Can SF Shock the World? OWL Stage 2 Playoffs Preview

After a very exciting Stage 2 regular season portion of Overwatch League action, the playoffs are upon us. The top 8 teams in the league through 7 games get an invite to earn Overwatch League pride, and some large performance bonuses.

Just a few days after announcing where the Overwatch League 2019 Season will play its grand finals, we’re heading into the Stage 2 playoffs playing a bit of a different tune than we did in Stage 1. 

No longer does NYXL hold all of the confidence, and in Stage 2 there be Dragons. Some things have been shaken up over the course of the second stage, and others remain the same. So, let’s take a look at the Round 1 match-ups (in brief). 

Shanghai Dragons vs. San Francisco Shock

There’s no denying it, the San Francisco Shock lost in the Stage 1 Grand Finals and it pulled a nerve so bad that they refused to lose a single map in Stage 2. Setting the league record as the first team to ever play through an entire Stage without dropping a map, the Shock enter the Stage 2 playoffs as the heavy favorites.

The Shanghai Dragons, on the other hand, have managed an amazing feat as well. They have gone from a team that didn’t win a single game in all of season 1, to making the playoffs in Stage 2. Their 4W - 3L record in Stage 2 granted them a pass to the postseason. 

It will be difficult for the Dragons to pull out a win on this one, as the Shock have the fire and the momentum. We don’t expect the Shock to make it through the entire playoffs without dropping a map, but it could happen and the Dragons aren’t the team (yet) to do that to the boys from the bay. 

Hangzhou Spark vs. London Spitfire

Last year’s Overwatch League Champions in the London Spitfire have fallen pretty far from their pedestal of inaugural greatness. In Stage 2, we got a taste of that old greatness, even though their schedule was pretty weak. With a handful of ticks in the win column that could have easily been “L”s says a lot about London barely edging out the competition.

The Hangzhou Spark have finally made the playoffs in their second Stage in franchise history, and they have a very strong looking anti-GOATs squad. Interestingly, the Spark are the only team with a negative map differential to make the playoffs. 

With the shaky nature in which the Spitfire qualified for the playoffs, and the Spark playing hit-or-miss craziness, this is probably going to be the closest and hardest series to call in the first round of the Stage 2 Playoffs. 

New York Excelsior vs. Los Angeles Gladiators

At least one of the two Los Angeles teams are playing well, right? In fact, the LA Gladiators almost went the entire stage without losing a single match-up, only just falling to the lackluster Boston Uprising on their final outing. There’s a lot of pride in the shield lion right now, and the sea of purple everyday in the Blizzard Arena is evidence of that.

Who can forget what the New York Excelsior did to their fans in the Stage 1 Playoffs. They went into that post season with all of the hope and a ton of momentum, only to lose in the first-round against a Seoul Dynasty team that barely made the playoffs. Yes, Seoul is better than their record makes them out to be, but that’s no excuse for the MVP of OWL season 1, and this all-star companions. The NYXL also dropped two games to the Atlanta Reign. 

If there was money on it, we’d have to think that the Gladiators (who are on a tear) would easily dispatch of the NYXL in round 1 here, but there could be some turmoil. Would it be an upset if NYXL make it out of the first round with a win? 

Dallas Fuel vs. Vancouver Titans

Due to the excellent performance from the San Francisco Shock, the Vancouver Titans wound up in the third-seed overall heading into the Stage 2 Playoffs. The still undefeated Titans seek to duplicate their dominant performance from the Stage 1 Playoffs, where they won the entire thing. The Titans don’t look to have slowed down or changed up their game, and it’s working. 

The Dallas Fuel may be the easiest team to put in the “I don’t think they actually belong in the playoffs”, but here they are. If Note and AKM can step up big on the playoff stage than the Dallas Fuel hold onto some of their momentum they’ve drug in here from the regular stage. 

This is a series that will probably go as expected. Someone is going to beat the Vancouver Titans eventually, but it probably isn’t going to be this Dallas Fuel. 

With shares of a $500,000 prize pool, and a lot of pride for these teams on the line, the Overwatch League Stage 2 Playoffs are going to be pretty exciting. 

Who do you think will win it all?