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Overwatch League recap: Preseason reputations are challenged

By Christine Wang Dickson

Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment /
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The rankings of the Overwatch League become a bit more defined as teams head into their second matches of the season.

Now that any potential first-match jitters are out of the way, the Overwatch League has really started to take shape.

The third day of games officially started teams through their stage 1 rotations and started to give real meaning to being “undefeated” as half the League teams embarked on their second matches.

Los Angeles Valiant vs. Dallas Fuel

The first match of the day pitted one previous winner with one previous loser. However, it’s hard to qualify Dallas’ epic struggle against Seoul on night one as a true loss when the level of skill they displayed was so tremendous. Because of it, Los Angeles entered this matchup a slight underdog.

Right as the series was set to start, a technical difficulty forced a slight pause, the first technical delay so far for the Overwatch League. Fortunately, the issue was resolved quickly and Valiant got things rolling on their Junkertown attack. Over and over, SoOn’s Widowmaker and Agilities’ Roadhog hook was able to pick off Dallas in ones and twos, preventing the Fuel from mounting a cohesive defense. But Dallas’ Taimou on Roadhog made sure his team was not to be outdone when it was their turn on attack, landing outstanding hooks that seemed to challenge the very limits of how far a hook could go.

Roadhog continued to reign supreme as the map moved into time bank rounds. On attack first, the Valiant actually ran out of time before they even reached the first checkpoint. But thanks to Agilities landing Roadhog hooks supported with flawless gameplay by his teammates, Los Angeles miraculously completed the entire rest of the map in overtime. Indeed, the casters pointed out that it seemed to be a signature trait of Los Angeles to play better during overtime situations. But yet again, Dallas refused to be bested. Riding the broad shoulders of Taimou’s Roadhog hooks, the Fuel also made it yet again to the end of Junkertown, and also did it in overtime.

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With the map now tied at the unheard of score of 6-6, the two teams moved into one last round of Junkertown, both given only one minute to work with. Things looked promising for Dallas at first, who mounted a ferocious quad-tank defense that parted Los Angeles like water. However, Valiant was able to chew through all that HP on their second push and they didn’t stop there, forcing the payload all the way through two more checkpoints before the Fuel finally cut them off. Dallas ultimately fell short of the second checkpoint, pressured by the presence of both a Self Destruct and a Dragonblade.

The second map took us to Horizon Lunar Colony, where right away you got the feeling that both teams were playing a defense-optional game. Valiant breezed through on their first attack, ending with 6:13 in their time bank. Then Dallas did their logo proud by blazing through both objectives even faster, ending with 6:33 in the bank. With both teams seemingly so well matched, it’s not too big a surprise that the map ended in a draw.

This brought the series to Ilios, the exact map that gave the Fuel so much trouble against the Dynasty. Unfortunately for Dallas, due to the map two draw, a loss on this map almost meant that they would be unable to win the match. After getting subbed out for map two, Dallas subbed Seagull back in to utilize his skilled Pharah play. However, it just wasn’t enough against Los Angeles. While Dallas made it more of a contest than it was against Seoul, the Fuel was unable to win an objective and dropped map three 0-2.

Even though the winner was already decided, the teams still played through the last map of the series. Despite their best efforts, the Fuel looked decidedly deflated on the streets of Numbani, especially after they accidentally allowed LA’s SoOn to sneakily push the payload home on the second checkpoint after Dallas had expended so much energy stopping it short. With Dallas unable to even capture the first objective on attack, the long and exciting series came to a close with a Valiant sweep.

Result: Valiant 3, Fuel 0

Player of the Match: SoOn, Los Angeles Valiant

Florida Mayhem vs. Boston Uprising

Both Florida and Boston came into their second game of the week with losses from yesterday. Announcers were hard pressed to make predictions on who would win this matchup, but Boston did get the vote from a majority of them.

Indeed, the Uprising put up a strong showing against the Mayhem. The only time they looked shaky was at the very beginning of the series, defending on El Dorado. But Boston quickly hit their stride, stopping Florida short of finishing the map. Switching sides, the Uprising was able to pretty much roll right through to the goal line.

