Overwatch Outside the league season it is a place without a law. But as the start of the season approaches, the community is starting to respect one currency: scrimbucks.
Before any Overwatch League The season begins, the most popular entertainment for talent, analysts and anyone with a Reddit account becomes the art of “power rankings”. Community members rank teams from one to 20, indicating which lists they think will dominate the rankings.
While everyone’s power ratings are different, some teams tend to be repeatedly maintained at a high (or incredibly low) level of the overall level. San Francisco Shock, coming out of second Overwatch The league championship is a predictable choice for the first place. However, other teams full of beginners or disappointing players are almost always ranked at the bottom.
Although community members pretend to know everything, only one group of people can really tell us the value of the power ranking: Overwatch The league players themselves.
During a press conference celebrating the league’s start on April 16, Dot Esports checked in with some of the Overwatch The top players in the League will see which teams are really underestimated this season and what effect these power rankings have on the lists.
Invest in Houston outlaws
Due to the difficult season of 2020, many analysts and fans have placed the Houston Outlaws in the lower quadrant of their power rankings. This includes Dish for cats, a podcast hosted by Overwatch League talent as well as numerous other foundries and community members.
However, in recent weeks, however, well-known players and analysts have bought outlaws “scrimbucks” or positive results from scrimmages. Although this is a dangerous investment, the league’s players have resonated with the idea that Houston is undervalued in 2021.
“From what I’ve seen, people underestimate Houston a little bit, which I think is funny,” said Jiri “LiNkzr” Masalin, DPS for the Vancouver Titans. “I’ve seen a lot of criticism that they should be lower on the list, but I think they did pretty well in scrimmage.”
During the season, Houston’s management put faith in former player Matt “Coolmatt” Iorio to lead the team. Awesome assholes Overwatch The contenders talented and renewed the list under the guidance of co-coaches Harsha Bandi and Choi “Junkbuck” Jae-won, a former San Francisco Shock.
These results seem to speak for themselves. “Just playing against them in scrims and stuff, they seem to be doing better than expected,” said Kai Collins, DPS for Atlanta Reign. “They should definitely be evaluated more than they are right now.”
Min-seok, the main tanker in Florida Mayhem, the son of “OGE”, agreed, saying that the outlaws “do very well” based on his writing experience.
This may sound like good news for the Outlaws list, but it looks like he’d rather stay under the radar. When player and DPS coach Jake Lyon was asked about this increase in expectations, he rejected them.
“Keep sleeping, I say,” Lyon said with a laugh. “Keep sleeping. I like to be underestimated.”
Shares in Boston have risen
The Boston riot was also another popular response among players for the most underrated team. After two abysmal seasons, Revolta has improved its management and brought a list full of young, hungry players, such as DPS Kim “Valentine” Byeong-ju.
“People expect me to go on a ‘smaller’ budget, I think, and take players who have yet to prove themselves,” said Andreas “Logix” Berghmans, DPS for Toronto Defiant. “This season they have some pretty good songs that will give them better expectations than [in] last year.”
Matthew “super” DeLisi, the main tank for the San Francisco Shock, agreed when asked which team has the biggest improvement out of season. “I would say that Boston had the greatest ‘shine’ for me. They have received a lot of new players, they have a new coach “, he said. “It looks much better this year than in the last two years.”
Los Angeles Gladiators and Philadelphia Fusion remain safe bets
The value of “scrimbucks” for teams like the Houston Outlaws and Boston Uprising can be variable, but some teams have remained at the top of the community rankings for months.
After acquiring several profile players and winning two off-season tournaments, the Los Angeles Gladiators ranked second in dozens of Western power rankings, just below Shock.
“The Gladiators are probably the strongest team right now,” Valentine said, naming his former WGS tank teammate Phoenix Kim “MuZe” Young-hun as a reason for the team’s “aggressive” style of play and future success. .
“[They] they were strong to start with last year, but going this year, from what I’ve seen they are even stronger, “said Kim” Fury “Jun-ho, outside the Washington Justice Tank.
If the Gladiators gain value in the Western region, Eastern teams stock up on Philadelphia Fusion. Despite the team’s extensive visa issues, Overwatch League players believe that Fusion can stay strong.
“I’m not sure if I want to call them ‘undervalued,’ but I think Philadelphia Fusion will be strong,” said Bang “JJoNak” Sung-hyeon, a New York Excelsior veteran. “[Kim “Mano” Dong-gyu] is now and I think Philadelphia Fusion could be a very strong team. ”
Trusted bank
With almost constant emphasis on power rankings in Overwatch The league community that led to the first games of the season, we wondered if the low rankings ever affected the mentality of the players. The answer was a resounding no.
“It’s always motivation, you know?” LiNkzr said. “An additional piece from the competition is being added.”
His team, the Vancouver Titans, was consistently ranked in the bottom third of most community lists, but turned it into a blessing. “It’s just positive for me,” LiNkzr said. “The desire to prove that people are wrong is extraordinary. You can use the exterior view as a positive fuel. ”
The main supporter of the London Spitfire, Kristian “Kellex” Kellar, whose main team of beginners was also ranked at a low level, sees negativity as a kind of conspiracy device. “It’s great to be an underdog because people expect less from you,” he said. “That way, you feel less pressure, I think? You can still make cheese and have a wonderful story. ”
At the end of the day, what matters is the “confidence” of the players in their team, says Lyon. “At least we will be the best we it ever was, ”he said. “Will he be good enough to win the league? Nobody knows. There you put your work every day, you put in your best work, you put in your effort. I feel that we will be the best that the Outlaws have ever been and it is interesting for me ”.