The OverSeer: Best and Worst-Case Scenarios for each Team in OWL Season 3 (+Pseudo-Tiers)

Just one day left until the third season of the Overwatch League begins, and I'm extremely excited. Not only will this year prove to be pivotal to the presence of Overwatch esports all around the world, but it will also either draw in massive amounts of people to watch the League and gain more viewers than ever before, or end up being a short-lived phenomenon, a momentary dream, that none of us wanted to wake up from even if the rest of our lives was craving for our attention.
Welcome back to The OverSeer everyone, and today, I'll be going over each of the 20 teams in the League very briefly, sharing what I think their best and worst-case scenarios are going to be, and also try and construct some makeshift power tiers based off of what I say.
Before I begin, I'd like to urge you guys to read what I've written with an open mind, and if you disagree with some things I've written about, which I'm certain you will, express your opinions in the comments section, but be polite and respectful to keep the conversation healthy. Also, if you like reading my content, please share it around and subscribe to my blog; it helps me out by a massive amount even if it doesn't seem apparent. Also, if you want to read my in-depth reviews about each roster, you can do so by clicking on the teams' names, but they aren't all up-to-date with the latest changes, since I posted all those articles at different points in January.
Alright, that's all I needed to share before beginning the meat of this post, so let's get started!

1. DALLAS FUEL

Best-case scenario: Ends up being championship-calibre, gets into Top 6.

Worst-case scenario: Makes the Play-Ins.

Selling Points: Versatile main tank in Gamsu, has former synergy with off-tank NotE. Damage line covers a large amount of heroes.

Worries: NotE not being able to show up on any off-tank but D.Va, supports end up being underwhelming.

2. TORONTO DEFIANT

Best-case scenario: Makes Top 6.

Worst-case scenario: Falls just a little short of making the Play-Ins.

Selling Points: Star damage dealers, used to popping off and making plays.

Worries: No backup tanks or supports, meaning burnout could heavily impact any of those four players and make or break their team.

3. BOSTON UPRISING

Best-case scenario: Bottom-5.

Worst-case scenario: Bottom-3.

Selling Points: Solid support duo in Swimmer-Myunbong. Shotcalling should be well-executed by Fusions and Swimmer as well.

Worries: Relatively-unproven players like Jerry, Brussen and Mouffin could have their growing pains, and/or just not show up at all.

4. HOUSTON OUTLAWS

Best-case scenario: Championship-calibre team, makes Top 6.

Worst-case scenario: Enter the Play-Ins.

Selling Points: Reunited Element Mystic support duo of Jecse and Rapel ready to hit the stage and finally give the Outlaws a stable backline.

Worries: Damage dealers are a little boom-or-bust, Jecse might not get used to shotcalling in English quickly enough.

5. FLORIDA MAYHEM

Best and worst-case scenario: Aren't terrible but don't qualify for the Play-Ins.

Selling Points: Pre-existing synergy between more than half the players, the addition of former Runaway flex support, Gangnamjin.

Worries: BQB and Sayaplayer are skilled, but have very narrow comfort zones.

6. WASHINGTON JUSTICE

Best-case scenario: Make Top 6. My oh my do I think the Hero Pools benefit this team.

Worst-case scenario: Play-In appearance.

Selling Points: The support duo of ArK and AimGod. ArK's experience and AimGod's mechanics can stack really well with each other.

Worries: The first appearance of LullSiSH and ELLIVOTE in OWL as a tank duo. They've had some success in Contenders, but might not be able to replicate it at this level. Also, not a big fan of rOar.

7. CHENGDU HUNTERS

Best and worst-case scenario: Just barely don't make the Play-Ins.

Selling Points: Their DPS line is jacked. JinMu, Baconjack and leave cover a wide variety of damage options and are quite potent on many of them.

Worries: The extremely underwhelming tank line. Ameng will be useless if Hammond is banned, and his co-main-tank, ATing isn't really mind-blowing on the role either. Elsa and LateYoung are okay, but not in the top half of off-tanks in my opinion.

8. PARIS ETERNAL

Best and worst-case scenarios: Aren't terrible but don't make the Play-Ins.

Selling Points: Amazing main supports in Kruise and FDGoD, who are eligible to play throughout the season.

