The Overwatch League is in full swing, and so far it has been pretty dang fun to watch. Not going to lie, I think the league has some unbalanced teams through the first few weeks of Stage One, but at the end of the day, this is a brand new professional eSports league with a lot of people learning to work together on one of the biggest stages in pro gaming history – so I’m hoping things even out a bit as the inaugural season progresses.
That being said, I know I came into my first live broadcast of the season a little overwhelmed. Even being an Overwatch player that’s spent a great deal of time playing Blizzard’s incredible shooter (Zarya main FTW!), I found it difficult to keep track of everything at first. So I’ve decided to do a quick breakdown of a few teams you should keep your eyes on at first, and some teams that can maybe surprise us as the season progresses. First up, my three favorite teams to watch so far:
Logo for the Philadelphia Fusion
Philadelphia Fusion – The Comcast owned Fusion was a big question mark going into the start of the season due to the fact that they were unable to participate in any of the preseason games, and their starting Tank player Su-min “Sado” Kim was suspended. However, this was absolutely a team that caught my eye going into the season because I thought they had a pretty stacked roster in almost every position – but mostly because Georgii “ShaDowBurn” Gushcha is an absolutely monster DPS player, and maybe one of the best players, mechanically, in the world – and he’s also probably my favorite individual player to watch, so my decision to follow the Fusion closely might be skewed because of that. All in all, I wouldn’t sleep on this team, as their starting lineup and bench are comprised of some high-quality players in every position with a wide variety of favorite heroes at their disposal. They’re 3-2 so far this season, but I really don’t think we’ve seen the full potential of this team just yet.
Logo for the London Spitfire
London Spitfire – A team from the UK, owned by Los Angeles based eSports juggernaut Cloud9, with a roster made up entirely of South Korean players (I know, Overwatch League is wacky), the London Spitfire is absolutely a team to watch. Going into the season there are some pretty high expectations from the team that’s been built from two incredibly successful South Korean teams, GC Busan and KongDoo Panthera. The joy of watching the South Korean teams play, both in the APEX Tournament series and in the Overwatch World Cup, is due to their incredible teamwork and synergy. These aren’t teams built around one or two top-tier players, these are teams filled with top-tier players. The London Spitfire, currently 5-1, boast one of the more seasoned rosters in the entire league and might be the only team experienced enough at the start to keep up with my #1 team.
Logo for the Seoul Dynasty
Seoul Dynasty – Speaking of my #1 team… Talk about a rockstar team right out of the gate! With an ownership group in KSV eSports that combines the global reach of a Silicon Valley company with the skill and finesse of the South Korean eSports culture, and a team that includes some of the best players in the world, we’re looking at the clear team to beat so far in the first season of the Overwatch League. Like I mentioned with the players from Spitfire, the Dynasty is not only comprised of incredibly talented players from South Korea, but these are players that have played together for a long time already, as this team is essentially just South Korea’s Lunatic-Hai, known as the best Overwatch team in the world with multiple top finishes in APEX tournaments. And to top it all off, three of the Dynasty’s players were from the Overwatch World Cup championship team. Oh, and don’t forget that they have won every match they’ve played, including the preseason… So as of right now, everybody else is chasing the Dynasty.
Now, these may be my three favorite teams to watch so far, and arguably a few of the best we’ve seen too, but I’ve got a couple of teams I’ll be keeping my eyes on as the Overwatch League progresses. Those teams are:
Logo for the Boston Uprising
Boston Uprising – I really don’t think we’ve seen Boston hit its stride yet, but it’s clear that there’s a ton of support and belief in the team being successful, as Robert Kraft, owner of the team, knows a little something about winning organizations since he owns an NFL team you may have heard of before – the New England Patriots. Boston has shown scrappiness in their games so far and overall is comprised of several lesser known players and backups from previous Overwatch teams. That said, I love how they’ve played so far, and I am a huge fan of their team compositions, as they are the only team with four pro support players. Also, Jonathan “DreamKazper” Sanchez is ridiculously fun to watch and might be the best Tracer I have ever seen. Don’t sleep on them, especially after their underdog victory over previously unbeaten London Spitfire last night!
Logo for the New York Excelsior
New York Excelsior – Now, you may be wondering why I chose a currently 4-1 team as one to “keep my eyes on” in the future? Well, it’s due to a few things: I’m really excited to see the rivalry grow between the New York and Boston teams (because who doesn’t love professional sports rivalries from these two great cities?!), but also because this is a relatively small team, with only eight players on the current roster, that’s playing incredibly scrappy right now. Additionally, they haven’t been tested by the powerhouse teams just yet, so I am very interested to see how they stack up against Spitfire and Dynasty (They play the topdog Dynasty later today, so time will tell!). But if all that isn’t enough, arguably the team’s most versatile player is currently not qualified to compete – because he is only 17 years old! Overwatch League rules state that you can only participate if you are 18 years or older, so the impressive Yeon-oh “Flow3r” Hwang is currently watching from the sidelines until May of this year. Once Hwang joins the team as a starter, there’s no telling what this team will be capable of.
Those are my five favorite teams to watch so far, but you really can’t go wrong watching any of the incredibly talented teams and players strutting their stuff so far in Season One of the Overwatch League. Got any teams or players you’re stoked to watch this season? Let us know on social! And are you looking for some awesome new Overwatch gear? Then look no further than this month’s PROTECT Crate from Loot Crate DX!
