Overwatch League Power Rankings entering the Summer Showdown

June 23, 2021

by Nerd Street

The Summer Showdown starts this week and teams are gearing up for another round of competition.

In the June Joust tournament, the Dallas Fuel and the Shanghai Dragons gave fans quite the spectacle when they pushed the grand final match all the way to Map 7, with the Dragons emerging victorious. The Fuel looked dominant in the first few maps, but lost their footing and ended up granting the Dragons enough breathing room to bust through their defense.

Now going into the Summer Showdown, the Fuel and Dragons’ rivalry is what fans are keeping an eye on. Here are Nerd Street’s Power Rankings for the Summer Showdown, which starts June 25.

20. Los Angeles Valiant

Season W-L record 0-5 | map record 2-24-1

Fans still aren’t impressed with the Valiant after their highly criticized move to the East region. Who knew dumping your entire staff and players right before the season starts doesn’t make a winning team.

They have the worst map differential in the league and it’s going to take a major turnaround for them to improve.

19. Vancouver Titans

Season W-L record 0-8 | map record 4-24

Tied with the London Spitfire for last in the West Region, the Titans sure have fallen from grace since their second-place finish in the 2019 grand final. Fans have been wondering if the team’s performance is an indication of turmoil behind the scenes.

18. London Spitfire

Season W-L record 0-8 | map record 4-24

The team’s GM told fans not to expect the Spitfire to be good this year. They haven’t won a single match this year, so no one should be surprised that they’re near the bottom of our Power Rankings.

17. Guangzhou Charge

Season W-L record 2-6 | map record 7-19-2

Although the Charge don’t have the worst map differential in the East Region, it isn’t good. They won only one matchup in the June Joust, and they are almost in last place in their region. The rumor that former Runaway member Tae-Min “Mer1t” Choi is set to join the Charge hasn’t been confirmed yet, but it certainly would give some hope to Charge fans.

16. Paris Eternal

Season W-L record 3-5 | map record 13-18-2

The Eternal have struggled this season so far amid roster changes and poor performance. Elliot “ELLIVOTE” Vaneryd left the team due to a wrist injury, and Ilari “Vestola” Vestola has replaced him. A ton of credit is due to Kyoung Ey “AVALLA” Kim, who has no doubt put in a ton of work to keep this roster afloat.

15. Boston Uprising

Season W-L record 3-5 | map record 13-17

Every year fans hope that the Uprising will give a good showing, and every year fans are disappointed. This year, the Uprising are nursing a losing record, but they performed decently in the June Joust. Fans are hoping this is a sign that the team is on an upward trajectory.

14. Chengdu Hunters

Season W-L record 4-4 | map record 16-14-1

The Hunters are smack in the middle of the pack in the East Region, but there’s little hope they would do well when grouped with the teams from the West. They put up a good fight against most teams they come up against, but they haven’t been able to take the W in recent matches.

13. Hangzhou Spark

Season W-L record 5-3 | map record 19-11

The Spark have a decent record, and they won all four of their qualifying matches for the June Joust, but they lost to the NYXL in the first round of knockouts. Their performance overall gives fans promise, but the Spark are losing important games, and that won’t help them win the Summer Showdown.

12. Toronto Defiant

Season W-L record 4-4 | map record 14-17

The Defiant had a disappointing showing in the June Joust. Their roster doesn’t lack veterans or talented players, so fans are scratching their heads at why they are constantly underperforming.

11. New York Excelsior

Season W-L record 3-5 | map record 11-17

The NYXL don’t have much going for them right now aside from veteran Sung-hyeon “JJoNak” Bang. They jumped in the power rankings because they made a decent showing at the June Joust, but they have a lot of work to do to keep climbing the rankings.

10. Florida Mayhem

Season W-L record 4-4 | map record 15-16

The Florida Mayhem are right in the middle of the pack in our rankings. After a strong showing in the May Melee, they didn’t do well in the June Joust tournament, but perhaps they can step it up with the absence of hero pools in the Summer Showdown.

9. Washington Justice

Season W-L record 4-4 | map record 17-12-2

The Justice haven’t done much of note so far in the 2021 season. They have been an average team that doesn’t seem to be improving. It is a shame, since their fanbase is one of the most passionate of all the OWL teams.

8. Philadelphia Fusion

Season W-L record 6-2 | map record 20-10-2

The Fusion have had a disappointing 2021 season so far. Despite their winning record and decent map differential, they suffer the same fate as the Dynasty in losing important matches. Fans are hoping they can soon break the curse of Billy Penn.

7. Seoul Dynasty

Season W-L record 6-2 | map record 20-9

Dynasty fans shouldn’t be disappointed with the performance of their team. They’ve won most of their games and have the best map differential out of all the East Region teams. They just haven’t been able to win matches when they matter, which is what’s holding the team back.

6. Los Angeles Gladiators

Season W-L record 6-2 | map record 20-9

The Gladiators actually have the best map record in all of the West Region, so why haven’t they reached the final rounds of either the May Melee or June Joust? The answer is the same as every other West team: they couldn't beat the Fuel.

5. Atlanta Reign

Season W-L record 4-4 | map record 18-13

The Reign are running with the league minimum seven players at the moment, and it might be what’s holding them back. With no deep bench to reach from, the players are forced to become experts in whatever happens to be the meta. They almost made it into the final for the June Joust, but lost to the Fuel. They’ll need to regroup to make a run for the Summer Showdown.

4. Houston Outlaws

Season W-L record 7-1 | map record 22-10-1

If not for league points, the Outlaws would be in third place overall right now. However, their Achilles’ heel seems to be the Fuel. They haven’t claimed victory over the Fuel since the very first match of the 2021 season. The Outlaws will be looking to redeem themselves in the Summer Showdown, and if they can beat the Fuel, they are a strong contender for a spot in the main event.

3. San Francisco Shock

Season W-L record 7-1 | map record 23-10-2

Now that the hero pools are lifted, the Shock will have their resident Reinhardt player back in Matthew “super” DeLisi.

Despite their unlucky knockout during the June Joust at the hands of the Atlanta Reign, they are faring quite well in the overall standings. They currently sit in second place just behind the Fuel and are expected to do well in the Summer Showdown tournament.

2. Shanghai Dragons

Season W-L record 6-2 | map record 18-9-2

The winners of the last tournament are in second place in our Power Rankings because there is no denying that they are a top team, but can they defeat the Fuel without hero pools? They’ve faced the Fuel four times and have only beaten them once.

The Dragons are a scary team going into the Summer Showdown, and their adaptability is one of the biggest reasons. After losing to the Fuel in the early matches of the June Joust, they found themselves down the first few maps in the final, but they were able to adapt just in time to win the tournament. Can they do it again?

1. Dallas Fuel

Season W-L record 5-3 | map record 19-12-1

There are no hero pools for the Summer Showdown, which means that the Fuel, who have historically had to come up with some creative measures to combat a hitscan-centered meta, will have the entire selection of heroes at their disposal.

In addition, the Fuel now have Kim “Pine” Do-hyeon at their practice facility, which means that fans may see the Fuel play into a hitscan meta instead of creatively averting it.