Florida found a little more success on map two, making an unconventional team composition that included a Reaper and Sombra work for attack on Temple of Anubis. TviQ on Reaper was able to stay alive on the second objective for an absurdly long time, allowing his Florida teammates to mount a sustained push on point to capture it. But Boston’s attack was mighty and effective, with STRIKER going beserk as Tracer on the first objective, to the point where it felt like Florida’s tanks were using the high ground as a place to escape her relentless pistols. Moving into time bank rounds, Florida’s attack was quickly reduced to shreds, and just as it seemed like they might have a second chance with Zuppeh seconds away from acquiring Mercy’s Valkyrie, he was eliminated. Boston went on to take the map.

Now up 2-0, Boston just had to take Oasis to take the series, and from the level of aggression Boston brought into the map, it certainly felt like that idea of victory was very much top of mind. Despite losing the first engagement, Boston yanked back control of the first objective and did not let it go, even pushing forward and taking the fight to Florida. For Oasis’ second map, the Uprising switched even farther from their usual dive composition, choosing instead to go with a Moira, Roadhog and Lucio. That Moira ended up earning the highlight of the match, as she negated a Florida Graviton by pouring healing into her teammates. With the Graviton a failure, Florida was unable to make the necessary push.

The final map of the series brought us to Eichenwalde, where the Mayhem did mount a decent initial attack. However Florida’s payload presence was not where it needed to be, allowing side skirmishes to draw too much of their attention away from the main objective. Those crucial wasted seconds prevented them from taking the second checkpoint. On their turn at offense, Boston decided to start with a radical approach by having most of the team go up and over the buildings of Eichenwalde to attack the objective directly. This experiment stalled immediately after a member of their team was unluckily sniped, but the snag didn’t prevent Boston from finishing the map to complete their Four-Overwatch sweep.

Results: Mayhem 0, Uprising 4

Player of the Match: DreamKazper, Boston Uprising

San Francisco Shock vs. Shanghai Dragons

The last match of day three also featured two teams hungry for that first Overwatch League win. Coincidentally, both teams fell on day one to the two teams from Los Angeles.

Neither team played a perfect game. The Shock got off to a good start on Junkertown. Even though Shanghai was able to stall out their attack, San Francisco mounted a very staunch defense that had Shanghai scrabbling to get even a single checkpoint. By forcing Shanghai into overtime very early, San Francisco was able to fend them off from reaching the goal line and took map one.

However, it was the Dragons who became king of defense on Horizon Lunar Colony. Shanghai’s Undead was merciless as Widowmaker, hunting down San Francisco’s Dhak again and again as Lucio. The Shock seemed unwilling or unable to make team composition adjustments, which resulted in them being unable to even capture point A, a misstep that rarely ever happens on this particular map. Shanghai did not have the same issue, mounting a swift and calculated attack featuring Undead as a sneaky Sombra, allowing his teammates to move up to a better attack position.

With the series tied, we moved to Ilios. Again, San Francisco flexed their muscles with BABYBAY clearing out the map as Pharah. With him hovering in the skies, the Shock easily took the first point. Shanghai was briefly able to gain control after Undead claimed multiple lives with McCree, but that control did not last long. The Shock also ended up taking point two in commanding fashion.

Next: Overwatch League recap: Underdogs surprise, stars rise

The back-and-forth series was finally decided on Numbani, where San Francisco executed some of their best attacks of the evening, pushing the payload to completion. The same could also be said for Shanghai on attack, but San Francisco was able to mount the defense needed to stop them in the end.

Results: Shock 3, Dragons 1

Player of the Match: Danteh, San Francisco Shock

Slowly but surely, expectations have started to be turned on their heads. Dallas Fuel, once dubbed “best in the west,” are suddenly looking at an 0-2 start even though an in-depth look at their gameplay points to a team exploding with talent and potential. And instead it’s the Los Angeles Valiant becoming the first team to earn a 2-0 record.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Dragons are also struggling to find their place in these games. Coming in highly touted, they are ending week 1 play without a win to call their own. Fortunately for them and for the Fuel, there’s still a long road ahead and plenty of time to improve. The Overwatch League has only just begun.