OWL Stage Four Tips and Predictions

Overwatch 2

May 22, 2018

Nicolas Vera

In the final Stage before playoffs, middle of the pack OWL teams jostle for position as Houston Outlaws and Philadelphia Fusion have gotten off to a fiery start. With Seoul Dynasty continuing to slip up games, the road to playoffs has freed up space as Houston and LA Gladiators continue gaining traction.

The pendulum keeps swinging

A new stage in OWL means yet another meta change as Brigitte became available for Stage Four. After a record setting Stage Three run, Boston Uprising failed to continue the streak as they faced early adversity from Philadelphia Fusion. The changes to D.Va after the latest patch drew holes in Boston’s game plan as their playstyle revolved heavily around Note’s D.Va mechanics.

The adjustment to the meta is still being worked out for the Uprising as evident in this series. On the flip side, Philadelphia’s EQO and Carpe showed massive improvement over the course of week one and their synergy as a DPS core has improved steadily. Carpe continues to make his case for regular season MVP as he remains the most elusive Widowmaker in the league, not to mention his top notch play on virtually every other hitscan and projectile DPS in the game.

The Houston Outlaws have been generating traction this stage with impressive wins over London and Boston last week. While the 2-0 record may be a product of their opponents not being fully prepared, there’s no denying the tenacity of Houston once their main carries get going. Not dropping a single game to a combative London roster speaks volumes to that assertion.

When Houston has momentum, they can make things happen in any given series. If Seoul and London continue to underwhelm as Stage Four continues, there may be an avenue available for Houston to sneak their way into playoffs if trends persist. To succeed in this Stage of the OWL, an elite level Widowmaker is necessary for survival and Linkzr’s showing in week one was a positive showing towards maintaining success.

London on the brink

It’s been a puzzling second half of the season for London Spitfire fans as the downward spiral continues for the Stage One champs. The wrist injury from birdring two months ago has seemingly persisted as he hasn’t looked the same since his return. While some pundits believe it’s a rough patch, there is a vocal minority throughout the Overwatch scene that believe birdring is suffering from more issues than his wrist and his confidence on stage has tanked with it.

Once a staple DPS that enabled London to victory, birdring has increasingly looked like a shadow of his former self since Stage Three and the projections for this Stage are less than positive. At this point of the playoffs, London may be looking at Hooreg as the natural replacement for birdring as the roster struggles for London continue in their dropped sets.

This week’s series against Seoul Dynasty will be a make or break moment for their season as they push to retain a playoff spot. If Seoul Dynasty come out ahead in this week’s series, the morale of London may deteriorate to a fault that will give Houston and LA Gladiators room to flourish. Out of all the teams on the cusp of playoff contention with one foot out the door, London have the roster crisis at hand in a crucial position that can mean dropped series when coming up against more stable rosters like Philadelphia and Boston.