MVP Tracker: Best players from each top ranked Overwatch League team
With most teams already establishing their identity on stage and through their fanbases, it’s been interesting to note the most impactful players on each team when the going gets rough. For the top five teams in the league, its hard to single out a player in this team focused meta that is head and shoulders above their colleagues, but we will attempt to find that x-factor on each lineup with this list. By the end of the season, there’s a very good chance that a few of these players will be on the cusp of MVP stardom given their performances thus far, and if they remain consistent, they will more than likely become household names for their fans.
© Robert Paul | Blizzard Entertainment
Before we delve into this list, it is important to preface that there’s still a tie for the fifth best team in the Overwatch League. Due to map differential, Dallas Fuel is sitting at number five this week and that’s why we are including their player pick into this list, on top of their stellar run of form as of late.
Dallas Fuel – Min-seok “OGE” Son
If Dallas Fuel were a skyscraper, OGE would be the steel beams that everything else is built upon. Yes, players like Dylan “aKm” Bignet and Benjamin “uNKOE” Chevasson have been flashy and integral with their plays this year, but nothing gets off the ground without OGE towering over the rest of the competition with his ever-improving tank play. Another reason for featuring OGE on this list is his steady progression as being the only viable player on a dysfunctional Dallas Fuel team last season, to becoming quite possibly one of the most fearsome Winston’s in the league.
Since filling in for the controversial xQc, OGE has done nothing but keep his head down and force the rest of the team into a positive position while leading by example. Dallas Fuel’s Head Coach Aero knows the winning formula for his team now, and that recipe for success relies heavily on OGE showing up to the plate week in and week out.
New York Excelsior – Dong-gyu “Mano” Kim
In this GOATS meta, DPS players are basically a flash in the pan, but Tanks are forever. Because of this, NYXL has steadily relied on this Main Tank dominance to will them over the finish line so cleanly. Mano also shares a distinct honor of being not just one of the best (if not the best) Tanks in the league, but also being the most integral piece of this NYXL roster alongside Seong-hyun “JJoNak” Bang.
© Blizzard Entertainment
When NYXL is firing on all cylinders and their team looks damn near unstoppable, Mano is more than likely at the height of his powers. When his performances are shaky, NYXL look noticeably dampened as a team and the wheels come spiraling off like they did in the Stage One playoffs. Luckily, Mano has always been a player more prone to success than failure, and he will look to continue that fortune as the leader of New York Excelsior for the rest of the season.
Los Angeles Gladiators – Gui-un “Decay” Jang
Another team that has recently rallied their way to success, Los Angeles Gladiators keep pushing the envelope week by week as their dismantling of opponents is getting more one sided by the day. Holding the shield on this charge, Decay has become the new face of the franchise for LA Gladiators and with good reason. Upon joining the team, the Korean pro player was rumoured to be making $300,000 for the season, making him one of the hottest commodities to make the trip over from South Korea this offseason.
Flash forward to Stage Two, and it’s hard to argue that Decay hasn’t justified his price tag, and possibly then some, with his performances. Decay is making his presence felt within the league by dominating on new ventures like Zarya in this meta, but we haven’t even really seen his true potential in the Overwatch League on DPS just yet. Eventually, when Blizzard fixes the meta into standard DPS compositions, the real Decay highlight reels will start to emerge. Alongside Lane “Surefour” Roberts, they can truly become a fearsome duo once double DPS returns.
San Francisco Shock – Matthew “super” DeLisi
For these next three teams, the baton for MVP of the roster can be given multiple ways, but we’re (generously) going to pick the unsung heroes of these rosters to show some appreciation to the role players that give those awe inspiring highlights their inception point. For San Francisco Shock, super may not be the best technical player on his team, but he is the missing puzzle piece that sets the rest of this star studded roster into motion.
© Robert Paul | Blizzard Entertainment
Time and time again in every passing interview, players keep heaping praises on super for what he brings to this SF Shock team. The key is in consistency and patience within his play style this year that has changed his identity almost completely as the Main Tank for his team. For this reason, his stature as the anchor for his team makes him more valuable than the other star players on SF Shock, and the risk averse gameplay makes him that much more dependable.
Vancouver Titans – Sung-jun “SLIME” Kim
In this Stage Two meta, the multiple maps that feature ample wall space for Lucio plays and shenanigans has made the hero reemerge with force into the Overwatch League. Within the ‘League of Lucio’ there is a distinct jam master that reigns supreme over the rest, and that player is none other than SLIME from the Vancouver Titans.
Again, picking an MVP for Vancouver is basically a dice roll. All six players enable each other at certain points, and there is no lack of initiative from any player on this team. But SLIME’s playmaking on Lucio this stage and last stage has really brought his name to the forefront in an already enigmatic and stacked lineup. To make your presence felt on the greatest team in the league as a Support requires JJoNak level chops, and SLIME is definitely making a case for himself in a different respect, with his incredible utility from the healer position thus far.
