This article is part of our OWL Power Rankings series.
While the Excelsior might have remained in the top spot for another week, there was plenty of movement elsewhere in the standings. You've got Dallas making their biggest jump ever into the Top 5, while both Los Angeles teams have moved into the Top 3. Stage 4 is already a wild ride and there is no sign of it stopping anytime soon.
1. New York Excelsior (Last Week: 1)
After playing their cards close to their chests in Week 1, New York have slowly revealed their core Stage 4 strategy. Quick question first. What's scarier than star Zenyatta player Bang "JJoNak" Seong-hyun? Answer: JJoNak with 300 health. That's right, the New York Excelsior haven't deviated too far from their previous tactic of pocketing JJoNak. Only in this stage they've added Brigitte to the mix, using her passive armor to burst heal and shield JJoNak's Zenyatta as he's pocketed by Mercy. New York then has Kim "Libero" Hae-seong to deal with pesky enemy Brigittes to pull fights further into their favor. --Christiaan Kutlik
2. Los Angeles Gladiators (Last Week: 4)
Not dropping a match this week makes the Gladiator's Stage records to 4-0. This isn't an easy feat, even if one of the matches this week was against the Florida Mayhem. The entire squad seems to be rallying extremely well to this new meta, displaying their knowledge well against the Houston Outlaws. These two victories signal that there is great potential in the Gladiators, but the rest of the Stage will show just how powerful they really are. -- Liam Craffey
3. Los Angeles Valiant (Last Week: 5)
While wins against the Florida Mayhem and a floundering Boston Uprising certainly aren't the most impressive wins, it was still another 2-0 week for the Valiant. More important than the wins alone is the continued domination of Brady "Agilities" Girardi and his deep hero pool. Not only has he adopted Brigitte and done some nutty things with the hero, but he continues to reign terror from the skies with his Pharah, making this team as deadly as ever. While the 4-0 record is certainly solid, this week will tell us a lot about the where this team really is, as they've got both the Gladiators and the Excelsior on deck. -- Wyatt Donigan
4.San Francisco Shock (Last Week: 6)
The San Francisco Shock are finally looking like the team they were supposed to be; a bevy of young stars playing clean and exciting Overwatch. The change at off tank in favor of Choi "Choihyobin" Hyo-bin has made the frontline more cohesive due to the two players having complimentary play styles. The Shock are also getting more out of Jay "Sinatraa" Won who has taken up the role of Brigitte for the team. The new coaching staff will be the key for this team moving forward as all the talent is there, they just need to know how to use it. -- Travis Elliott
5. Dallas Fuel (Last Week: 11)
The Dallas Fuel are doing what nobody thought they could do, win games without Hwang "EFFECT" Hyeon, or really win games at all. With a new coach and no EFFECT, the Fuel are on a roll having only lost one game thus far. The meta suits the team quite well and with Ponghop "Mickie" Rattanasangchod moving to Brigitte, Brandon "Seagull" Larned is now free to do what he does best, role fill. Though the Fuel have not had much of a test, the team is looking better than it has all season. -- Travis Elliott
6. Houston Outlaws (Last Week: 2)
This week, Houston was poised to really strut their stuff to take out two up and coming teams. Instead they walk away with a single map win. While the matches were hard fought, the Outlaws weren't ever to get into a solid stride against either the Shock or Gladiators to win. These are the current mid to high tier teams that Houston needs to trounce if they want to be in the top three. Hopefully they can at least recover some map score later on in the stage, because this was a disappointing week for them. -- Liam Craffey
7. London Spitfire (Last Week: 8)
By some miracle, London managed to go 2-0 this week but this speaks more about who they were playing than the ability of the team being restored to any semblance of its former glory. The win against San Francisco can certainly be attributed towards the resurgence of DPS Kim "Birdring" Ji-hyeok putting the entire team on his back and running to the finish line. His Widowmaker was absurd, hitting key shots left and right. London have historically done well against Seoul as well, so while a 2-0 record for the week is solid, things need to be taken with a grain of salt for now. -- Steven Nguyen
8. Philadelphia Fusion (Last Week: 3)
Well, that was less than ideal. The week started out well for the Fusion when they easily handled the Shanghai Dragons in a 4-0 sweep. But then the Fusion went up against a Dallas Fuel team that is playing with a renewed vigor that no one saw coming. With Pongphop "Mickie" Rattanasangchod playing out of his mind on Brigitte, the Fusion simply looked lost and confused. Sure, Lee "Carpe" Jae-hyeok got his usual kills and such, but the rest of the team faltered heavily against the Fuel. It was just one loss, and the team is still 3-1 here in Stage 4, but it was a performance that doesn't bode well for their future this stage. Not to mention that they've got the Gladiators and Excelsior on deck this week in what will be their toughest week o fthe Stage thus far. -- Wyatt Donigan
9. Seoul Dynasty (Last Week: 7)
Main tank Gong "Miro" Jin-hyuk's return to action wasn't disastrous, but was still disappointing nonetheless. Seoul resembles the Dallas Fuel more and more as the Dynasty devolves into a dumpster fire with each passing week. The DPS problems it has historically had still remain prevalent. Flex support Ryu "ryujehong" Je-hong looks fine back in the support role, but the team has let the support core down. The tanks are a constant mess and are sad to watch, especially since they increasingly look like a bottom tier tank duo, despite the skill of off-tank Kim "zunba" Jun-hyeok's skill. All in all, it looks like Seoul will need a hard reset, or at least a miracle to make it to playoffs. -- Noah Waltzer
10. Boston Uprising (Last Week: 9)
Boston's woes only continue to grow as they slip further down the ranks. While many of us at eGamerNews knew the new meta would be rough on the Uprising, we didn't have any idea how dramatic the shift would be. The biggest problem for the former Stage 3 Title contenders has been their tanks. Tanks have struggled to find favorable engagements in the anti-dive Stage 4 meta. This isn't helped by the team's lack of projectile players to take care of enemy Brigittes and Reinhardts. It also doesn't help that the Uprising are reluctant to run Brigitte, leading to situations where Boston are being shut down due to a single hero pick. --Christiaan Kutlik
11. Florida Mayhem (Last Week: 10)
The Mayhem are the Mayhem, which means they are DPS Ha "Sayaplayer" Jung-woo and five other players. The supports for this team have proven to be the worst support duo in the league, but look slightly better when they get to play more Lucio centric compositions. Still, this team has not shown any significant improvement apart from Sayaplayer somehow getting better, so it's highly unlikely that this team will make any major splashes before the end of the season. -- Noah Waltzer
12. Shanghai Dragons (Last Week: 12)
Shanghai was in a pretty good spot and poised to finally maybe take a series off of another team but since Brigitte has been thrown into the meta, the Dragons continue to struggle dealing with teams who have implemented her better. Kim "Geguri" Se-yeon has also been playing more Zarya, her signature hero from before her time in the Overwatch League, but the lack of clean communication hamstrings her ability to bring the best out of her. Aside from that the players on an individual basis are improving but the teamplay continues to be plagued by the same problems. -- Steven Nguyen
