We're now down to our Season 2 finalists, and the Vancouver Titans are up first. This team ranked 2nd in my end-of-season power rankings for 2019, and even though the Hangzhou Spark were just one place behind, there was a significant difference in the skill levels between these two teams.
I don't want to extend the prelude any more, so welcome/welcome back to The OverSeer, and let's break down the Vancouver Titans' 2020 squad role-by-role.
I don't want to extend the prelude any more, so welcome/welcome back to The OverSeer, and let's break down the Vancouver Titans' 2020 squad role-by-role.
TANK
The Titans have currently got Fissure on main tank, and JJANU on off-tank.
Back from retirement and ready to rumble again, Fissure is a talented main tank player for whom the fourth time could be the charm, as he's been on not one, not two, but three OWL teams before his signing to Vancouver. Whenever I think of this guy, I always remember that time in Season 1 when he Primal Raged on Oasis and killed Agilities' Pharah with the splash damage from his own Barrage, and that's a true representation of Fissure's playstyle according to me. He's a highly-cerebral player and loves to pop off whenever he gets the chance. He's also fairly versatile, since in addition to his deadly Winston play, he also plays a great Reinhardt and Orisa. We've also seen some Hammond from him on his stream, so he could certainly be capable of pulling that out too. Where my problem with Fissure lies in is his volatility. Being on 3 different OWL teams over just its first 2 years is astonishing, and one wonders if he'll find a stable home with the Titans because of that. I'm not worried about his playstyle gelling with that of his new teammates, since his predecessor on the team, Bumper, is a playmaker in his own right, although he has a more 'YOLO' approach to things than Fissure. Also, both these players command a lot of their team's resources and try to lead the charge as best they can, so the Titans shouldn't have a problem with dedicating cooldowns to him.
Vancouver has retained JJANU on the off-tank slot, and for good reason. He played what was probably the best defensive D.Va in the Overwatch League last season, and was also very smart and efficient with his Self-Destructs. During the Playoffs, he also played a pretty good Sigma, which wasn't a surprise because he and D.Va both require great cooldown management, a skill JJANU has aplenty. He is also a decent Roadhog player, so in metas that demand either D.Va, Sigma or Roadhog, JJANU can more than stand his ground. As for his Zarya, well, that's not bad either, but I imagine the Titans would field SeoMinSoo for that, about whom we will talk briefly in a bit.
To round off the tank line discussion, I think Fissure and JJANU will be one of the Top 10 duos on this role. They could be higher up, but I'm going to save that conversation for another time due to Fissure's unpredictability as a player and a teammate, so let's move on to discussing Vancouver's damage line and see where they stand.
Vancouver has retained JJANU on the off-tank slot, and for good reason. He played what was probably the best defensive D.Va in the Overwatch League last season, and was also very smart and efficient with his Self-Destructs. During the Playoffs, he also played a pretty good Sigma, which wasn't a surprise because he and D.Va both require great cooldown management, a skill JJANU has aplenty. He is also a decent Roadhog player, so in metas that demand either D.Va, Sigma or Roadhog, JJANU can more than stand his ground. As for his Zarya, well, that's not bad either, but I imagine the Titans would field SeoMinSoo for that, about whom we will talk briefly in a bit.
To round off the tank line discussion, I think Fissure and JJANU will be one of the Top 10 duos on this role. They could be higher up, but I'm going to save that conversation for another time due to Fissure's unpredictability as a player and a teammate, so let's move on to discussing Vancouver's damage line and see where they stand.
DPS
The trio of SeoMinSoo, Haksal and Stitch comprises the Titans' damage line for 2020.
Last year's Goats Meta was fantastic for SeoMinSoo, who proved to be one of the best Zaryas in the League for three stages straight. His ability to flex to the Russian off-tank so well despite primarily being a DPS player is precisely why he is registered under the 'flex' role with Vancouver. That said though, we didn't get to see SeoMinSoo play so well on damage in 2019, other than his solid performances on Reaper during the Playoffs, which leads me to question whether he can stand up to the other flex DPS players in the League at all. Also, his hero pool is quite similar to Haksal's, who was the 'Rookie of the Year' in Season 2 of the Overwatch League, and is arguably way better than SeoMinSoo on most of those picks. Famous for his projectile/flanker play, Haksal is an insanely good flex DPS player, and he's the biggest name on this DPS trio for good reason. He blew our minds with his incredible Doomfist play during the Season 2 Playoffs, and is probably still a Top 5 or even a Top 3 Genji player in the Overwatch League. I have no doubt that he will continue performing well in Season 3, and strike fear in the hearts of many a support.
