Overwatch League’s 3rd season starts this weekend, with the games being played in New York City and Dallas. 8 are games being played this weekend, so I will discuss the most interesting game to watch for each day. For Saturday, it is the London Spitfire vs New York Excelsior at 3 PM, and for Sunday the San Francisco Shock vs Dallas Fuel.
The London Spitfire’s roster consists of one returning player, Krillin, who received fairly low playtime last season, and new players from various teams in Overwatch Contenders, the lower level of competition from the Overwatch League. Their most anticipated pick up is Glister, a DPS player who previously was on team Gen.G; he was played extremely well in past tournaments and was sought after by many different Overwatch League teams. The other players, however, were either relatively unknown or considered to be average by the League’s standards. They are the clear underdog going into their match, and their performance will depend heavily on how well their star player, Glister, performs.
London Spitfire 2018 Roster, Season 1 Champions, who all are no longer on the team
New York Excelsior is an extremely accomplished team, who finished first overall in the standings for Season 1, and third for Season 2. Their returning players, Mano, Saybyeolbe, Libero, Nenne, Anamo, Jjonak, and Bianca have all been widely regarded as some of the best players for their respective roles, with Jjonak receiving the MVP award for Season 1. Some of their newcomers, however, show incredible promise. Whoru, a DPS player who led the Fusion University team to several undefeated seasons in Overwatch Contenders, is widely known for his aggressive Genji play, and Hotba, who previously played on Philadelphia Fusion and Guangzhou Charge, has been a consistently strong tank player over the past seasons. This team’s established synergy from years of playing together, and widely hyped newcomers, will be difficult for the fairly new roster of London to overcome.
Jjonak, Season 1 MVP with his trophy
The next game features the winners of Season 2, the San Francisco Shock. At the end of last season, they were by far the best team, beating the Vancouver Titans in the playoffs 4-0. Their team had the Season 2 MVP, Sinatraa, the tank and support from the USA World Cup team, Super and Moth, and the explosive flex support in Viol2t as their star players. The Shock was so powerful as a result of their incredible teamwork in-game, with players all using their abilities in unison to dismantle all the opposing teams and the players’ high individual skills. Almost every power ranking for the next season has the Shock at the top, so they are the clear favorites to win their first match.
San Francisco Shock after winning Season 2 Finals
In the past, Dallas Fuel has been a fairly mediocre team, placing 10th in Season 1 and then dropping to 15th for Season 2. However, their offseason pickups for the team could help to bring the team up in the rankings. Decay, previously on LA Gladiators, and Doha, who played on the winning team of the Overwatch Contenders Gauntlet, are their two new DPS players, and both have been the carry players for each of their previous teams. Together, they will likely be one of the best DPS lineups in the entire league. In addition, the team signed main tank Gamsu, from Shanghai Dragons. The “meta” (what heroes and team compositions are considered best at the time) for Season 3 appears to include the tank Wrecking Ball, who not many tank players have much competitive experience with. Gamsu, however, played this hero frequently on the Dragons and was able to win the Stage 3 title against the dominant meta at the time. With Gamsu’s experience on Wrecking Ball, and the new star-studded DPS lineup of the Fuel, there is potential for the upset against the defending champions, the Shock, and even if not it should be a close, exciting game to watch.
Dallas Fuel 2020 Roster. From left to right, Doha is 3rd, Gamsu 6th, and Decay 7th