Stage 2 of the Overwatch League inaugural season kicks off in a few days and with new meta and a new set of maps to be used, expect the form books to favor some teams and players more, now that eliminations are much more certain. We foresee the rise in picks of several heroes along with different approaches to the strategy as well. If you are interested in our Stage 2 predictions, check it out here.

Today we are going to name our Dream Team heading into Stage 2. These are the players who will light up the scene and kill feeds, as well as make all the difference for their teams. They are the best at their respective positions with the new meta coming in and without further ado, here they are:

DPS: Birdring (Spitfire), Fleta (Dynasty)

 

With the demise of Mercy picks, DPS players are more important than ever in Stage 2 as this category return as main decider between the winners from the losers as deaths are (near) permanent and team fights concluded possibly a third of the time taken during Stage 1. The DPS players need to be effective, decisive, as well as consistent week-in, week-out and you can’t come up with a deadlier duo that ticks all of those requirements above with Birdring and Fleta.

We picked Birdring over Saebyeolbe due to his consistency on Tracer and is less prone to go missing in matches. He’s also very adept as Genji whose backline picks is even more valuable now. Meanwhile, Fleta is one of, if not THE most proficient hitscan player in the league at the moment. Insta-kills have greater value now and with such efficient duo spearheading the team, opponents can expect a rough time ahead. It doesn’t hurt also, since both players are capable of swapping to the likes of McCree, Soldier and Pharah when need be.

Backup DPS: Profit (Spitfire)

A very flexible, consistent and reliable DPS who is able to operate equally effective as a pair or when running solo on a flanking mission. Just make sure to tell him whenever the camera is on him.

Tanks: Mano (NYXL), Zunba (Dynasty)

 

Surprisingly, one of the harder categories to pick since there are tons of brilliant tank players in the league and the fact that we may be heading into a meaty meta – Quad tank, anyone? – Gamsu, Coolmat, Tobi, xQc, Gesture, Fissure… the list goes on for highly dependable tank players but we only have room for two.

For the main tank, we only had one slot and it was a toss up between NYXL’s Mano and Spitfire’s Gesture. At the end, Mano’s reliability, efficiency in creating space for his teammates and experience pairing up with his counterpart, Zunba earned him a spot in our Dream Team.

As for Zunba, considering how the meta is shifting, we feel that the Zarya meta is returning and there’s no better player on our favorite Russian than the two-time Overwatch World Cup winner. This could also spell a shift in fortunes for Seoul Dynasty who ran out of steam towards the end of Stage 1.

Backup Tank: Gesture (Spitfire)

Ever-reliable and highly disciplined, Gesture is one of those classic, no-nonsense tank players who ensures everyone is well protected. The sort who does his job quietly, probably won’t make the highlights but his mates do, thanks to his overall performance.

Support: Ryujehong (Dynasty), Jjonak (NYXL)

 

One hero’s loss is another hero’s gain and that’s exactly what’s happening on the Support side of things. With team fights heading down the frenetic route, supports have a more offensive duty come Stage 2 so can anyone name a more dynamic duo on Support than Jjonak and Ryujehong?

Ryujehong is easily the best Ana player in the world and Jjonak has proven to be even better than Jehong when it comes to playing as the Omnic monk. One can assume that support players will end up racking up significantly more kills in Stage 2 compared to Stage 1 and these two players surely will occupy the top spots as the deadliest support players in the league.

Backup Support: Tobi (Dynasty)

A fair argument can be made for Tobi considering Lucio may get more playtime in Stage 2 but his picks are more situational, and mostly on control maps. Also, how can you discount the Boop God, right?

These six (nine including the backups) players were picked based on their abilities, the current meta shift as well as how they are able to work with and off each other. The core of the team is pretty much the Korean World Cup winning team in Mano, Zunba and Ryujehong – with both Zunba and Ryujehong the only two players ever to have won the tournament twice in a row while the rest of the squad consist of high-tiered players in their respective positions whose hero pool bode well with the ‘meta heroes’.

We reckon that Stage 2 will favor the Korean teams more than it has been in Stage 1, as they are more decisive in their eliminations and tactics, an aspect of the game that Western teams tend to be a few steps back. The drawn-out team fights in Stage 1 puts the Koreans in an unfamiliar position, which also saw the rise in slower, more patient teams – such as Houston Outlaws and Boston Uprising – all who benefitted from it.

We are pretty sure you have your own Dream Team as we head into Stage 2 so feel free to discuss about it and share them in the comments section below.