Boston Uprising look primed for a clean sweep this week, with the struggling Shanghai Dragons and Dallas Fuel on the slate.
Uprising still perfect
Boston have been the dominant team thus far in Stage 3, boasting a perfect 6-0 record that includes victory over Stage 2 champions New York Excelsior. DPS player Striker is making a case for MVP with his incredible performances week to week, with this week looking all too simple for Uprising.
To further support Boston’s potential advantage, it appears as though Dallas will play without EFFECT as he is currently in South Korea on what appears to be a break given that Dallas have already been all but eliminated from the playoffs. Even if EFFECT is starting for Dallas, Boston come in as the hottest team in the league with by far the easiest Week 4 schedule.
Tough slate for Seoul
Arguably the most difficult schedule this week belongs to Seoul Dynasty, who have Philadelphia Fusion and New York Excelsior on the roster. Seoul have continued to be one of the most inconsistent squads in the entirety of the Overwatch League, epitomising that in last week’s play when they lost a map to winless Shanghai before narrowly falling to Boston 1-2.
One of the matches to watch this week is Seoul versus Philadelphia, with Philly looking to bounce back after a stunning loss to San Francisco Shock. Seoul could be catching Philadelphia at the right time, or they could be unfortunately squaring off with a top team looking desperately to force their way back into the upper slots of the playoffs. Given their strength of schedule and their continued struggles at prolonged success, a 1-1 split this week would be a quality result for Seoul.
Houston will take on both LA teams
A team looking to continue momentum into this week is the Houston Outlaws, who finally picked up a 2-0 record in Week 3. While against some of the lower tiered teams, Houston finally got back on their feet and showed the skill and abilities expected of them entering this stage. The team as a whole improved, but the versatility and depth shown by the DPS players in particular was arguably their biggest plus.
Houston have a difficult test this week, with both Los Angeles squads on tap as the second place Valiant and fifth place Gladiators await them. Each series should be hotly contested, but the final map could have a major influence on who emerges victorious. The last map for Houston’s series against Valiant is Junkertown; far and away Houston’s best map. Conversely, the final map for the set against the Gladiators is Route 66; clearly Houston’s worst map. This week is a chance for Houston to re-emerge as a playoff threat, with hopes that the Tracer role that has often plagued them is finally settled.
Shock looking to make a name
Another team with a difficult test this week is San Francisco Shock, with match-ups against New York Excelsior and London Spitfire. San Francisco quietly sit in fourth place currently with a 4-2 record, although two of those wins were against Shanghai and Dallas. This is a major test for the Shock, with hopes they can continue the run of good form that saw them upset Philadelphia just this past week.
Perhaps the most underappreciated player this stage is Shock’s Danteh, who continues to play an impressive Tracer and Sombra. The introduction of both super and sinatraa has also produced fairly decent results, but the overall abilities of San Francisco in terms of their ceiling remains a question mark moving forward.
This appears to be the week that San Francisco struggle, yet should they come out on top, they would establish themselves as a legitimate threat in the playoffs.
