OWL Superstar Radar: Overwatch Players To Keep An Eye On For Last Week of Stage 1

Stage 1 is coming to an end this week and teams contending for a spot in the Stage 1 playoffs will be looking for their star players to deliver exceptional performances to help them there. There are a whole slew of talented players that will be making an impact, but here are five that you should definitely keep your eye on. 

Striker – Boston Uprising 

The Boston Uprising have been one of the biggest surprises of Overwatch League's Stage 1. Many believed that Boston's roster would not be able to keep up with the star power that other teams in the league had at their disposal. With this as motivation, the Uprising have proved their naysayers wrong and have become one of the strongest teams in the whole league and are competing for a playoff spot. One player that has been a major factor in this success is Namju "Striker" Gwon. The DPS player has shown the world that he is a top tier Tracer player and can compete with the likes of Terence "Soon" Tarlier and Jong-Ryeol "Saebyeolbe" Park. Utilizing excellent movement mechanics and superb aim Striker is able to cause havoc for any opposing team he faces. This havoc is shown by the massive number of eliminations (61, 47, 81, and 63) that Striker has been able to compile in the Uprising's four match win streak.  

With third place in the league and spot in the Stage 1 playoffs up for grabs, the Boston Uprising will be looking for Striker to continue his excellent play in order to defeat the likes of the Philadelphia Fusion and the Houston Outlaws, two teams also in contention for a playoff spot. 

ShaDowBurn – Philadelphia Fusion 

The Philadelphia Fusion came into Stage 1 as a relatively unknown team when it came to people trying to predict how they might perform. They have been able to put together a very solid season so far and have put themselves into a position to fight for a Stage 1 playoff spot. A driving force for the success of the Fusion has been their star DPS player George "ShaDowBurn" Gushcha. The widely known Genji star has shown his improved versatality, as he is now a very realiable threat on multiple heroes. It is not surprising to see ShaDowBurn play three to six heroes in a match and deliver damage with all of them. This includes having 81 eliminations twice in his last four matches.  

If the Fusion hope to defeat the Boston Uprising and Florida Mayhem this week and make their way into the playoffs, they need ShaDowBurn to deliver the high elimination games that he is best known for. 

LiNkzr – Houston Outlaws 

Another star DPS player makes his way onto the list and Jiri "LiNkzr" Masalin is as important as any of the other players on this list. This is evident by the team's drop in performance, since he went down with sickness. Before sickness sidelined him, LiNkzr was leading his team to a four match win streak with an undefeated map record of 16-0, due to his impeccable aiming with Widowmaker that was delivering highlight shot after highlight shot. While the Outlaws have only lost once during LiNkzr's absence, a 3-2 loss to the Seoul Dynasty, it was clear that Houston would have had a very good chance of taking the game if they had their star player in the lineup. 

This is the reason why all eyes will be on LiNkzr this week, as he will be making his return to the Outlaws and will be looked upon to lead the team to secure a playoff spot by defeating the likes of the London Spitfire and the Boston Uprising. Houston will need their exceptional Widowmaker player to put on a good show to defeat these difficult opponents. 

Gesture – London Spitfire 

The London Spitfire currently sit at the top of the Overwatch League with a 7-1 record and control their own destiny in securing the playoff bye and their spot in the Stage 1 playoff championship. That does not mean that they will have an easy path to accomplish this, as they will be battling the likes of the Houston Outlaws and the New York Excelsior. If the Spitfire are going to hold onto first place in the league they will need their leader and talented tank player Jae-hee "Gesture" Hong to lead the way. What Gesture doesn't provide in highlight plays or gaudy statistics, he makes up for in excellent positioning. You will never find Gesture out of position and putting the rest of his team at risk. This allows him to get the kills that count, along with always being able to provide protection to his teammates.  

With two extremely difficult matches coming this week, the Spitfire will need Gesture to be at the top of his game if they are too keep their hold on the top spot for the playoffs. 

Saebyeolbe – New York Excelsior 

Regarded as one of the top Tracer players in the world, Jong-yeol "Saebyeolbe" Park is as consistent of a DPS threat as there is in the Overwatch League. He is sometimes overshadowed by his substitute Do-hyeon "Pine" Kim of no fault of his own, as Pine is just talented enough to deliver jaw dropping plays that have everyone talking for weeks. Where Saebyeolbe shines is his consistency, as Pine is often only used for control maps, where Saebyeolbe can deliver highlight plays on any map and gamemode against their toughest opponents. This is clearly shown in the Excelsior's impressive 3-2 win over the Seoul Dynasty where the DPS player played five different heroes and had 70 eliminations.  

If the New York Excelsior want to defeat the London Spitfire and secure the number one spot in the Stage 1 playoffs, they will need their trusted DPS star to deliver the same excellent performance that he delivered against the extremely talented Seoul Dynasty. 

Missed yesterday's Overwatch League action? Check out our recap of all of the matches!