San Francisco Shock vs New York Excelsior

For our second match of the day we have a fairly interesting clash between the New York Excelsior and the San Francisco Shock.

People would have laughed at you if you said that the Shock could be a threat to arguably the best team in the Overwatch League but it's true - at least for now. The Shock quickly (and silently) came into playoff contention after a couple of weeks of Stage 3 play and to be fair they're playing on quite a high level.

They're currently on a three match win streak (Shanghai, Dallas and Philadelphia) and they're entering today's match with quite a fair bit of momentum. While they needed ample time before incorporating Super and Architect into the line-up their work paid off in spades as the they're not only starters right now but they're actually playing above all expectations. People expected Architect to be somewhat of a Genji one-trick but he displayed some insane skills on Widowmaker as well. It's not often that you see Carpe getting shut down and outplayed regardless of the map and that is exactly what Architect did in their match-up last week. It was an amazing sight and one that we don't get to see that often - Philadelphia lost and without a clear plan in mind.

San Francisco always focused on the long term picture. They waited for so many players to turn 18 and even though they had somewhat of a salvaged lineup throughout Stage 1 and 2 they actually managed to stay pretty competitive with the best teams in the League. Babybay turned out to be a great pick with his stellar Widow play and Danteh - even though he took a while to fully acclimate - became one of the best and most impactful Tracer players in the entire League. It's a fantastic storyline overall and they're finally reaping the fruits of their labor. They're still not top tier essentially but they have the tools to become a part of that upper echelon of teams - perhaps not this stage but in the near future.

Now this is all based off of the assumption that their win over the Philadelphia Fusion was more off a "fluke" rather than a display of power. Sure, they've improved leaps and bounds overall but it's also fair to assume that the Fusion not only underestimated them but focused mainly on defeating New York Excelsior. After that failed they probably didn't have a lot of energy left in the bank to fight a hungry Shock squad less than 24 hours later.

As for New York, it's still a big question mark. If anything they're getting some serious practice time as they went the five map distance every single time over the last two weeks. They've been starting with Janus a lot more and trying to incorporate his aggressive playstyle into the team however they've found very moderate success. When things go awry they start back with Mano and instantly look like a better team.

But it's not only their main tank that has been getting attention.

We've seen quite a lot of "Big Boss" Pine in the line-up over the last couple of weeks however is almost never a starter. Pine - who currently holds an 11W/1L map record for Stage 3 - is not only playing up to his old level but perhaps even exceeding it. He is an absolute monster and one of the most feared players in the entire League - and with good reason. With such a lethal weapon within their roster, New York never really looked scared. Even when they were 0-2, they just subbed in their biggest asset and completely mopped the floor with their opponents for the reverse sweep. (Pine's triple kill in three seconds against the Gladiators comes to mind as a good example)

It's a hard time to bet on New York as you never really know what you're going to get. Are they the best team in the League? Almost 100%. Are they playing to their fullest potential, are they giving it their all with each and every match? Absolutely not, and that's a dangerous for anyone betting on the Stage 2 champions. It's understandable that they took some time off and started experimenting with Janus a bit more but it's not making life any easier for people who are betting on the Overwatch League.

That said they're still a force to be reckoned with. The fact that they can simply sub in Pine and mop the floor with their opponents even when 0-2 is an astounding capability. Sure - Architect is quickly making a name for himself as a very dangerous Widowmaker but will he be able to take down the Big Boss himself? Probably not. New York simply have too many tools to win so we're going with them on this one, however after seeing how inconsistent they are over the last couple of weeks this match could really be far closer than most people expect.