There were flashes of the
Square One
Square One
Inactive
of old, but again, they lost steam in moments when it mattered (which happened to be Havana's extra rounds). From early analysis though, Square One look better than they did last season.
13. Tea Party (-) (0-1 | 1-3)
Amadien looked great in his Contenders debut and Far has not really missed a beat. Other than the DPS line, the rest of the team did not really stand out too much, which isn't a bad thing at this moment. They were competitive at times with XL2 (especially in the 3-3 matchup) but couldn’t convert into wins.
14. Wave Check (+2) (0-1 | 0-3)
Team Envy may not have been the best week one opponents to face, but at least they got that matchup out of the way. Their performance was admirable, but their contemporaries looked better in their debuts and so far, there was not much that wowed me. Triumph could be a better opponent to showcase their skills given their familiarity with the team in Open Division and Trials.
15. Bermuda (-) (0-1 | 1-3)
Carter
looked impressive, but it's going to be a long Contenders if it takes you four maps to take a win off a D.Va-less team in the 3-3 meta. That combined with
Ajax
dying close to getting his Sound Barrier means
Bermuda
Bermuda
Inactive
Guru
Zechariah Koppes
off tank
Pizzademon
Brent Lanoix
flex support
ultimawep
Brandon Wilson
dps
brooks
dps
Hcpeful
dps
need to clean up their teamplay.
16. Phase 2 (-2) (0-1 | 0-4)
Much like Wave Check,
Phase 2
Phase 2
Inactive
Odd
Florian Popinara
off tank
A10
Alex Kuipers
dps
Malthel
Josh Gonzales
dps
Dynasty
Adam Elsheemy
dps
Hades
Diego Du Marez
tank
’s first-week opponent was not the best chance to showcase the strengths of the new team. The match picked up near the end especially on the no man's land of Havana. This could be a sign that their next match vs Skyfoxes will more than likely be a similar affair to week one.