The final three matches of Stage 1, Week 1 of the Overwatch League inaugural season were displays of Korean dominance as all-Korean squads; London Spitfire, New York Excelsior and Seoul Dynasty steamrolled over their hapless opponents. To make the gulf even more apparent, their foes aren’t chumps either as Philadelphia Fusion, Houston Outlaws and Los Angeles Gladiators are actually good teams!

Spitfire Leaves Fusion Out in the Cold

It was not a perfect birthday for Fusion’s George “ShaDowBurn” Gushcha as his team was outplayed throughout by the solid Spitfire team which started with Birdring & Profit on DPS. Spitfire literally rolled over Fusion on Junkertown and safe for that late hold on the final point thanks to Shadowburn’s heroics, were clearly not on the same level as their Korean opponents. The fact was further compounded by how Spitfire secured the remaining three maps without dropping a set to win the series 4-0. To single-out any player from Spitfire as best performer would be criminal as everyone showed up against Fusion whom many considered may pose the bigger challenge than Mayhem earlier. The result saw Spitfire go 2-0, while Fusion fell to 1-1 in the season.

“The name’s @Birdring.” #OWL2018https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/gZFE5RtJyN

— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) January 13, 2018

NYXL & Pine Keep Outlaws in Check To Go 2-0

Houston Outlaws, wanting to put their first game disappointment behind them burst out of the gates with all guns blazing as they stunned the Excelsior on Junkertown. The ever-reliable Jake ensured that his team were able to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Saebyeolbe, Pine and Libero early on but he soon fizzled out as the NYXL crew methodically took him out of the equation. Pine was back at doing what he does best, dishing kills like it’s going out of style and we struggle to think of any other player who is deadlier on McCree than he is right now. He repeated – if not, best his performance on Ilios as he left a trail of deaths in his wake. Despite Houston’s convincing start and an entertaining Widowmaker response via Houston’s Linkzr, Ilios proved to be the turning point as Pine kept the Outlaws DPS in line.

Déjà vu? @tf2pine is subbed back in and immediately makes his presence known. #OWL2018 https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/OoPE2lyN1K

— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) January 13, 2018

Dynasty Maintain Status Quo With Easy Win Vs Gladiators 

Fresh off their epic duel against Dallas Fuel on Day-1, Dynasty had an easier matchup against the Gladiators who apart from their spirited fight on Junkertown, were unable to match the Koreans in the entirety of the series. Fleta lit up the killfeed with his typical Widowmaker plays on Ilios as he bests out Surefour in multiple occasions while the rest of his teammates cleaned house. The level of confidence was so apparent on the Dynasty side as Ryujehong who famous for his Ana plays even opted for Doomfist as Dynasty experimented with a triple-DPS approach on their final map, Numbani. Experimental approach or not, Dynasty still came out tops, managing a full push while denying Gladiators even a single point to close the series 4-0.

Nobody is safe when @ow_fleta is on the field. #OWL2018 https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/85rMuPy4Pz

— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) January 14, 2018

With that resounding win, Seoul closes the Stage 1’s first week of the Overwatch League. The teams will now regroup ahead of Week 2’s set of matches which kicks off this Thursday, January 18th as San Francisco Shock takes on Philadelphia Fusion at 8AM, Kuala Lumpur/ Singapore time.