Dallas Fuel vs Shanghai Dragons

For our second match of the day we have a clash between Dallas Fuel and the Shanghai Dragons. Now on paper this really isn't the most exciting Overwatch you could get - that's pretty clear, however these two teams - even though they occupy the bottom of the standings - already faced against each other in the last week of Stage 1 and it was a frantic, exhilarating five map brawler. If they manage to reproduce even a fraction of that energy and entertainment today then this will surely be worth the watch.

The Shanghai Dragons are currently in an awful situation as they are yet to score even a single win in the Overwatch League. They came close many times, they could have upset and they could have done things differently but it wasn't meant to be. Coming into Stage 2, the Shanghai organization made a couple of big acquisitions however those players won't be able to play for the team until mid-stage due to visa issues so we will essentially see the exact same starting lineup that we've become accustomed to from Stage 1. That is a big problem for Shanghai because while every other organization is signing new players or further investing into their own functioning roster (and thus strengthening existing synergy and cohesion), the Dragons are stuck with the exact same dis-jointed roster that failed to leave a mark in the first place.

As for Dallas, there is quite a lot to be excited for. Not only will they be getting their main tank xQc back into the mix (his suspension has ended), but they will also be bringing in not only Rascal from London Spitfire but AKM as well, of ex-Rogue fame. These are two incredible signings for the Dallas Fuel roster and don't be surprised if you see both players dominate this very night. Rascal is an incredibly talented DPS player and we've already seen what he can do when he started for London during Stage 1, unfortunately that wasn't too often as he always played second fiddle to Profit and Birdring. Paired with the hyped signing of AKM, we are left to wonder - does Dallas really need five DPS players in their roster? With so many talented players they essentially covered the entire DPS hero pool, however they never had a big problem in the DPS department. It was always the lack of coordination in certain moments and perhaps the weak tank line - Mickie's D.Va not being up to OWL standards and Cocco being incredibly passive.

Things will change for the Fuel and very quickly as well. XQC is the aggressive tank player that they need, Mickie showed some improvement nearing the end of Stage 1 - especially on Roadhog, and they always have Cocco for Reindhardt or for when they want to play a more subdued game. They have an insane pool of DPS players to choose from and the combinations are essentially endless and to top it all off they have a couple of phenomenal support players in Chips, Harryhook and Custa. Harry will especially prosper in the current meta as we will see a serious resurgence of Lucio (regardless of the map) and he is renown for his incredible Lucio play. The same could be said for Chipshajen who was mostly relegated to Mercy duty during the entirety of Stage 1.

Dallas used the signing period to perfection - however they still need time in order to fully realize and decide what is their starting roster and how they want to play the game.

When they fought the last time, Dallas was able to emerge victorious in 3-2 fashion even though they didn't have EFFECT in their starting lineup. The Taimou and Seagull DPS duo was competent and game enough to take down the Dragons and seeing how Dallas made a couple of big improvements to their roster, it's tough not giving them the benefit of the doubt going into this rematch.

With xQc back in the mix as well paired along with two new DPS maestros they should be able to dominate over the struggling Shanghai Dragons roster. That said, Diya and Undead performed incredibly well a couple of weeks ago and you can bet that the Dragons want that first win as soon as possible so they're entering this match with something to prove and that makes them dangerous adversaries.