Whoo boy, here we go again! Week 2 of OWL 2020 has come to a close and I’m here to talk about it again.
The Curse of the Unforeseen
As viewers of the Overwatch League may know, week two only had the one homestand in Philadelphia as the homestand in Shanghai had been cancelled due to health and safety concerns (the coronavirus). The homestands in Guangzhou and Hangzhou in later weeks were also cancelled for the same reasons.
We were informed that makeup matches from those missed homestands were set to to happen in Seoul instead:
The matches will be played over multiple days in Weeks 6 and 7 at a studio in Seoul. A few of the makeup matches might be added to the Seoul Dynasty homestand in Week 5. The makeup matches will not affect the other scheduled homestands in Washington (Week 5), Florida (Week 6), and Atlanta (Week 7).
Overwatch League Makeup Matches Moved to Seoul
Talent
The desk talent team this week has really started to find its groove. I’m really liking the vibes and the banter from the analysts on desk. Custa has really been a fantastic addition and the entire thing about Reinforce being biased for tank players is hilarious. Hex was the guest analyst on the desk and he added some good flavour as well.
As for casting, it is great to hear from Wolf & Achilios again, my most favourite casting duo, followed by Uber and Mr X. Great casting all around.
Production
Production mishaps and hiccups continue. The most glaring of which is that keep cutting Soe off. Come on folks, what are y’all doing over there?
There was also one time where the broadcast cut out completely, I hope that is not going to be a regular occurrence.
I still hate the ads in the broadcast, though at least this week there were a couple new additions to spice it up a little bit.
The Games
Since we only have the one homestand this week there are only four teams and four matches to talk about. So let’s get right into it!
Florida Mayhem
It was great to see a revitalized Mayhem squad on the stage with their new colours. The Karayan/Gargoyle tank line look good and their DPS duo of BQB and Yaki with Sayaplayer on maps where Widowmaker is needed is a force to be reckoned with.
Washington Justice
The DPS duo of Stratus and Corey dominates with the power of friendship. Huge plays from their new off-tank Ellivote who is also lacking his partner in crime LullSish who is stuck outside the US due to visa issues. Justice looking like a team to fear if they really start cleaning up their rough edges.
Philadelphia Fusion
Carpe is back folks and he isn’t fucking around. The DPS star for the Fusion really came clutch for the Fusion at crucial moments. Big glow up for Fusion main tank Sado who was the subject of much criticism last year. No sighting of new off-tank signing Fury, instead we get to see Poko who admittedly is pretty damn good. The new support line for the Fusion with Alarm and Funnyastro is looking solid too.
Houston Outlaws
I saved the worst for last. An extremely disappointing start of the season for the Outlaws. Their team synergy looks extremely disjointed and their play seems sloppy. The Blase and Hydration DPS duo doesn’t seem to be working well at all. Muma seems to have been feeding on the match against the Mayhem on Saturday. Meko, Jecse and Rawkus seem to be the only ones pulling their weight.
Speaking of Meko, I really feel bad for him, going from NYXL to…this mess. Talk about a downgrade.
I really really hope they improve going forward because watching the Outlaws play like this is painful and does not make for good esports viewing. There is only so much one can laugh at the failures on screen.
Concluding thoughts
Overall, it was kinda a eh week for OWL. Only one match was what I would call good and/or exciting, the match between the Justice and the Fusion on Saturday. So if you are going to pick one to watch, that would be the one.
Shoutout to the crowd in Philadelphia who brought a lot of energy and to Gritty whose appearance continues to scare me (and also Soe apparently).
Here’s hoping that the Washington homestand provides more excitement than the matches this week.