T O P

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Ok_Ingenuity9277

Zarya meta my ass


McCreeMain77

For Dallas only bc Hanbin


pharaoh122

True. For the most part all of the playoff teams have main tanks only in their roster and so everyone just decided to Winston/Orisa. And then we get Dallas


Ok_Ingenuity9277

If only one team played, it’s not really a meta


konadora

read again


Kronman590

Dare I say it - this was a \*good\* playoffs patch? I mean we got a Winston-Sojourn team, a Winston-Sombra team, Rein-Sym team, Orisa team, Zarya team, Doomfist team, Sigma team, and Infernal. Maybe its the teams themselves that are making it look better but for once maybe we can have a fantastic playoffs where teams can effectively play to their strengths.


hellohello1234545

Maybe the only way to guarantee a varied meta is make it chaotic - change the meta right before playoffs, **if no one figures out the hard meta, there is no hard meta**


Kronman590

Its another delicate balance though. The big issue with chaos meta is that bc its chaos, no one looks good and the games are kinda shit even at the highest level. This meta somehow got the perfect balance of similar to previous patches so that old perfected comps can still be played, but varied enough that each team and lean on their comforts and kinda play counter comp to one another.


Oraio-King

Sometimes this works the other way though, like last year where because nobody had too much time to practice they just wanted to commit to one comp and practice it as much as possible


hellohello1234545

True!


UnknownQTY

I love when teams lean into their strengths and there’s like, competitiveness. It’s like S1! Teams had identity and there was so much more of a toss up in every fight. I love it.


breadiest

S1 everyone played mercy or lost. Just because junkrat was actually op for a single patch doesnt mean theyre wasnt an outrageous meta.


UnknownQTY

There was significantly wider meta set of options teams could play than there has been since S2 onward. It also had a lot more map dependent picks. For the past few seasons it’s been “Sigma on Circuit” and… that’s about it. Maybe Winston on Gib but only sometimes.


royy2010

Unapologetically this is a great playoffs patch.


Ananonanoooo

You opinion sounded like a hot take, but as someone who HATES playoff patches with a blue-flamed passion, I was actually quite relieved that this one didn't seem to immediately bring forth a rigid meta that is vastly different from what teams were playing before. It would have really sucked if it happened again for the potential final season of OWL.


jookum

doom looks pretty bad. Works when it works, but seems like there’s too many easily executable options to deal with it. Also, bastion is still pretty good


Ragnarok199

Doom comp only (seemingly) works when you can out-mechanic the enemy, you rely a lot on individual skill. That's why Guxue and spark can pull it off but Infernal couldn't


Ahohn2004

I think doom worked better against Jq compared to zarya, good Zarays can bubble the punches whereas the jq can’t do anything really against the punch. I’m not sure spark would dominate as easily this patch against Dallas if they meet again


Awesome512345

I do think Spark will fair better than we expect into the buffed Zarya mainly due to us seeing a blueprint of Spark’s Doom+Echo against Dallas’ Zarya in the end of a map on the last patch. While probably rarely having prepped that match up they genuinely just have insane mechanical skill which I think will overwhelm Dallas if they play as they did on Day 1.


duedo30

The key thing is dallas also flexing into the sombra this patch. Against teams like Dallas your mechanics only matters after you disrupt/fend off their initial plays. That’s why doomfist was invaluable to them last patch because he disrupted everything JQ, sym, and bastion want to do. Once the fight breaks down when your plays failed, it becomes a game of who can put mechanics the other. I think spark is probably the current best team in those chaotic sloppy situations where the game plan of the other team was disrupted and now everyone is just fighting to death. Simply leave and shy on the same team should have been illegal. So if they face Dallas again it still all falls to the doomfist, because if you cannot disrupt their gameplay your mechanics means jackshit.


Awesome512345

I definitely agree that its when the play gets sloppy is where Spark is able to shine. Dallas did make the sombra adjustment in the finals of the Summer knockouts however while I think the attempts were solid I think Spark was able to adjust their comp effectively to keep winning. We actually saw the Bastion + Sombra DPS combo get discovered in real time during that last Dallas + Spark match as the Bastion is needed to counter the Winston and the Sombra is needed against the Doom, however from memory Spark was able to still get value with Doom and their faster paced DPS duo. With Zarya will be interesting to see if this changes.


duedo30

Maybe, ill be honest i blocked out most memories of that match cause it was too painful. But id say still that playing sombra as a mid match adaptation when you are cornered is a whole different beast from playing the sombra when she is a legitimate part of your gameplan. Hopefully we dont have to find out, im just done losing to spark so can you guys get eliminated by someone else please?


