If there was ever any doubt about the quality of competition that Overwatch League would yield, it should be put to rest by now. All-star players came out swinging, giving us some of the best Overwatch action we’ve ever seen in one of the most fluid metas to date. Here are four of the best plays from the first week of Overwatch League.
Shaz - Los Angeles Gladiators vs. Shanghai Dragons
In Overwatch, it isn’t only up to the DPS to come up with clutch kills. Jonas Samuel “Shaz” Suovaara is one of the deadliest Zenyatta players in the world, and he’s been putting on quite the show for most of his career. Now he’s on the big stage with the Los Angeles Gladiators, and he seems to be getting even better:
With time winding down, Shanghai needed to make something happen. Unfortunately for them (and their questionable use of Reaper), the Gladiators were dug in pretty good. Shaz wins the Zenyatta duel with relative ease, and then turns to the fight at point B. Lane “Surefour” Roberts is on the high ground as Junkrat, and he manages to launch Chao “Undead” Fang into the air with a mine, setting him up perfectly for Shaz to bring him down with a couple of well-placed orbs.
Taimou - Dallas Fuel vs. Seoul Dynasty
Dallas is a great team. They’re favored to at least place in the top four at the end of the season, and Timo “Taimou” Kettunen is a big reason why. Though he’s one of the best Widowmaker and McCree players in the world, the Fuel have been utilizing his unique skills on Roadhog, a hero he used quite a bit in the past. Good thing, too, because they really needed him to shine in this push against Seoul at the end of Junkertown:
Rolling in hard with only one support, Dallas was hoping to overwhelm Seoul with superior firepower. Je-Hong “Ryujehong” Ryu attempts to stall with Transcendence, but Taimou has other plans. After hooking Ryujehong into position, Taimou uses his ultimate to keep Ryujehong pinned out of position before killing him. He then punctuates the play with a hook onto Jin-Hyuk “Miro” Gong, allowing Dallas to take the third point.
Poko - Philadelphia Fusion vs. Houston Outlaws
Without a doubt, the Philadelphia Fusion has one of the most impressive rosters of the North American teams both in terms of talent and numbers. Gael “Poko” Gouzerch is known for his Zarya and DPS play, but he proved to be one of the best D.Vas of the week this time around thanks to his insane Self-Destruct placement:
This particular D.Va bomb could not have been more perfect. It lands in an awkward position, giving the Outlaws very few escape routes. They do their best to retreat, but the explosion nails three players who weren’t quite able to break line-of-sight.
Team push - Los Angeles Valiant vs. Dallas Fuel
The match between the Los Angeles Valiant and Dallas Fuel was arguably the best of week one, and it was basically one big highlight reel. There were so many instances where no one player stood out. You always hear things like “it’s a team effort” in Overwatch, and it’s because of plays like this by the Valiant:
At first glance, it looks as though Dallas has the upper hand. Even after the Valkyrie by Benjamin “Unkoe” Chevasson, the Valiant aren’t in a great place. But they burn down the enemy D.Va and follow it up with a Supercharger, causing things to snowball from there. Unkoe manages to get a kill on Hyeon “Effect” Hwang, and Young-Seo “Kariv” Park obliterates Dallas’ Mercy with a close-range Widowmaker shot. Oh, and all of this happened in overtime. Impressive.
If these are the types of plays we’re already seeing in week one, Overwatch League has a very bright future.
