Overwatch League Power Rankings entering the Countdown Cup

July 27, 2021

by Nerd Street

The Summer Showdown is in the books and fans are looking forward to the next and final tournament in the fourth season of the Overwatch League, the Countdown Cup.

This is the last tournament that teams have to earn League Points to qualify for the playoffs. Eight teams will compete in Arlington, Texas, in front of a live crowd for a shot at the 2021 grand finals.

The three teams with the most League Points will qualify for the playoffs in the West Region, and the two teams with the most League Points will qualify for the East Region. The last three spots will be determined by an online single-elimination regional play-in.

The Countdown Cup is an important tournament to many teams, since there is such a small point margin between a lot of the teams in both regions. Every game will matter.

To add an air of difficulty to this tournament, hero pools are back in the mix, so Sigma, Lucio, Ashe and Echo are all out of play.

Players, teams and fans alike are all watching to see how this tournament affects the rankings for the playoffs. Here are Nerd Street’s Overwatch League Power Rankings entering the Countdown Cup.

Read more about Nerd Street's 2021 Summer Championships!

20. Los Angeles Valiant

Season W-L record 0-12 | map record 2-36-1

The Valiant haven’t won a single map since the Summer Showdown began. There isn’t much to say about this team. Only a miracle could get them into the playoffs at this point, and even then, there would have to be some awfully big upsets in order for that to happen.

19. Vancouver Titans

Season W-L record 0-12 | map record 5-36

There will very likely be no 2019 vibes for the Titans in this tournament, and they’re also very unlikely to make the playoffs this year. They are one of three teams that are currently 0-12, so there is barely any hope left for the Titans this year.

18. London Spitfire

Season W-L record 0-12 | map record 7-36

Although their map record is slightly better than the three other 0-12 record teams, there’s no gas left in the tank for this team, and there wasn’t any to start with, either. Although the organization and fans are hoping that this team develops into a winning team, it sure isn’t happening this year.

17. Florida Mayhem

Season W-L record 4-8 | map record 19-28-1

The Mayhem have fallen from grace hard in our rankings, and it’s because they couldn’t produce a single win for the entire Summer Showdown tournament. They went 0-4, and had only a slightly better map differential than the Spitfire or the Titans. What’s worse is that the hero bans greatly affect the Mayhem, so their prospects for this tournament aren’t looking good either.

16. Guangzhou Charge

Season W-L record 3-9 | map record 12-30-3

The Charge were an interesting team in the Summer Showdown. They beat the New York Excelsior 3-2, and they put up a good fight against the Seoul Dynasty, but they were 3-0’d by the Philadelphia Fusion and the Chengdu Hunters. If the Charge could bring some consistency to their games, they might start winning.

15. Toronto Defiant

Season W-L record 6-6 | map record 21-25

The Defiant are a perpetually mediocre team. They do OK -- they win some and they lose some -- but they can’t seem to pull out those clutch wins. They did manage to take a map from the Fuel in the Summer Showdown, but even the Mayhem gave them a hard time.

Photo credit: Overwatch League

14. Philadelphia Fusion

Season W-L record 7-5 | map record 26-19-3

The Fusion have been falling short of fans’ expectations since they moved to the East Region this year. They ended the Summer Showdown with a disappointing 1-3 record. Riddled with visa issues and a last-minute starting roster, the Fusion are still suffering from a disjointed team. They put up a good fight a lot of the time, but they always seem to lose leads. Sounds a lot like some traditional Philadelphia sports teams we know ...

13. New York Excelsior

Season W-L record 5-7 | map record 21-24

The NYXL have an objectively worse record than the Fusion, but the NYXL won 3-1 the last time they matched up. The NYXL have been putting up more of a fight recently. They won against the Valiant and Fusion and put up a good fight against the Hangzhou Spark, taking it all the way up to Map 5. Yet, curiously, they lost to the Guangzhou Charge, who barely have any wins for the entire season let alone the Summer Showdown. The NYXL need to shake off their losses and start anew if they want to make it to the main event of the Countdown Cup.

12. Hangzhou Spark

Season W-L record 7-5 | map record 26-19

Honestly, if we could tie the NYXL and the Spark for 13th place, we would, because these two teams are constantly teetering on edge of the East Region tournament knockout round. However, the Spark did end up in the top spot for the East Region during June Joust with hero pools in effect. Fans are hoping that the hero pools will benefit them again in the Countdown Cup, because right now the Spark are toeing the line of postseason play-in cutoffs. They need all the wins they can get in this tournament in order to make it.

