London Spitfire vs San Francisco Shock

For our second match of the day we have a fairly interesting match between the London Spitfire and the San Francisco Shock. Now while this isn't that attractive on first glance, this is an important match for both teams. London is looking to not only bounce back after a surprising defeat against the Gladiators but they also want to keep up in the playoffs race for Stage 2. For the Shock, they're looking to continue building on what they've been doing over the last couple of weeks. (slight improvement but in the right areas)

While they were outclassed by the New York Excelsior it's hard blaming them - New York is the premier Overwatch team at the moment, the most flexible and capable out of the bunch. Their first match last week however was a fantastic 3-0 showing against the Dallas Fuel and while that doesn't seem to be going for much these days it was still an incredible display of skill from all players involved. Every single Shock player outclassed their counterpart and it was an absolute masterclass - and yet no one saw it coming. Perhaps the biggest surprise was just how improved Danteh looked in all elements of the game. His Tracer was out of this world (48/1 on the last map), he has a nasty Sombra and he also clutched out on more than one occasion with his staple Junkrat on King's Row which was amazing to see. (34% of Shock's damage) Paired with Babybay's insane Widowmaker and McCree play and they were having a field day against the struggling, out-of-sync Dallas Fuel squad. Something simply clicked within the San Francisco Shock lineup and they're so hard to peg in the standings given the depth of their improvement.

As for London, they're still a force to be reckoned with however they now have a couple of asterisks. Losses against the Houston Outlaws in week 1 and the Gladiators last week really dampened their momentum so it's hard really having a good grasp of how well they're playing right now. Their skill level is undeniable however so it's only a matter of time before they get back to their dominant, winning ways.

This might be a lot harder to predict than anyone could have originally expected. Yes - the London Spitfire is one of the best teams in the League however they're not as consistent (at least not when compared to New York Excelsior as an example) and after they got demolished by the Los Angeles Gladiators last week we're not really ready to bet a large sum on them. They always find a way to rebound after a weak performance however it's only a matter of time before they give up enough information on their weaknesses so that other middle-tier or bottom-tier can compete.

That said, even though San Francisco played out of their minds they're still a somewhat mediocre team - when compared to top tier teams. A couple of insane moments and clutch plays from their players shouldn't be enough to justify giving them the benefit of the doubt against such a high level team like London who have definitely earned their respect.

Bet on London, however after the huge number of upsets over the last couple of weeks a lower amount would be highly advisable.