The sole hitscan player on this team, Stitch, saw a major chunk of his playtime in Stage 3 last year, when his team needed a dedicated Sombra player to match their opponents' Sombra Goats comps, and my oh my did Stitch deliver. I found his playstyle to be quite similar to SBB's, probably since they both have their roots emerging from Tracer, by which I mean Stitch spent a ton of time taking out enemy backlines single-handedly, not being as bothered about the actual hacking as the average Sombra player. Other than Sombra, Stitch plays basically all the traditional hitscan heroes in the game, like your Soldier, McCree, Widowmaker and of course, Tracer. His ability to play in the more recent high-sustain metas is relatively unknown, since SeoMinSoo and Haksal have been fielded in those for most of their lifetime thus far. Still, I feel like Stitch can be a mid-table hitscan player, since there is some incredible hitscan talent joining the League this year, which has made the subrole's landscape quite rocky and challenging.
All-in-all, I think this trio could form a mid-table DPS line this season. Haksal is no doubt the shining star among the 3, with Stitch boasting a wide but hitscan-specific hero pool, and SeoMinSoo seemingly being reserved for a Zarya or Reaper Meta. Some people might think this is a hot take, but I don't think it is at all. Think about it. The Titans became so feared in OWL Season 2 because of their formidable 3-3 play, and even though they looked solid in 2-2-2 as well, they suddenly became vulnerable and exploitable by better teams.The damage dealing capability of this squad was never what made it scary in my opinion; it was just their coordination and ability to do the right thing at the right time, although you can't deny that Haksal made one hell of a Doomfist in the Playoffs. Anyway, let's move on to the supports before we take a look at this team from a macro perspective.
SUPPORT
The Titans currently have SLIME on main support, and Twilight and ryujehong on flex support.
I feel like SLIME went a little unnoticed last season. He played a very aggressive Lúcio, and set up a ton of plays for his team, especially during the Goats Meta, which he wasn't always credited for. Known to often peel away from his team to finish off kills or just frag out in general, SLIME is a great main support to have, especially when you've been playing with him for years on end, and I'm sure he's relatively still a solid player on the role.
His support partner, Twilight, was undoubtedly one of the best Ana and Zenyatta players in the League last year. As Ana, he managed to strike a wonderful balance between keeping his team up and confirming kills, and as Zenyatta, well, he just kept lighting up the killfeed and putting up ridiculous stats on the board all the time. My only complaint would be about his Moira play, during which he sometimes seemed indecisive, especially when it came to Orb usage. I'd be watching him in the Replay Viewer, thinking "Oh his team is low, why did he use the Damage Orb?" or "Alright, they've got the advantage and are all healed up, so why is he using the Healing Orb?" and although this wasn't a very frequent occurrence, I felt like pointing it out because it's what I observed. The latest addition to this roster's support line is ryujehong, who, as most of you know, is famous for his Ana play. In 2019, he wasn't quite as impressive as a few other flex supports like Twilight himself, but I don't believe he's washed, which I've seen a lot of people on the internet claim to be a fact. I think jehong just had a slightly rough year, but his performance was never disappointing. He was still very consistent, and did his job well; it's just that there were other flex supports who did those things and also made a ton of plays, which makes a lot of difference at the highest level of Overwatch play.
In summary, I think the Titans' support trio is quite good. I don't think they're going to be top-tier, since I don't consider jehong to be that high up the rankings just yet, but they will probably still be among the Top 10 support lines in the League. There's no doubt that Twilight and SLIME are excellent at what they do, but I need ryujehong to showcase that wow factor once again for me to rank him as a top-tier flex support as well.
THE RAW LOOK VS. REALITY
On paper, I believe that the Titans look like a solid Top 6 team. They've got fairly good players on every single role, and their talents will only be amplified by most of their pre-existing synergies, which will play a vital role this season, considering how travel can impact practice schedules and timings. I don't see any way this team fails to secure Top 6 other than if Fissure decides to retire or is traded to another team, which I doubt will happen this time round.
Overall, the Vancouver Titans are a highly-experienced roster, most of whom have been working together for a while, and these factors combined with their raw talent make them, once again, a force to be reckoned with. I am certain this squad will enter the Playoffs directly by securing Top 6 in Season 3.
If you liked my views on the Vancouver Titans, please share this post around with other OWL fans, and if you want to read my soon-to-come San Francisco Shock review, do subscribe to my blog. If there are points in this post that you disagree with, feel free to express your own views about them politely and respectfully in the comments section. That's all I have for you today; this is Proilios, and I hope you return to The OverSeer for my ensuing posts. Thanks a lot.
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