Which teams are the best in the Overwatch League? Spoiler: It isn't Shanghai Dragons.
Overwatch League is taking the eSports world by storm. Starting out as a fun idea by Blizzard = to change the world of eSports, this league has taken off. This article takes a look at the best teams OWL has to offer.
The Overwatch League (OWL) started its inaugural season in 2018 at the Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles, California. This league is based on the very popular team-based multi-player FPS by Blizzard, which has over 40 million players across the globe. There are currently 12 teams in the league but Blizzard hopes to add new teams in the future, especially from Europe and Asia, in season 2.
The regular season of this esports league runs from January to June, with the major championships to be held in July. There are 4 stages and each stage has their own finals, where the champion earns $100,000 and second place gets $25,000. The major playoffs will take place in mid-July and the Grand Finals will take place at the end of that month. The Grand Final champions will receive $1 million and the Overwatch League Trophy.
10. Dallas Fuel
Team in chaos: Support HarryHook leads his team into the arena for their match.
The Dallas Fuel is owned by Team EnVyUs and was a strong performing team prior to the Overwatch League. In fact, they were once widely considered to be the best team in Overwatch before OWL.
The drama surrounding this team has overshadowed their mediocre play. Main tank and popular streamer xQc was suspended twice, once for the remainder of a stage after using homophobic slurs against fellow tank Muma. After his second suspension, he was released from the Fuel and has not been signed to another team. Taimou also found himself in trouble for using homophobic slurs during a stream.
There is new drama with star player EFFECT, who left before the end of the season 1 Stage 3 to go back to Korea. He won’t be returning for Stage 4 due to mental health reasons.
Dallas Fuel is a team that has a lot of potential and should be doing better than they are.Players like Seagull, AKM, and EFFECT can only do so much by themselves. Something isn’t working for them in season 1 and it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what that is.
9. Los Angeles Gladiators
All Smiles: This team maintains a positive attitude everytime they go out to play.
The owners of this team have a lot of experience running a sport’s franchise. The Kroenke Sports & Entertainment group also owns the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Nuggets, and Arsenal. (Just to name a few of their teams.)
The Gladiators recently acquired silkthread from the Valiant. He has proven to be an excellent addition to this strong team, building a powerful DPS roster with Hydration, Asher, and Surefour. They have solid tanks in Fissure and Bischu, but for some reason even with strong players they are still falling short of other teams.
8. Los Angeles Valiant
Green with Envy: SoOn and Agilities are powerhouse DPS players that tear down their opponents.
The Los Angeles Valiant is owned by Immortals, another famous esports team. They have teams in other major esports leagues, including League of Legends. The Valiant is a home team with a lot of support in the stadium.
The Valiant had a strong showing in the first season’s Stage 3 playoffs, though they are not quite consistent enough in their play to get a top spot. Still with talent like Space, SoOn, and Agilities, they will have a strong finish but don’t expect them to win it all. Next season may be better for them as their talent develops.
7. San Francisco Shock
Hugging it Out: BabyBay hugs it out with his teammates after their win.
San Francisco Shock is owned by NRG esports, one of the leading names in eSports. This young team has awesome DPS talent and a ton of potential.
Babybay, one of their DPS players, was known for playing CS: GO but was eventually banned for cheating. He has become a popular name in OWL. He used his social media celebrity status to create the “Babybay Challenge”, where people would imitate his selfie pose for pictures and upload it to Twitter using the #babybaychallenge tag. This would raise money for mental health organizations in the San Francisco area.
Sinatraa is one of the highest paid players in the league right now, with an estimated salary of $150,000. When he is teamed up with Danteh, they have absolutely punished teams. You can expect amazing gameplay from these guys when everything comes together, as this young talent gains more experience.
6. Philadelphia Fusion
Full of Surprises: Season 1, Stage 2 was the time for upsets when this team made it to the finals.
The Philadelphia Fusion is certainly living the life of luxury, with their large home and personal chef. The team is owned by Comcast.
They had a rough start in the first preseason, as they were unable to participate due to visa issues. This led to a difficult first stage that season since they only had a short time to practice together before its start. However, in the season 1 Stage 2 semi-finals, they upset the favorites London Spitfire before losing to NYXL in those finals.
