As Stage 2 of the Overwatch League draws to a close, there are six teams looking to get into the Stage 2 Finals. The New York Excelsior have all but locked up a spot, but the other two spots are up for grabs. The Los Angeles Gladiators kick off the action against the Philadelphia Fusion on Wednesday, with the Gladiators looking to stay in third place.
Overwatch League Betting Odds (Courtesy of BetDSI)
Los Angeles Gladiators -139
Philadelphia Fusion +110
This will pretty much be an elimination game for both teams. Currently, the Gladiators are in a three-way tie for second place at 6-2, but are up three in map score over Seoul. The Fusion are one game off the pace at 5-3, and their map score of +9 gives them hope.
Philadelphia has looked very strong this split. It’s three losses have been to the three teams that most consider to be the best in the Overwatch League (New York, London, and Seoul), and they have easily taken care of business against the other teams in the league. The emergence of Eqo as a DPS player has given this team more options and helps make their strategies more fluid.
The Gladiators are surely kicking themselves for their loss to Dallas. If they would have won that match four weeks ago, they would be relatively safe in terms of the postseason after beating London in Week 3. However, they have also been the one team lucky enough to not have to play the New York Excelsior this stage either.
I like the Fusion to pull off the slight upset here. This team has been more steady, and all of their losses are understandable. They have better DPS play and that goes a long way in Overwatch.
San Francisco Shock -167
Florida Mayhem +125
The most talented player on the Shock is finally able to play. When San Francisco first put this roster together, sinatraa was the superstar that the team broke the bank on. The Shock made him one of the highest paid players in the Overwatch League and have been waiting for him to become eligible.
Happy Birthday @sinatraa !!!
Hope all your Birthday wishes come true… pic.twitter.com/GAqMMHj0PU— San Francisco Shock (@SFShock) March 19, 2018
Now that sinatraa is finally an adult and eligible to play, San Francisco is going to be much better. Without him, teams were able to focus on babybay, who was the team’s main playmaker. Now, babybay will be able to make more things happen with sinatraa in the line-up.
Give credit to Florida for playing much better over the past couple of weeks. The Mayhem were very disappointing in Stage 1, but they have improved dramatically over the last few weeks. They have pulled off some nice upsets, yet it won’t be enough against the Shock here.
Houston Outlaws -1250
Shanghai Dragons +610
Shanghai is eventually going to win a game. The Dragons did make some nice acquisitions in early February, but those players have yet to join the roster as they deal with visa issues. For now though, you can’t trust this team. They have won just two maps in eight games, getting swept more often than not. That’s great news for a Houston team that has really fallen off over the last few weeks.
Check out our podcast below where we discuss Overwatch League, CWL Pro League, and League of Legends playoffs in North America, Europe, and Korea. (Mildly inappropriate language)
https://soundcloud.com/user-78805168/healer-down-episode-8