11. Boston Uprising

Season W-L record 6-6 | map record 22-21-1

The Boston Uprising … what a confusing team. They had a good result in the Summer Showdown, finishing 3-1, so they’ve been on the rise recently. Fans are hoping that the good results keep coming, because the Uprising are just a few spots away from being eligible for the postseason play-in cutoffs. If they can get their map differential into a more solid state, they’ll have a shot at the playoffs.

10. Paris Eternal

Season W-L record 6-6 | map record 23-24-2

Another confusing team, the Eternal have been on an upward swing since solidifying their roster. They also went 3-1 for the Summer Showdown, and they beat the Los Angeles Gladiators, who are a top-tier team. Fans are hoping that this is the result of the team synergy aligning, which means that there’s a good chance they could place even better in the Countdown Cup.

9. Seoul Dynasty

Season W-L record 9-3 | map record 29-15

The Seoul Dynasty finished third in the Summer Showdown, and they were just one map away from making the main tournament but were knocked out by the Chengdu Hunters in Map 5 of the regional knockouts. They have consistently finished within the top three in the East Region in each of the previous tournaments, but surely that isn’t enough for them, or for their fans. The Dynasty are looking to break the streak of being almost-good-enough. They are a consistent team, but they need to consistently win the harder matches to break through to the top spot in the East.

8. Washington Justice

Season W-L record 8-4 | map record 26-17-2

The Justice have been barely noticeable in the past two tournaments so far, which is odd considering they took the top spot in the West in the May Melee tournament qualifiers. They squeaked out a win against the Eternal in the regional knockouts in the Summer Showdown, and they put up a good fight against the Fuel in the semifinals of knockouts, but they just haven’t been able to break through to the main tournament.

Photo credit: Overwatch League

7. Houston Outlaws

Season W-L record 9-3 | map record 28-17-2

The Outlaws had a bad result in the Summer Showdown tournament, but they didn’t perform badly either. Their decisive defeat at the hands of the Uprising may have just been a bad day for the team, but they did beat the San Francisco Shock, which is promising. If the team can be a little more consistent, then perhaps they could find themselves in Hawaii for the Countdown Cup main event.

6. Los Angeles Gladiators

Season W-L record 8-4 | map record 30-17

This season has been pretty solid for the Gladiators. They’re widely considered one of the best teams in the league, but they haven’t had their shot at the main event of any of the tournaments yet. Sure, they’ve reached the regional knockouts, but they’ve never been able to pull ahead and go to Hawaii. They almost made it to the Summer Showdown Tournament Weekend, but they were beaten on the fifth map by the Atlanta Reign.

5. Atlanta Reign

Season W-L record 7-5 | map record 29-16

It is true that the Reign had a disappointing end to the Summer Showdown after they made it to Hawaii and then got knocked out the second they got there, but the fact that they got there at all is a great feat, especially since it came after beating the Gladiators. This is a team that might very well go to Hawaii for a third time, if the hero pools don’t trip them up in the process.

4. San Francisco Shock

Season W-L record 9-3 | map record 32-19-2

Always the bridesmaid but never the bride, the San Francisco Shock have been knocked out during West Region qualifiers twice, and they didn’t make an appearance at all past qualifiers in the Summer Showdown. So why are they so highly ranked? Because they just keep winning. The Shock need to be careful, because a bad showing in the Countdown Cup could result in them slipping to fourth place in the West, which means they would have to compete in a play-in tournament to make the playoffs.

3. Chengdu Hunters

Season W-L record 7-5 | map record 26-19-1

Although the Chengdu Hunters weren’t always on everyone’s radar, they sure are now. They upset the Dallas Fuel and went all the way to the Summer Showdown grand final where they were beaten by the Shanghai Dragons 4-1. We’re not sure what the Hunters put in their Wheaties, but whatever it is, it’s working. The Hunters need to have a good result in the Countdown Cup in order to make the playoffs as one of the top two teams in the East.

Photo credit: Overwatch League

2. Dallas Fuel

Season W-L record 9-3 | map record 31-17-2

Fans are surely expecting the Fuel to get back into the main tournament again for the Countdown Cup, and it is likely that they’ll get there. They were upset by the Chengdu Hunters early in the Summer Showdown Tournament Weekend and weren’t able to recover during the rematch in the lower bracket. Hero pools didn’t trip the Fuel up in the June Joust, so they shouldn’t be an issue this time around either.

1. Shanghai Dragons

Season W-L record 10-2 | map record 2-36-1

The winningest team in the league right now sits at the top of the standings with a massive 18 League Points, which pretty much secures their spot in the playoffs. They’re a favorite to win the Countdown Cup and also the grand final at this point. A bad result in the Countdown Cup won’t really matter, as they’re pretty much untouchable based on League Points. It’s unclear how hero pools will affect them, but regardless, they remain a favorite to make the Countdown Cup their third consecutive tournament victory.