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The past few weeks I’ve written introduction articles to help initiate new blood into the world of Overwatch and hopefully by now I’ve piqued your curiosity to at least consider watching and enjoying the esport.
The last thing you may want to consider before tuning in is which team to barrack for, and in Overwatch League this is more complicated than you might expect.
Later in the year we’ll see the return of the Overwatch World Cup in which teams are made up of players divided into their home countries, which can take some of the confusion out of selecting your colours, but the League has no such luck.
Teams are named after places, but who’s actually involved has very little to do with their team’s title. Furthermore, players are swapped fairly regularly, so you may need to be open to a more fluid support approach.
If you are feeling patriotic then the only team an Australian should make their one and only is the Los Angeles Valiant. They’re the home of Scott ‘Custa’ Kennedy, the only Aussie player in the league, as well as housing fellow Australian Jordan ‘Gunba’ Graham on their coaching staff.
This is the only place in the league you can currently directly throw your support behind some true blues, and the team colours are green and gold, so you can even look the part while convincing yourself that the LA in LA Valiant really stands for ‘Love Australia’.
Do you have a mate who’s thinking already aligned with the LA Valiant support strategy and want to specifically go against them? Good news! Los Angeles sports another team, the Gladiators, and there’s a fantastic rivalry between them.
Both are currently set to be in the playoffs for this stage and are very close in their win-loss ratios. Proudly don the purple and white and for bonus points talk loudly about how Fissure is quite possibly the best main tank in the league at the next game.
(Robert Paul/Blizzard Entertainemnt)
Maybe you’re more into supporting an underdog and are happy to ride out the waves of losses while witnessing the slight improvements, waiting for the day your team may rise in an unprecedented upset.
You want to be with a team from the lowest of the low and are willing to stand by them for the chance of the sweetest possible victory, even if it never happens. If this sounds about right then get yourself a Shanghai Dragons jersey because you officially bleed red.
The Dragons have been at the bottom of the ladder for the entire tenure of the Overwatch League and haven’t won a full game yet. This stage has seen the biggest improvement from them so far, so if you want that sweet upset victory, you may want to jump on to this team’s bandwagon fast.
If underdogs aren’t your thing and you want more of a sure bet to victory, then you want New York Excelsior. Or at least you might. The Overwatch League is still finding its feet but this stage NYXL have been consistently very good after taking out last stage’s play-offs.
That being said, Boston Uprising are sitting just above them this stage, and if you look at the overall league standings, Stage 1 winners London Spitfire are still among the top three despite a disappointing stage. Regardless of team, if you’re in it to win it, there’s a good chance you’re wearing blue.
A different blue team that has very little chance of seeing the play-offs is the Dallas Fuel. If you’re big on redemption arcs and drama, then you might just want to get behind this team. Originally made up of some of the most famous personalities in the Overwatch League, the Fuel have yet to find a cohesive way to play and always seem to be at the centre of some controversy.
If they can get themselves together, they might be able to push their way out from second last on the ladder, but that’ll only happen if their players can focus on the game.
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If on the other hand you do want interesting personalities but none of the controversy, then check out the Houston Outlaws. This team is made up of a plucky bunch, many of which started playing together largely because they enjoyed it.
They’re one of the more charismatic teams who always appear to be joking around and having fun despite bringing some serious game. Perhaps more importantly, their logo and team colours are some of the best looking in the league, with the bright green and black contrast making for some really nice league skins for your personal play.
Speaking of best logo and team colours, Seoul Dynasty are a good if inconsistent pick. You get to wear styling black and gold with a nice tiger emblem and support what could be one of the best teams in the league if they got their act together.
The Dynasty sit at number four in the overall standings, but their play can range from top tier to ultimately quite disappointing. Watching a Seoul match can often leave you wondering what’s going on when they lose games they should almost certainly win. The good news is a Seoul game is never boring, with Byung-sun ‘Fleta’ Kim, who is arguably one of the best DPS in the world, on their side.
If you were having trouble choosing, hopefully this has given you a little inspiration on a few of the currently more interesting teams to follow. There are other teams in the league, and with a game so new any will make a good pick to dip your feet into watching competitive Overwatch.