Now that the first week of Overwatch League Season 2 is in the books, we have some games to analyze. There were some surprises from Season 1 to Season 2, and we finally got to see the expansion teams play on the big stage. Here's how the league ranks after Week 1.
1. Philadelphia Fusion
Record: 2-0 | Map W/L/T: 6-3-0 | Map Diff: +3
There are three 2-0 teams at the top of the standings, and while winning isn't everything in power rankings, it's weighted very highly in our calculations. Of the three undefeated teams that played two matches by the end of Week 1, the Fusion looked like the strongest and most cohesive unit and faced the two toughest opponents of the three. Despite being pushed to a fifth map against the Atlanta Reign -- a team designed similarly to the Fusion around gathering top-tier talent regardless of any language barrier -- the Fusion were able to come out ahead. What was most impressive this week for Philadelphia was the performance of their tank line. Main tank Kim "SADO" Soo-min and flex tank Gael "Poko" Gouzerch were sometimes lost in the discussion last year to the DPS performances from Lee "Carpe" Jae-hyeok and Josue "Eqo" Corona, but they frequently took center stage this past weekend as triple tank-triple support compositions became the default.
2. Hangzhou Spark
Record: 2-0 | Map W/L/T: 6-3-0 | Map Diff: +3
Occasionally at the opposite end of the spectrum were the Hangzhou Spark, who flexed away from the triple-triple setup and showed just why they were being hailed as one of the most talented and competitive teams both on paper and in preseason scrims. Although they were one of the least creative Chinese organizations when compared to some of the DPS combinations the Chengdu Hunters and Guangzhou Charge brought to their Friday match, Hangzhou still was able to show off the talent of their DPS line, but it was their support and tank lines (like with many teams in the triple-triple meta) that really impressed. Former Lucky Future Zenith Lúcio extraordinaire Park "iDK" Ho-jin was named by his peers as one of the best rookies to join the league, and this past weekend he and the Hangzhou Spark showed us why. They still made a few mistakes and perhaps should have flexed off of the triple-triple at times to keep opponents on their toes, but this is going to be an impressive team and a likely Stage 1 title contender if things continue.
3. New York Excelsior
Record: 2-0 | Map W/L/T: 5-2-1 | Map Diff: +3
The final 2-0 team emerging from Week 1 is the New York Excelsior, who looked shakier than expected at times against the Boston Uprising and the power of their new main tank, Cameron "Fusions" Bosworth. New York adjusted by the end of the Boston series, and their subsequent map loss against the Washington Justice in their next series, a 3-1 win, isn't necessarily cause for concern, but neither series seemed to speak to the strength that we're used to seeing from New York. Strong performances from Kim "Mano" Dong-gyu and the flexibility of Kim "MekO" Tae-hong will be key in the coming week, with a match against the Valiant, who looked better than many expected this past weekend.
4. Vancouver Titans
Record: 1-0 | Map W/L/T: 4-0-0 | Map Diff: +4
The former RunAway squad's newest RunAway iteration quickly became known as the best triple-triple team in Contenders: Korea this past season. It should come as no surprise that their "big brother" in the RunAway-turned-Titans lineup also excelled this past weekend in triple-triple, especially with players such as Park "Bumper" Sang-beom, Kim "SLIME" Seong-jun and Seo "SeoMinSoo" Min-soo taking the stage. While Vancouver had only one match, and it was against the Shanghai Dragons (who are still adjusting to a last-minute main tank addition in Noh "Gamsu" Young-jin), they looked that indomitable to rocket them up the power rankings list this week. They have a match against the Guangzhou Charge to start next week but face their first strong test against the San Francisco Shock this coming Sunday.
5. San Francisco Shock
Record: 1-1 | Map W/L/T: 6-3-0 | Map Diff: +3
By contrast, there's room for the San Francisco Shock to slip next week, given that their only match is against the aforementioned Vancouver Titans. The Shock opened the week with a strong performance against the Dallas Fuel that showed why so many players and analysts rated the Shock highly in the offseason. This team has a lot of flexibility and hero specialists, which means they have the ability to stay ahead of opponents and their compositions, responding accordingly with their own setups. Yet the close loss to the Los Angeles Gladiators signals that this team doesn't quite have its coordination down. There were a few times when Matthew "super" DeLisi seemed ahead of his team, so his plays didn't have as strong an effect as the Shock likely wanted. Like most teams at the top of our rankings, the Shock have a few things to work on but are still looking like a top Overwatch League squad.
