by Week 4 of Stage 3 of the Overwatch League is starting this Wednesday and with the first 3 weeks already gone, let’s take a look at what the teams have been doing so far.
OWL Team Analysis
Boston Uprising (6 W – 0 L)
Boston Uprising is looking more and more impressive with each passing week, beating every opponent regardless of its strength, playstyle and past results. New York Excelsior, Seoul Dynasty, London Spitfire, Houston Outlaws and Philadelphia Fusion learned their lesson the hard way. Arguably, Boston Uprising has already faced the toughest league opponents with the exception of Los Angeles Valiant, so the last 4 matches they have to play in Stage 3 should easily bring them at least 3 more victories.
Los Angeles Valiant (5 W – 1 L)
Currently sitting at number 2 in the standings table for Stage 3, Los Angeles Valiant got an impressive victory against Seoul Dynasty. However, the team was defeated by London Spitfire last week, and most of its wins came from matches where their opponent was either average or weak. So their current spot in the league might be quite deceptive. We’ll have to see how Valiant performs against the rest of the top opponents.
New York Excelsior (5 W – 1 L)
The strongest team in OWL in terms of overall results throughout all 3 stages, New York Excelsior has managed to beat everyone so far with the exception of Boston Uprising. Their opponents were pretty strong for the most part, so most of the victories are totally relevant for assessing Excelsior’s true strength. In all likelihood, we will continue to see great performances from it.
San Francisco Shock (4 W – 2 L)
Along with Boston Uprising, this team has played much better than usual in Stage 3 and is currently sitting at number 4 in the rankings table. San Francisco Shock’s defeats came against very strong teams (Los Angeles Valiant and Seoul Dynasty), while 2 of its victories were obtained against fairly strong sides (Los Angeles Gladiators and Philadelphia Fusion). Going forward, we might see some more wins from Shock, although the road ahead certainly looks much tougher than the first 3 weeks. In week 4 for instance, San Francisco Shock is facing 2 top teams (New York Excelsior and London Spitfire) and is expected to lose both matches.
Los Angeles Gladiators (3 W – 3 L)
I honestly expected more from Gladiators, but the team has certainly been quite unlucky, as two of its defeats were very close (score 2 – 3) and came against top league opponents (New York Excelsior and Los Angeles Valiant). Only one of its victories is relevant (score 3 – 2 against Seoul Dynasty). The other two came against weak opponents. Overall, Los Angeles Gladiators is a much stronger team than its current league position suggests, but its next opponents are looking even scarier than the ones it already lost against.
Seoul Dynasty (3 W – 3 L)
This team is clearly in poor shape right now and I don’t expect the situation to change too soon. Seoul Dynasty lost 3 important matches in a bad way and struggled to win even against extremely weak opponents such as Dallas Fuel and Shanghai Dragons.
Philadelphia Fusion (3 W – 3 L)
After its 2nd place finish in Stage 2, I think people expected more out of Philadelphia Fusion for this stage. Its losses against Boston Uprising and New York Excelsior are mostly justified, but its defeat against San Francisco Shock from week 3 was a massive disappointment. Philadelphia Fusion can still make a comeback and its week 4 opponents are perfect for two positive results.
Houston Outlaws (3 W – 3 L)
Apart from Boston Uprising, who completely walked over them, Houston Outlaws got close defeats against strong teams (2 -3 against New York Excelsior and Philadelphia Fusion) and decent victories against the weaker teams. It also got an excellent result against London Spitfire, clearly suggesting that you should never discard them as a weak side.
London Spitfire (2 W – 4 L)
After winning Stage 1 and placing 3rd in Stage 2, London Spitfire lost all momentum and now is struggling in Stage 3. It’s hard to say what will happen to this team over the next 2 weeks, but its victory from week 3 against Los Angeles Valiant makes me think that Spitfire is about to make a comeback. If it can play as well as it did against Valiant, Spitfire should win both of its matches scheduled for week 4.
Dallas Fuel (1 W – 5 L)
With the exception of Shanghai Dragons, a team that doesn’t really count at this point simply because it has lost every single match it has played so far, every other opponent bested Dallas Fuel in a pretty convincing manner. At this point, there’s absolutely nothing the roster can do to catch up. Some transfers and a complete reinvention of its playstyle are an absolute must going forward, if Fuel wants to change its current situation.
Florida Mayhem (1 W – 5 L)
Just like Dallas Fuel, Florida Mayhem is continuing the trend that it has already established in Stage 1 (1 W – 9 L) and Stage 2 (3 W – 7L). Overall, it’s pretty clear that this is one of the weakest squads in OWL and there’s not much that can be done to change that fact. Florida Mayhem’s only success this stage has been against (you’ve guessed it) Shanghai Dragons.
Shanghai Dragons (0 W – 6 L)
And finally, we’ve got this strange team that seems to be trying its best not to win. Shanghai Dragons is on its way to establishing an absolute record that will probably remain unbeaten for many many seasons of the Overwatch League. So far, it has 0 wins and 26 losses. With 0 wins and 40 losses across the entire season, Shanghai Dragons would no doubt make the headlines and get a place in the game’s history.
