Overwatch League Preview
Love is in the air, meaning another Valentine's Day has arrived. But sadness is also in the air, meaning the time has come to watch perhaps another 0 - 40 year performance from the Shanghai Dragons. That's right: Overwatch League has returned for its 2nd season -- just as exciting as last year. If you've never heard of Overwatch or play the game, or don't watch the league, now is the time to get started. Fans can follow 20 different teams which represent cities across the US and the rest of the world. People can watch on Overwatch League website or directly through Twitch. According to the viewer count on Twitch, the league is producing high and consistent numbers, rising to new heights.
Overwatch League kicked things off with the premier powerhouses of last season, the London Spitfire and The Philadelphia Fusion, facing off in a high stakes match. The Fusion stole 3 maps and beat London, getting their revenge after losing to them in the Grand Finals last summer. Spitfire also lost their second game of the season to the newly formed Paris Eternal, lead by their star DPS player, Soon. Fans shouldn't worry about the London Spitfire though; they also started off slowly last season, and still came out on top. Spitfire fans should pay close attention to the amount of time that Profit and Birdring play tank heroes and Brigitte, compared to their usual damage based heroes.
Valentine's Day also displayed another powerhouse team: the NY Excelsior, who went 34-6 last year, faced off against the Boston Uprising. Despite struggling early, they pulled out a win. NY also emerged victorious their second game, against the newly formed Washington Justice. These wins show NY's depth, since they didn't play Pine or Saebylobe in either of the two games. They also haven't unleashed their youngest new player, Fl0w3R, who is regarded as one of Overwatch's best DPS players ever.
At the moment, it's too early to make any predictions on what the standings will look like in a few weeks, because the league has added ten new teams, each showcasing some of the top players in the world. These new teams and the ten original teams also displayed two common team comps which we will see often. The first comp revolves around triple tank, usually with Mercy, Lucio and Zenyatta as healers. This will cause slower paced games, as teams focus on helping their Zarya player get Graviton Surge or their Reinhardt acquire Earthshatter. The second comp uses back line heroes to distract and inflict damage, while typically a Widowmaker finishes off most players.
Despite the league having more teams and changing metas, all fans should still have one question: will the Shanghai Dragons win their first game ever? Any sports fan would have found it difficult to watch them play last year. Every time they played, the twitch chat cheered them, rooting for an underdog moment, but the Dragons could never produce. So... the answer: Season 3 of Overwatch League.
-Kenneth Bradley
Class of 2022