6. Los Angeles Gladiators
Record: 1-1 | Map W/L/T: 4-5-0 | Map Diff: -1
Much of the Los Angeles Gladiators' first loss to the Seoul Dynasty came down to the matchup between main tanks: the former Gladiators main tank Baek "Fissure" Chan-hyeong and current Gladiators main tank, former Kongdoo Panthera main tank Gye "rOar" Chang-hoon. Unfortunately for rOar, a new addition to the Gladiators, he looked overwhelmed by Fissure's aggression. Yet in their match against the Shock, rOar rebounded thanks to fantastic setups from his support line, particularly Benjamin "BigGoose" Isohanni on Lúcio. This Gladiators team is looking good, they just have to shore up their communication. It seems a bit odd to place them below the Shock, a team they beat, but their match against the Shock was so close and their loss to Seoul a bit worse than the Shock's loss to the Gladiators, which is why they're placed slightly below the Shock for this week.
7. Paris Eternal
Record: 1-0 | Map W/L/T: 3-1-0 | Map Diff: +2
If this were a tier list, the Paris Eternal would be in the same tier as the Atlanta Reign and Los Angeles Valiant. All looked strong this weekend. Their respective potential as teams was showcased well, and they each made mistakes that were obvious but fixable. What allows the Eternal to edge the other two for the eighth spot on our list is their superior understanding and execution of the triple tank-triple support meta that has formed the baseline of compositions in the Overwatch League. We asked Paris Eternal's Harrison "Kruise" Pond why European players not only "started" the triple-triple baseline composition but also why they seemed to be so at home with this play style. His only response was that some of the strongest European players have gravitated toward tank and support play rather than the flashier DPS positions. Whatever the answer, it's working for the Eternal, who showcased one of the, if not the, strongest executions of the triple-triple composition that we saw this past weekend. In this meta, it's going to be difficult to beat Paris at this game without swapping onto something else.
8. Atlanta Reign
Record: 1-1 | Map W/L/T: 6-3-0 | Map Diff: +3
Comparisons between this year's Atlanta Reign and last year's Philadelphia Fusion are apparent and were even touched on by the players in their postmatch news conferences following the team's win over the Florida Mayhem. Atlanta is stacked with talent on paper, and their success was always going to depend on how well that talent came together. The answer for Week 1 was that the Atlanta Reign are coordinating surprisingly well, even while flexing their players depending on map. They made errors in execution, but these should be fixed as the team continues to gel. Make no mistake: This is a remarkably talented team that cannot be underestimated.
9. Los Angeles Valiant
Record: 0-1 | Map W/L/T: 2-3-0 | Map Diff: -1
Rounding out our top 10 is the Los Angeles Valiant, who might come as a surprise given their 0-1 record with 1-0 teams such as the Toronto Defiant or 1-1 teams such as the Seoul Dynasty below them. What impressed us about the Valiant's loss to the Hangzhou Spark was not only that they pushed the Spark to a fifth map, but also that they had such a strong understanding of the triple-triple base composition. Former Seoul Dynasty main tank Kim "KuKi" Dae-kuk had an impressive support debut on Lúcio, and Kim "Izayaki" Min-chul was similarly exciting to watch as the team's flex support while Park "KariV" Yeong-seo played Zarya. One of the reasons we rated the Valiant fairly highly despite losing a few key players in the offseason was their tank line of Indy "Space" Halpern and Koo "Fate" Pan-seung, whose performances will be crucial in upcoming matches against the New York Excelsior and Toronto Defiant.
10. Dallas Fuel
Record: 1-1 | Map W/L/T: 3-5-0 | Map Diff: -1
And finally in the 10th spot is the Dallas Fuel. There are a lot of teams that could have gone here, like the 1-0 Toronto Defiant or the 1-1 Seoul Dynasty, both of which we consider to be in approximately the same tier of teams. Yet the Fuel beat out these two thanks in large part to their victory over the Dynasty. Like it has been with many Fuel iterations, this team has all of the tools to be successful in this meta, it's just a matter of getting them all aligned and communicating well with each other. Depending on how Dallas performs against the Fusion and Guangzhou Charge next week, we could see them rise slightly or drop significantly in the standings.