Stage two of the Overwatch League is set to bring vast change, with rosters and heroes undergoing overhauls after the first stage’s completion.
Mercy nerf changes everything
The meta has completely shifted since the closing of stage one, with Mercy being the primary hero to undergo a change. Mercy was essentially a must-pick all throughout both the regular season and playoffs, but a major nerf has seen her play rate plummet, with the likes of Moira and Ana seeing the most benefit. This has an overwhelming effect on pro play, with a majority of players feeling more comfortable on the likes of Ana, a hero that was previously the core focus of the meta for an extended period of time.
This also changes the play of every other hero in the game, as a majority of compositions were built around both having a Mercy (so using Pharah was more prominent), as well as fighting Mercy, and therefore dive comp became popular in order to track her down. The meta should take some time to develop, but an overall increase in diversity should occur, as “pick”-focused heroes or those with the ability to isolate and kill one target, such as Widowmaker, Hanzo, Mei, etc., look to see more action. One team that should see a greater showing this stage due to these changes is the Seoul Dynasty, as their support core of ryujehong and tobi lacked a dedicated Mercy player, while ryujehong, in particular, has become known for his spectacular Ana play, which is arguably the best in the world.
Roster moves abound
The other major difference between the two stages is the roster situation of each team, as teams add both new players, as well as those that were ineligible due to age with multiple young stars now eligible.
The team with the largest changes to their roster is the Shanghai Dragons, who added four new players to their lineup. Shanghai obviously had to make major changes after failing to secure a single series win in the first stage, yet some surprise came from their willingness to add Korean talent to their originally all-Chinese roster. This overall should help improve the talent of the squad, but obvious questions have surfaced on whether or not synergy problems will come about, particularly early.
Dallas make changes
Perhaps the team most likely to outperform their stage one showing is the Dallas Fuel, who, after coming in as one of the favourites to win it all, completely floundered and landed in tenth place. Dallas looked lost all-season long, continually disappointing week after week as their team cohesion was poor, even while fielding a roster that had mostly played together previously.
Three major additions are supposed to happen come the start of stage two, with the first already announced in the signing of aKm. One of the best players on the team formerly known as Rogue, aKm was a great signing talent wise for the Fuel, yet they appear to have an overflow of DPS players, especially given the recent news that Fuel are expected to sign Rascal to the lineup, who was on the London Spitfire in stage one.
xQc returns
The final addition for Dallas is the reinstatement of xQc, who only played a couple of weeks in stage one before being suspended. xQc was one of the lone bright spots for Dallas early in the year before his suspension, continually providing space on the likes of Orisa. With xQc once again joining the fray, coupled with the wealth of talent on this roster, Dallas once again find themselves with lofty expectations.
Much is unknown coming into stage two of the Overwatch League, given the meta changes joining with the shuffling of a myriad of rosters. The favourites are similar to stage one, with London, Seoul, New York, and Houston, who replace Dallas as a favourite, as the teams to beat. However, after seeing the results of stage one, the Overwatch League looks to be more competitive than ever, with almost every team having a real shot at making playoffs this coming stage.
