A generally expected medium is locked.
The 2021 Overwatch League season is drawing to a close, and with it, we find out who the best teams of the year are. Most were successful from the start, with a couple who had a rocky path. Soon the awards will be handed out, the All-Stars will play and a champion will be named. Before all of this though, we still need to have some support.
There are few, if any, teams that have surprised fans by making an appearance in the medium. In terms of standings outsiders, the Philadelphia Fusion (4th East) and Washington Justice (6th West) managed to defeat their higher ranked opponents in Seoul Dynasty (3rd East) and Houston Outlaws (5th West) respectively. The Philadelphia Fusion had previously beaten the Seoul Dynasty in the regular season and even went 5-4 against Seoul between their two regular season games.
Washington, on the other hand, has only played once in Houston and lost that regular season game. Winning 3-2 over Houston in the Play-ins may have come as a surprise to some, but Washington’s highs have been high enough this season that everyone can reasonably expect them to appear in the playoffs. playoffs. So now that we’re here, what should we expect? Did Dallas hit its stride too early in the season? Did the Dragons make a mistake in choosing Shock? Are the Gladiators the best we’ve seen this year?
What we can expect
Let’s start with the simplest prediction of all. Chengdu Hunters and Atlanta Reign will most likely be shutouts for the Hunters. These teams played very recently in the Countdown Cup and Chengdu eliminated Atlanta 3-0. Atlanta just isn’t flexible enough to counter-choose the typically unorthodox Hunters’ style. Atlanta has the ability to play a lot of compositions, but spent a lot more time on their bunker-style compositions, which didn’t prepare them well enough for the Wrecking-Ball / Pharmercy staple in Chengdu.
A new game to keep our eyes open is the LA Gladiators vs. the Philadelphia Fusion. These teams have yet to face each other this season, but both made huge improvements at the end of the regular season. Gladiators are showing off the best team games we’ve seen in the entire league this year so far, so Philadelphia fans will be betting a DPS differential in their favor to get them through this game.
Washington Justice and Dallas Fuel may surprise fans who don’t pay close attention to every team or every game. Washington gave Dallas one of their toughest games of the regular season, and they’re the best of the entire season. This is the pinnacle of Justice, but can the same be said of Fuel? This is extremely hard to tell, as Dallas deliberately cut the throttle in the Countdown Cup in order to relax and have more meaningful workout ahead of the playoffs. Maybe Dallas will come out stronger than ever. Only time will tell.
Match phare : Shanghai vs SF Shock
Finally, the absolute match to watch. Shanghai Dragons against the shock of San Francisco. Shanghai had the first pick for their opponent after the Play-Ins, and they immediately took a hit against the most dangerous team in the Play-ins (and possibly the Playoffs). The Shock haven’t qualified for a single stage tournament this year, which means they haven’t even faced one of the eight Eastern teams in an official game. That being said, how could you ever count back-to-back Overwatch League champions 2019 and 2020? It’s a team with so much roster depth, so much experience and so much strategy that the Shanghai Dragons are sure to enter a game unlike any other they’ve had in 2021.
Along with that, Shanghai head coach Byung-chul “Moon” Moon (2020 Coach of the Year) would have absolutely expected to see the Shock at some point in the playoffs and maybe be the one to get them. chooses as their first opponent, so Shanghai may not enter as blindly as it looks from the outside. The Shanghai Dragons are a team of some of Eastern Overwatch’s most prominent names, home to 2020 MVP Byung-sun “Fleta” Kim, veterans Pan-seung “Fate” Koo, Jun-woo “Void” Kang and Min -chul “IZaYaKI” Kim, and star of young talent in Jae-won “LIP” Lee and Jae-gon “LeeJaeGon” Lee. Regardless of the outcome, it’s unlikely that a single card will end in an easy win for either team.
Ready for action
This year’s playoffs begin on Tuesday, September 21 and have turned into one of the most intense Overwatches ever played. Hopefully our expectations are met and we get all the close games that we expect. Make sure to support your teams, the league, and try your last chance to receive In-Game Overwatch League Tokens September 21-25.
Overwatch League 2021 Playoffs Preview & Predictions post appeared first on Esports News Network | ESTNN.
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