The more things change, the more they stay the same. Although the Shanghai Dragons’ new additions finally had their visas and were ready to make an impact, the Dragons were still unable to find a victory. That brings Shanghai’s record to 0-22 this season and now observers are openly pondering whether or not this team could go 0-40. They will be the first team to do battle this week in the Overwatch League, and the Los Angeles Gladiators are heavy favorites in their match-up.
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Overwatch League Stage 3 Week 1 Betting Odds (Courtesy of BetDSI)
Los Angeles Gladiators -1667
Shanghai Dragons +700
Until they win a match, you have to go against the Shanghai Dragons at this point. There was a lot of buzz about their chances last week, and I even got caught up in the hype. Unfortunately, it quickly became clear that this team was still woefully outgunned and Dallas easily won the first three maps and the series.
The new additions are certainly talented and had their moments, but it is going to take a while to build chemistry. Ado, Geguri, Fearless, and Sky were only recently able to make it to America and three of the four will also have to bridge the language barrier from Korean to Chinese. That’s going to make things difficult for a while still.
The Gladiators had a tough start to the split with a loss to the San Francisco Shock, but crushed the Dallas team that made such quick work of Shanghai. Although the DPS play is lacking at times, both the supports and the tanks are very good and they will lead the Gladiators to a 4-0 win.
Los Angeles Valiant -323
San Francisco Shock +230
We finally saw what San Francisco’s line-up can do last week. With Supra and Sinatraa finally eligible to play, the Shock pulled off an upset in their first match of Stage 3. Sinatraa was able to relieve the pressure off of babybay, and Supra’s inclusion meant that the team finally had more flexibility in compositions to run.
The Valiant may have been the most impressive team in the first week that the Overwatch League was back in action. They swept both Seoul and Shanghai, and the addition of Custa looked like it really helped. This team made a ton of moves in the last two weeks, and it will be interesting to see whether or not they continue to pay dividends.
I like the Shock at this price. The Valiant are a worthy favorite, but there should be more growing pains with this team. Seoul did not play its best player, Ryujehong, against LA and instead continued to mix up its compositions. San Francisco will have some tricks up its sleeve for this one.
Seoul Dynasty -714
Dallas Fuel +400
If you can figure out Seoul, let me know. The Dynasty continue to be the most confusing team to follow in the Overwatch League, as they keep interchanging players at strange times. Seoul has a lot of talent on the roster, but they have not been able to establish clear, defined roles as the coaching staff continues to tinker. That leads to this team looking untouchable in one series and awful the next.
Dallas looks like it is finally starting to figure things out a little. The Fuel were the most disappointing team during the first stage, but they looked like they turned a corner midway through the second stage. Internal problems have received much of the blame, and now they can focus on their play instead of the drama.
This is a match to live bet, purely because of Seoul’s inability to stick to a line-up.