Worries: Presumably their carry DPS, Sp9rk1e, won't be playing for a few months into the season, and the flex DPS role is up to NiCOgdh in the mean time, whom I don't think is going to show up at all.

9. PHILADELPHIA FUSION

Best and worst-case scenario: Don't have enough in-game flexibility to be competitive during certain hero pool rotations; miss the Play-Ins in a surprising fashion.

Selling Points: The trio of supports i.e. Boombox, Alarm and FunnyAstro. They can put up consistent performances and also make game-saving plays.

Worries: SADO. He's an amazing Winston, but plays a very risky Reinhardt, an inconsistent Orisa, and a terrible Wrecking Ball. If Winston is out of the hero rotation, he's a goner, and with him, so is his team.

10. LONDON SPITFIRE

Best-case scenario: Are not a dumpster fire, and look fairly competitive when the hero pool favours them more than their opponents. No Play-In appearance expected nonetheless.

Worst-case scenario: Are absolutely a dumpster fire, and cannot stand toe-to-toe with anyone but the worst teams in the League. Bottom-3.

Selling Points: Supports could be dark horses. Highly and Krillin have former League experience, and SanGuiNar seems like a promising main support, even though he's not played at this level before. Also, Glister.

Worries: The scarcity of Tier-1, or even Tier-2 experience that this roster has immediately puts them at a major disadvantage against most other teams in the League.

11. LOS ANGELES VALIANT

Best-case scenario: Similar to London, they put up good performances when the hero pool is more in their favour than their opponents', but they still don't qualify for the Play-Ins.

Worst-case scenario: Worst team in the League, are barely able to score wins.

Selling Points: Their hitscan slot is pretty good, especially with KSP's star presence. The rest of the damage dealers aren't bad either.

Worries: RaiN's presence confuses me. He hasn't had any breakout performances thus far and could hold back the rest of his team if he's also weak at shotcalling.

12. SHANGHAI DRAGONS

Best and worst-case scenario: Mid-table team, qualify for the Play-Ins.

Selling Points: (I feel) A sneakily good tank line, and obviously their star damage dealers.

Worries: Flex supports have very specific 'main heroes'. Luffy is comfortable on Ana, and IZaYaKI on Zenyatta, but they don't do very well if asked to flex.

13. ATLANTA REIGN

Best and worst-case scenario: Qualify for the Play-Ins.

Selling Points: Jacked damage dealers in Erster and Edison, with babybay and SharP being competent subs.

Worries: The lack of Tier-1 experience in about half of the players in this roster could cause them to lose a few matches early on.

14. GUANGZHOU CHARGE

Best-case scenario: Play well but just barely miss the Play-Ins.

Worst-case scenario: Fail to get many of those Ws and drop hard in the rankings. Could be bottom-3, which is certainly a hot take.

Selling Points: Despite having 3 different native languages on their team, they've proven to be able to communicate effectively in English, and I don't see why their new teammates can't learn the same quite quickly as well.

Worries: Damage dealers like Happy and Eileen are very good at their specialised roles, but have very narrow comfort zones. Take Happy off of hitscan and Eileen off of a flanker, and they're not very competent, which could be a problem with the rotating Hero Pool system.

15. LOS ANGELES GLADIATORS

Best and worst-case scenario: Have a pretty good season and get into the Play-Ins.

Selling Points: The OGE-SPACE tank duo is one of the most potent in the League; MirroR and Jaru seem like very flexible DPS players and big beneficiaries of the Hero Pool system.

Worries: The main support slot is seemingly in an odd place, since BigGoose's playmaking-oriented style might not work well with a team that has carry potential on the other roles. If his style does not work out, Paintbrush, who isn't a mind-blowing player, will have to be fielded instead, and he might not be able to hold his own at this level of competition.

16. SEOUL DYNASTY

Best and worst-case scenario: Make Top 6.

Selling Points: The amazing tank line comprising of Marve1, Gesture and Michelle. They cover almost the entire tank pool to a very high level.

Worries: The support line is slightly underwhelming. Tobi and Bdosin are big names, but they weren't able to achieve a ton of success last season. Also, Creative can't possibly compete with most other flex supports in the League.

17. NEW YORK EXCELSIOR

Best and worst-case scenarios: Easily make the Play-Ins.

Selling Points: Solid DPS line, with a fair amount of diversity between all 4 players.