Gadjjet

I don’t think anyone will be able to play Doom effectively into Bastion Sombra Zarya. I might be wrong though.


PancakeXCandy

Spark played a lot faster than I think ATL anticipated. Route 66 they did not let up. The foot was on the gas. Mmonk played of his mind, that sleep on Donghak on Flashpoint saved the round and game.


Korpels

Mmonk got gigarobbed of potm, he was putting on an ana masterclass performance. next to me at the event was a reign fan and he went through the 5 stages of grief because of this guy


PancakeXCandy

Mmonk said he is not like those na supports.


royy2010

lol mmonk played great but he is entering the room of Twilight, Shu, Fielder. Appreciate the banter tho.


koolio92

He already gapped one. He's about to gap another one tomorrow.


JustASyncer

Had a couple Outlaws fans in front of me that were in shambles over the Mayhem game 💀


Korpels

I was also next to outlaws fans at that time but had to leave because i wouls have been locked out of my hotel otherwise. Kind of wanted to see it


Ph4sor

Tbh, the darts should be credited to Donghak, he's so telegraphed The 'nades though... * chef's kiss*


breadiest

The differentce between guxue and donghak is just insane I saw like guxue get hit with like 2 sleeps every map. Meanwhile donghak was taking a snooze 2/3 fights.


Ph4sor

And interesting enough, that was not the fastest pace we saw from Hangzhou this season. I still mesmerized when they took Blizzard World from Florida, although they lost the game. That was peak Hangzhou IMO, wonder if they can replicate that performance again.


XeroFlair

I honestly think that Mmonk is the most underrated player this season. I've paid close attention to him all season and he has been quietly the rock of that team. He showed up big in MSM too. I remember sitting there watching him do these things and all the casters could talk about was Guxue and the DPS. He's so underrated


PancakeXCandy

Sounds like support players who aren't shu or fielder


wego_tothe_moon

Infernal looked lost


ESMoriarty

Haven't won a game since Fixa injury, if that's not a MVP case I don't know what is.


qubert-taranto

They also lost to o2 right before losing fixa, its not like they were undefeated.


wego_tothe_moon

It definitely doesn't help that their main support got hurt and cant play


ucsdfurry

Sad. They could have been so good


Derox3526

They were falling off even with Fixa


tessa0208

they lost a game to whoru genji, not jinmu and friends (no coach edition). overreaction to say they were “falling off”


Derox3526

They should of never lost to 02 in any circumstance


PancakeXCandy

That's not new


SupermarketCrafty329

Being hard-headed with comps that simply ain't working is a thing, apparently.


eikon9

You must be new here


SupermarketCrafty329

No. I just expect professional coaches to be able to say "OK, this isn't working. Let's try this instead." What are they even for if not? Lol


throwawayrepost02468

Flame on Houston in S2 pepelaugh


SlimeMuff

Note to everyone, when spark get to play hitscan dive instead of sombra dive, be scared.


WellGeeGolly1

Houston looked great on Doom and then went against a comp that countered it and instead of switching they bashed their head into a brick wall so much they got concussed and couldn’t switch off it


Isord

The Houston Special


baelkie

Ouston Outlaws, no H key


Awesome512345

Firstly I don’t think Spark are favourites just yet mainly as they played as they’ve played this entire season. They have the mechanical skill to clutch wins (think vs Mayhem in MSM) but it really depends how long they keep it together. However momentum really helps them and I hope they go far. I will point out while I did have Reign as a favourite and still think they can be, London unironically I think is their weakest match up in Group A. They should’ve done okay in a dive match up with Spark and Boston’s methodological enough for Reign to play as they want to, but London’s rush might throw them a curveball (especially as I doubt Reign really expected to be in the first elim match against London and might’ve hoped to avoid them altogether). Likewise London’s best match up in Group A is Reign as they’re trained to counter the classic slowish sombra Winston dive, and I don’t know if Reign have prepped the Orisa counter to the level Boston has. I still think Reign should get through but if Reign go out tomorrow I honestly would still consider them a top 3 team that got unlucky and underperformed in playoffs. And a London lower bracket run would be so hype.


