In the first stage of the Overwatch League, teams learned they can’t rely on the meta

Just like most esports, Overwatch is never going to be a truly static game. With balance patches coming every few weeks — or months depending on how Blizzard feels — the meta game surrounding the competition is always shifting. In few places was this more evident than in Stage One of the Overwatch League.

The earliest moments of the Overwatch League’s first stage were dominated largely by a team’s ability to play Lucio and the effectiveness of their tanks as we transitioned out of the dying days of the dive meta and the Seoul Dynasty were kings of the league. By the time the Stage One Finals were played, the game was all about Junkrat and Mercy, making New York the clear favorites in the league. But that combo too will soon receive some pretty massive nerfs. If there’s any lesson that most teams can take from this stage of the Overwatch League it’s to be prepared for anything to come into the meta.

Perhaps the best example of this is actually the championship winning London Spitfire, who’s massive 12 player roster nearly guarantees that they will have a player ready for any eventuality.

While that’s obviously not going to be an option for every team, everyone should be able to learn from the Seoul Dynasty who’s lack of a solid Mercy player took them from first place all the way out of playoff contention. In these few off weeks before the second stage, each team should take an honest look at where and how their rosters are built and what holes they might want to fill, before competition starts back up.