If I asked you: “what are the top ten Overwatch teams of all time?”
… What would you say?
Too hard to answer, right?
We are just weeks away from the third season of the Overwatch League, so it is only natural to focus on a couple of teams who have the biggest chance of leaving a mark this year.
Coming up with a power ranking so early into the season is a fairly thankless endeavor, especially seeing how much time has passed since these teams actually competed.
Despite this, we know more than enough about everyone involved to come up with a preliminary ranking
The Meta Conundrum
At the time of this writing, there’s still no consensus in regards to the meta and what we’ll see come February.
We know that the double shield meta is bound to take over, but no one can truly predict what’ll happen because of the most recent patch.
Will we see a return of dive team comps, or are we sentenced to watching Orisa and Sigma every single game?
The latter is more likely to happen, for better or worse.
Sigma’s stacked ability kit is unparalleled as it offers a potent mix of offensive and defensive tools, which means he’s bound to be a staple pick in almost every team comp.
We’ve already seen what top-tier Overwatch League players could do on Sigma and we were not left indifferent.
Because the meta will shift quite a bit from last year, no one’s quite sure what to expect.
Because of this, any kind of top ten overwatch teams list can’t be definitive.
With so many new things hitting the game, teams will compete on a somewhat level playing field which means upsets are bound to happen on a fairly frequent basis.
Finally, only the top three or four teams are likely to end up that high.
Everyone below them, however, will probably exchange places on a weekly basis, given that they really do start the season off as well as most expect.
Nothing is set in stone, especially given how much time has passed since we last saw these top ten Overwatch teams in action.
Top Ten Overwatch Teams
1. San Francisco Shock
The number one team in the Overwatch League. Near the end of the inaugural season, it became evident that the Shock was a bona fide titan in the making.
But it wasn’t until the second stage of the second season that they actually broke through and etched their names in history.
After a spectacular seven-game Stage 1 finals against the Vancouver Titans, the Shock made the world take notice.
Everyone realized that they were not only capable of trading blows with the best teams in the world, but also that they pose a unique, layered challenge.
Soon enough, they took over the Overwatch League and have been nothing short of awe-inspiring.
Now, obviously, they’re not perfect, but there hasn’t been a team out there that was consistently able to compete when the Shock was at the top of their game.
2. Vancouver Titans
The Titans were every bit as good as the Shock throughout the majority of the 2019 season.
They are, without a doubt, a top-tier team regardless of the meta, but how well they’ll adjust after losing a couple of players still remains to be seen.
They weren’t always as consistent as they needed to be, and that’s a shame, especially because we know how high this line-up can soar.
Their most recent off-season had a couple of confusing moments, but as a whole, they should be able to re-emerge unscathed.
The fact that they brought over support legend Jehong “ryujehong” Ryu and Chan-hyung “Fissure” Baek means they’ll enter the 2020 season with more experience and aggression than ever.
Conversely, the fact that they lost a couple of key players means they might not start off as well as most expect. Growing pains are guaranteed for Vancouver, at least in the beginning.
3. New York Excelsior
The New York Excelsior (or NYXL for short) is one of the best and most fascinating teams in the entire League.
They’re staggeringly dominant when they’re at the top of their game and have maintained a respectable level of excellence for two years in a row.
Despite this, they often fail to capitalize on their hype and momentum. Their two-year-long Overwatch League tenure has been defined by humongous expectations and a couple of crushing defeats.
In other words, NYXL is dominant beyond measure until they reach those season-defining matches — that’s when they crumble, at least more often than not.
They dominated throughout the first season, but once the final playoffs came around, they imploded.
By the same token, they hovered near the top in season two as well but their stellar play never got them any win that mattered in the grand scheme of things.
Despite this, the New York Excelsior is still one of the most dangerous and capable teams in the entire Overwatch League, and that should still be the case once the third season begins.
4. Seoul Dynasty
Seoul made a couple of spectacular signings during the off-season.
They brought over Hyeong-seok “WizardHyeong” Kim, along with Joon-yeong “Profit” Park and Jae-hee “Gesture” Hong.
These are all household names and should definitely elevate this team to newfound heights.