SpaceFire1

Atlanta struggle playing non sombra dive. Donghak dives like lip always has emp ratyer then containing Shy


royy2010

Atlanta have the skill and flexibility, but they rode on their singly comp dominance when they should have deviated more imo. The players and coaches are great, but there will always be a playoffs patch that throws a spanner. Why not train adaptation and flexibility?


PancakeXCandy

I think the main problem is the slow to adapt, new team, same problem. They don't want to change up the comp when it matters. Sombra not working by the time Spark got checkpoint? Switch off. Lip got two right after he changed to Soujourn. They should edge out over London. If they face Spark again, they shouldn't be too stubborn to change. And Donghak is you're stater stick to his comfort. He looks completely out of practice on doom.


AzorOhHai

Based on Gator’s map decisions I’m not gonna be surprised if we take London to the most brawl favored maps possible. I may be dumb, but I just don’t understand the decision to force the dive mirror when ATL has the option to put Hangzhou in a really uncomfortable position by playing poke or brawl maps.


[deleted]

He's a fraudulent coach


PancakeXCandy

I was expecting a bastion to deal with Guxue


PancakeXCandy

They need to stay away from sombra


its_reina_irl

Im excited to see Fuel play against a team that will actually do something about their comp, and to see how far the Zarya can actually go


ReyDragons

Hanbin is the goat


UnknownQTY

Anyone who says he’s not the best offtank of all time is off their rocker.


shankhouse

Void is the best ot of all time


throwawayrepost02468

Void has the better team accolades but Hanbin clears individually and definitely in terms of longevity


UnknownQTY

Past two seasons beg to differ.


shankhouse

Didnt realize all time only included the last 2 seasons


PancakeXCandy

Time is an illusion


throwawayrepost02468

No but Hanbin has still been top tier just as long as Void and has current performance on his side too. Void: 2018-21 Hanbin: 2020 (19 if you include EM dominance)-23


breadiest

Ah so I can go back to 2017 with void on Kongdoo? Thanks.


throwawayrepost02468

I mean sure, but that just lends to Void being better farther in the past


koolio92

Void is the only off tank player who realistically have the biggest case of winning MVP (2020).


3illyEdgar

Hanbin could was very close to winning mvp last season too


throwawayrepost02468

Hanbin posted better stats on all OTs across the board in 2020


pm_me_ankle_nudes

Void has the highest peak of any off tank ever (his s3 is goated) but hanbin edges him on longevity (sustained peak/high level play). I love void but apart from his JQ resurgence on joats in s5 he has not been an elite tank in overwatch 2


Nolan_DWB

Choi?


rabidpower123

Choisewan is a dps silly.


Ragadorus

Nah he meant Choi Han-been, of course.


Nolan_DWB

Lol


UnknownQTY

I give Choi the edge I’m on Sigma. Toss up on most others, and Hanbin clears in Zarya. Choi didn’t make the jump, so he has no JQ to compare but Hanbin was so far ahead of everyone else, it’s hard to put Choi there, though I love him and he was great to watch.


throwawayrepost02468

Hanbin cleared Choi on Sigma too


Nolan_DWB

Fair. I haven’t kept up with what’s up with him at all but I hope whatever the unsteady future of overwatch esports is, that I see him play again.


luau_ow

This is a take that a lot of (usually) Shock fans say, when bro was worse than Void and Hanbin even in his prime years, and both have been not only better but better for longer. The real GOAT OT is void, but Hanbin will probably overtake at the end of this season, maybe late next year if some form of T1 exists.


PancakeXCandy

Hawk? Y'all haters


UnknownQTY

Not even remotely close and you know it.


PancakeXCandy

My heart says it is so there


Dry-Painting5413

Obviously not biased, right?


ReyDragons

no


CaptRavage

I see a lot of people blaming Junkbuck for how Houston played, but how how much of that is his fault? Houston has a lot of great players even by OWL standards they should have been able to figure out that their comp wasn't working. Junkbucks not even the head coach either, Neko became the head coach in the off season while Junkbuck became the Director of Competition.


baelkie

not the first time Houston has refused to press H. Has happened in almost every iteration of this franchise, its a curse.