Worries: HOTBA and BiaNcA might not be able to keep up with the other off-tanks in the League.

18. HANGZHOU SPARK

Best-case scenario: Make the Top 6.

Worst-case scenario: Make the Play-Ins.

Selling Points: One of the strongest tank lines in the League in my opinion; Guxue and Ria proved to be quite solid in the 2019 season.

Worries: Their DPS players didn't always show up last season, and they'll be in trouble if they don't up their game in 2020.

19. VANCOUVER TITANS

Best-case scenario: Make the Top 6.

Worst-case scenario: Make the Play-Ins.

Selling Points: Seasoned and well-synergised players for the most part; adjusting to different metas shouldn't be too difficult for them.

Worries: Fissure is a very volatile player; unsure if he'll stick with this team for long. Also, SeoMinSoo doesn't seem all that useful because of 2-2-2 as well as rotating hero pools, since he can only play Zarya on tank, and his DPS hero pool can be covered by Haksal.

20. SAN FRANCISCO SHOCK

Best and worst-case scenario: Make the Top 6.

Selling Points: One of the best tank lines in the League with super, smurf and ChoiHyoBin at the helm.

Worries: Being smart about which damage dealers to field when might not be enough with hero pools in the mix; it's going to be more vital for whichever DPS are on the field to outplay those on the enemy team, and when it comes to carry plays and pop-off potential, the Shock's DPSes certainly seem beatable by mechanically-superior opponents.

Now I know that there are a few teams whom I've described very differently in my detailed analyses and in this post, and that's either because they've changed their rosters in ways that change my opinion of them, or because I think the Hero Pool system will affect them in major ways. Either way, there's far too little time for me to explain, but I will be happy to answer any queries you may have in the comments section. Also, I realise that some of my opinions are vastly different from those of the community; for instance, I seem to be downplaying the Fusion and the Excelsior, and maybe overestimating the Spark and the Fuel, but I truly believe that these teams in their current shape will face those particular best and/or worst-case scenarios, and since I've been studying the League for over a year myself, I'm willing to stand by those opinions.

Another odd thing I realised myself was that there's not enough teams whom I've given a possible 'Top 6' scenario, and maybe too many teams whom I've said won't even make the Play-Ins, and that's because I, at a glance, thought their calibres would place them in those positions, but I'll try and judge their chances to the best of my ability and form some preliminary power tiers right after this.

Who ever said you can't hear a picture, am I right? Anyway, I've finally been able to come up with some power tiers that somewhat summarise how I feel about each of the 20 teams going into Season 3. They're quite different from what I've seen from other analysts, but it is what it is. I've factored in things like player skill, roster versatility, player-by-player versatility, comfort picks, player experience, cohesion, the language barrier, and now, the addition of Hero Pools. I've not considered things like strengths of schedule (because I haven't seen any of these rosters play yet) and the roster divisions, but I'm sure I've been thorough nonetheless. I'm certain we will have disagreements about some teams, but like I said before, keep an open mind.

I mean, when I look at these power tiers at a glance, there are things that even I would think of changing, but considering that I've made this list after spending days on end analysing the players and their history, I think I can rest easy and say I stand by them. I mean, I love the Philadelphia Fusion for instance, and looking at how stacked their roster is, I'd be tempted to put them way higher, but I don't think all their players are adaptable enough to make things work in-game, which is a major reason why I've placed them in the 4th tier. I don't know, they could certainly surprise me and go for a Playoff run, which I'd be very happy to see, but I've got to compartmentalise and remember I'm not a Poko/eqo fanboy while writing this; I'm an analyst, for better or worse, and I've got to write from an objective point of view.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm really hyped for this season of the Overwatch League. I think Hero Pools will bring a fair bit of diversity to the game, and even if we end up seeing some set patterns over time, we'll at least not be stuck with metas where just 6-10 heroes are viable and are played repeatedly in every situation. Do you agree with me about that, or do you think we will see some boring and stale metas set in once again? Let me know in the comments section, and as always, share this post around if you think my opinions hold substance. Also, I will be kicking off some match prediction posts once I've seen every team play at least once, so be sure you read those posts, and how do you do that? You subscribe! So go ahead and do that, and I'll see you soon. Cheers, and have a great first week of the Overwatch League.