While Seoul never really capitalized on their momentum coming into the Overwatch League, it feels like they could finally hit their stride and start stringing a couple of high-profile wins in 2020.
In any case, if this line-up “clicks” in the right way it’s bound to become a top-tier challenger capable of competing at the highest of levels.
5. Hangzhou Spark
Hangzhou stood out quite a lot last year, but they were simply unable to break through.
That one fact in no way diminishes their valiant effort.
The Chinese organization (who happens to have just a single Chinese player) is bound to start the year off strong as they’ve made very few changes during the off-season.
They’ll build on their solid foundation from 2019 and are a bona fide powerhouse in the making.
They’re talented, in sync, they’re accustomed to playing with each other, and are arguably a lock for the playoffs.
6. Atlanta Reign
For Atlanta, 2019 was a rollercoaster.
Their season had it all: momentous triumphs, crushing defeats, and everything in between.
Fortunately, they made a couple of solid pick-ups over the last couple of weeks which should, in theory, stabilize them quite a bit.
They have the talent — they just need to synergize, stay on course, and play to their strengths.
With time, then, they’ll become less of a momentum-based team and more of a well-rounded challenger that can tango with the best in the League. They could rank higher if things pan out.
7. Houston Outlaws
The Texas-based organization has had a fairly confusing two-year Overwatch League stint.
They were almost always highly competitive, but their play regressed at the most random times.
Despite this, no one ever doubted the talent and potential of their stacked line-up.
Fortunately, Houston made a couple of very intelligent signings over the last couple of months and they’re all upgrades.
While that might not be enough in the grand scheme of things, you can expect the Outlaws to step up considerably once the third season of the Overwatch League comes around.
They might not challenge the like of San Francisco Shock for the OWL throne, but they’re definitely going to be a dangerous, well-rounded gatekeeper with a varied arsenal of weapons.
8. Los Angeles Gladiators
No one’s ever quite sure what to think of the Los Angeles Gladiators.
They’re a talented bunch, that’s for sure, but they’re also impossible to read.
At the very least, they’re a Top 10 contender, although how high they’ll be able to climb is anyone’s guess at this point.
They certainly surprised a lot of people in the 2019 Overwatch League playoffs after upsetting Hangzhou Spark in 4:3 fashion before dropping a close 2:4 series to the Vancouver Titans.
You never know how well they’ll play or what they’ll play even, and that kind of flexibility and willingness to experiment is certainly one of their biggest assets.
While the team changed considerably during the off-season, they shouldn’t be any weaker after synergizing and getting on the same page.
They’re still stacked talent-wise and should be more than capable of competing for a spot in the top ten.
9. Shanghai Dragons
Predicting how well (or how badly) Shanghai will do is an impossible endeavor.
They lost forty-two matches in a row, and then ended up winning the third stage of the second season.
That’s about as big of a turnaround as humanly possible.
They lost a couple of key players (most notably Young-jin “Gamsu” Noh), but have brought over a plethora of new ones (some of which are high-profile veterans).
If they adapt quickly enough, they definitely stand a chance of becoming a Top 10 team. That said — as always — there are many question marks regarding Shanghai.
10. Philadelphia Fusion
Yet another fantastic team that failed to leave a mark in 2019.
They certainly had their moments across all four stages, but whenever they had to clutch things out they failed to deliver.
That’s a shame because we know what they’re truly capable of — their spectacular performance in the inaugural Overwatch League season attests to the fact.
Despite their underwhelming showing last year, there’s still a metric ton of talent present within their line-up and if they make the right adjustments coming into the third season, they should be more than capable of reaching the top ten.
Finally, the meta should be favoring the likes of Jaehyeok “Carpe” Lee and Josue “Eqo” Corona which should, in turn, make Philly into one heck of a challenger. They’re a feisty team with a lot of grit and determination, so expect them to start the season off swinging!
That’s it for our list of top ten Overwatch teams of 2020!
With localization kicking in this year, teams and players will be under a record amount of pressure over the coming months.
Expect new challengers to rise and old ones to fight harder than ever to retain their spots at the top. Either way, we should be in for one heck of a ride!