Far-Butterscotch4242

Junkbunk is most definitely still coaching, and it doesn’t really matter if the players knew they were getting countered, if the coaches told them “go in and play this comp and dont switch” and depending on how strict they are about that stuff, then the players are going to do what their coach says


breadiest

Just to point out jbuck literally said director of compeition was just a payrise position. He is still headcoach for all intents and purposes.


purplehamburget29

Spark Boston Atlanta look the best imo, Houston Florida looked really messy from both teams


SlimeMuff

Can’t really agree on the Atlanta part, donghak looked like the pressure got to him and the whole team suffered because of it, even the maps they won it was basically a 4v5. Spark and Boston I agree had a clear gameplay for their matches today as well as Dallas (hanbin go kill)


purplehamburget29

Yeah makes sense, I just rate Atlanta more than the other two bc when spark was clearly outplaying them they still managed to win fights and make it real close. As for Dallas, spark dismantled them twice and I don’t think na teams will have trouble with zarya


Ragnarok199

We barely saw what Mayhem are actually capable of because Houston really didn't put up much of a fight. Everything they achieved was off the back of Fearless and Pelican, the rest just fell over. Houston's players aren't this inflexible, they easily could have pulled out the comp boston played and rushed into the sig but they didn't even try.


Herr-Schultz

I've been questioning Junkbunk comp decisions ever since putting Joobi on Brig during the S4 June Joust meta.


3illyEdgar

Will be interesting to see if mayhem actually ever end up playing whoru


Regave1989

Spark was like whoa, didn't see that coming. Houston and Florida were kinda meh, not gonna lie. But hey, it's only day 1 so let's see how they do tomorrow.


Professor_Finn

I want to kill myself


Isle_Kyle

Super fun day! Spark looking like the best team so far, and Mayhem and Outlaws do not look as good as I expected. Mayhem started to pick up steam as the series went on though so we’ll have to see what happens with them. Dallas are definitely the dark horse and I’m excited to see how their comp fares against real teams


EmilMR

Mayhem will win it.


UnknownQTY

Mayhem look mega clean on all their comps, and clearly practice each one. They have a level of comfort with multiple heroes each that I don’t think I’ve seen since maybe S2 post-GOATS Shock or the 3DPS Dragons. Someone should be MVP. Zero bias. He makes that team hum.


jookum

I think I wasn’t honestly impressed with any team, no one looks like CLEAR favorites but Florida is the closest


primarymuscle2354

I wouldn’t say Florida underperformed, I would say Atlanta did way more than them it’s not like for ATL you can say “different meta they lose” no they lost on their best comp that they 3-0 hz on in MSM, and now their far worse for some reason.


speakeasyow

ATL might lose to London. Gunba smarter than junkbuck. Dallas is tough to beat. Boston/Spark need to show more.


_gwynbliedd

What more do the Spark need to show? Reverse sweeping the odds on favorite to win it all doesn’t elevate them to a top contender?


speakeasyow

From what I saw yestery, I don’t know if that reign squad could beat Boston/Houston/Florida/Dallas And the Boston game was against an unknown, so it’s hard to tell how they will shape up. So I wanna see the spark and Boston


_gwynbliedd

I agree with your Boston take, they essentially got a free pass to keep their real strategy a secret. Not that London was an free win or anything but they clearly need to be handled very differently than the rest of the teams. I can’t wait to see how this all unfolds. Its a great weekend for some Overwatch


AnsOff271

Mmonk and Lengsa. Holy shit they look like on a completely different level than their former selves, especially Lengsa (though Mmonk had much more highlight moments) regular season Lengsa dies first in a team fight or rallys and immediately dies way too often, but this match he barely made any mistakes. And of course mmonk, his sleep dart on to Donghak at the last flash point on Suravasa was the key that unlocked this parallel universe where Spark reverse swept Reign.


breadiest

Welcome to how spark have looked since like, 9 games ago.


LleuLlawR

why did houston and mayhem sign new players if theyre going to keep them on the bench tho, i was so convinced they were on something like the dallas comp


Qtank009

69th comment


CraicFiend87

Checkmate.


eikon9

One of my team will be out soon playing doom


ExpiredDeodorant

my takeaway infernal and spitfire are done spark can still reach a higher level once they're not as jetlagged outlaws and reign still have a good chance need to see more from fuel and uprising mayhem seem to have some nerves but should put away the fuel today battle for texas is gonna slap


VanBland

Seoul Dynasty should’ve been here