All you really need to do is talk about Carpe’s Widow and Eqo’s Genji to see why this team is so great. Expect them to be strong competitors, but they may not be quite at the top level yet.
5. Boston Uprising
Rise Up: This nobody team overcame drama and expectations, breaking records along the way.
When you think of the Kraft name, you probably think about the football dynasty the New England Patriots. Robert Kraft and his son Jonathan decided to take a chance on this budding esports league and purchased their own franchise.
Much like the Patriots, the Uprising decided to go with a group of players that were relatively unknown. As a result, the experts placed them in last place in their early predictions with no hopes of achieving anything. They shocked everyone when in the first stage of season 1, they found themselves in contention for a playoff spot.
The second stage of season 1 started and ended in disappointment for this team. Then in the first season’s Stage 3, everyone was shocked by this team. This nobody team broke records, including becoming the first team to go undefeated in a stage and the longest winning streak.
They made it all the way to the Stage 3 finals in the first season, a big accomplishment considering the loss of their main flex DPS. Boston Uprising ultimately fell to the NYXL but still walked away with $25,000 for coming in 2nd place. As they get more experience, you can expect them be strong contenders.
4. Houston Outlaws
The Tale of a Jakerat: Jake has become the face of this powerhouse team.
Owned by Hector Rodriguez, the Owner and CEO of OpTic Gaming, the Houston Outlaws have many of the stars of the World Cup’s Team USA. Recently they have acquired T-Mobile as a sponsor.
The only thing more notable than their strong play is their hair. This team has the best head of hair in the game. Plus, Jake is so talkative and excitable that he makes a perfect spokesperson for this league.
This is a team that had a very promising start in the first stage of the inaugural season. Jake (aka Jakerat) seemed unstoppable on his signature character. Muma, who also has a very strong Twitch presence, grew to become a top main tank in the league. Things have stopped clicking for them, but they have the talent to become contenders again.
3. Seoul Dynasty
Fleta is Meta: Even Fleta can't seem to help Dynasty get back on their feet.
The NYXL may have one half of the Team Korea, but the other half is here with Seoul Dynasty. They are owned by Kevin Chou, who is the Chairman and CEO of Gen.G. Esports. Going into the inaugural season, they were among the favorites.
A major issue with this team right now is that they keep switching around players rather than sticking with a consistent lineup. They also aren’t as aggressive as their competition, which has hurt them.
The team had a solid start but somewhere along the line they lost their mojo. Despite being one of the favorites to win it all, the Dynasty has yet to make it to the semi-finals in any stage so far in the first season.
While they spent the majority of the first season in a slump, there are solid performers like Fleta and Ryujehong who can be very dangerous to go up against. They really need to change up their approach and great things will happen.
2. London Spitfire
Winston Charging In: Winston player Gesture dives on into the Blizzard Arena.
Going into the preseason, London Spitfire was one of the teams to watch. They were expected to get the top spot. In Stage 1, they went all the way to win the first Stage championship in OWL. They are owned by Cloud9 and consist of all South Korean players.
This is a clean-cut team without a lot of controversy. The most controversial thing about this team is when Profit unknowingly flipped off the fans during the camera check. He was fined but the gesture was made in a playful manner.
They may have won it all in Stage 1 during the first season, but they have been in a slump for the reason of the season. They were upset by the Philadelphia Fusion in the season 1 Stage 2 semi-finals. In season 1 Stage 3, the London Spitfire wasn’t even really in contention for the playoffs. Still, this team has promise to be a strong competitor if they can only figure out their current problems.
1. New York Excelsior
Unstoppable: NYXL is the favorites to win it all in season 1.
Half of New York XL comes from the world champion Team Korea from the 2017 Overwatch World Cup. Owned by New York Mets owner Jeff Wilpon, NYXL is the favorite to take home the Grand Final championship. They are one of the 3 teams that consist of all South Korean players.
SBB is not only known for being one of the top Tracers in the world, he is also known for the “married meta”. If you want to see something heart-warming, watch his streams where he plays alongside his wife.
This team has been on fire in the first season, especially after winning the championship match in Stages 2 and 3 in the season. SBB (Saebyeolbe) and Big Boss Pine are unstoppable. New York has dominated so far in the Inaugural Season and there is no sign of them slowing down. These are the reasons why they are the top team in Overwatch right now.
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