Overwatch League power rankings entering Week 21

Even more surprising is how good the rest of the roster looks with Hydration in front, particularly the star free agent signee, tank Tae-hong "MekO" Kim. With a lot of the Outlaws' problems seemingly fixed thanks to the new frontline arrangement, and momentum on the team's side after a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Gladiators, time will tell if a talented Houston roster can put together a run to squeak into playoff contention. 8.

Here are the Overwatch League power rankings entering Week 21, as rated by Field Level Media's Noah Waltzer. American Region (match record, map record, map differential)

1. San Francisco Shock (13-2, 32-11-2, +21) San Francisco looked more than comfortable in a 3-0 sweep of the Paris Eternal on June 20, walking through a top-tier team to continue the momentum built by winning the May Melee. The Shock finished the weekend with a 3-0 drubbing of the Washington Justice. They continue to prove that, no matter what the lineup, their star-studded roster makes them the team to beat heading into the Summer Showdown in early July.

2. Philadelphia Fusion (15-1, 44-14-0, +30) The Fusion have a comparable level of talent to the Shock across their lineup, including a deep DPS pool led by captain Jae-hyeok "Carpe" Lee. Where they fall short, however, is their discipline, playing down to their competition and simply overwhelming opponents through raw firepower rather than playing "better" Overwatch, such as in their 3-0 win over the Boston Uprising on Sunday.

3. Los Angeles Valiant (8-6, 26-25-0, +1) The duo of Kai "KSP" Collins and Johannes "Shax" Nielsen has emerged in recent weeks as possibly the best DPS core in the entire league. The Valiant's 3-1 win over the Florida Mayhem last weekend came on the back of the DPS fragging out and the Valiant's coaching staff crafting a game plan to take advantage of Florida's weaknesses due to specific hero bans. The Valiant have proven themselves as a top American region team, but they now need to find ways to take wins against top teams without hero bans.

4. Florida Mayhem (10-5, 27-18-0, +9) Florida's 3-1 loss to the Valiant doesn't disqualify the Mayhem from being near the top of the power rankings, but it does expose one of their biggest weaknesses. If support Jun-soo "Kris" Choi can't play Brigitte, the Mayhem can be thrown off their strengths, as the Valiant did to them. Look for coach Dae-kuk "KuKi" Kim to make some adjustments before the Summer Showdown, where there will be no hero bans to slow this high-powered team.

5. Paris Eternal (8-6, 29-26-0, +3) The integration of rookie DPS Yeong-han "SP9RK1E" Kim has been a rough process so far, illustrated by the Eternal's lackluster showing in a 3-0 loss to the Shock. The second Paris figures out how to play with SP9RK1E and fellow rookie DPS Ki-hyo "Xzi" Jung, who is returning from a wrist injury, though, this team can be a major threat that will only get better with time.

6. Atlanta Reign (6-6, 24-18-0, +6) The Reign have potential to grow but have stagnated of late. The decision to not field their two best DPS players, Joon "Erster" Jeong and Tae-hoon "Edison" Kim, in the active lineup at the same time has been head-scratching over the past few weeks, and their uninspiring showings on double-shield compositions shows a lack of team identity. Still, the raw talent on the roster has Atlanta in contention for playoff eligibility following a 3-0 win over the Toronto Defiant last weekend.

7. Houston Outlaws (6-10, 25-35-3, -10) The recent surge from the Outlaws has been surprising, seeing as it features DPS-converted-tank Joao Pedro "Hydration" Goes Telles on main tank. Even more surprising is how good the rest of the roster looks with Hydration in front, particularly the star free agent signee, tank Tae-hong "MekO" Kim. With a lot of the Outlaws' problems seemingly fixed thanks to the new frontline arrangement, and momentum on the team's side after a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Gladiators, time will tell if a talented Houston roster can put together a run to squeak into playoff contention.

8. Los Angeles Gladiators (5-6, 21-23-3, -2) The Gladiators are in the middle of a crisis or a reimagining period, depending on how you choose to look at their recent matches. Losing 3-1 to the Outlaws is certainly not a good sign, but Los Angeles has a decent excuse in trying different team compositions and attempting to get its latest signee, much-hyped DPS Kevin "kevster" Persson, acclimated to the speed of Overwatch League play. It remains to be seen if the coaching staff can bring the team together in time for the Summer Showdown, where the Gladiators will need a good showing to avoid sliding down the rankings.

9. Dallas Fuel (4-8, 18-28-0, -10) After some good performances from star DPS Gui-un "Decay" Jang over the past few weeks, Decay was out of the lineup last week, a puzzling decision. The remaining five starting Fuel players then shockingly let a rookie-laden team, the Vancouver Titans, sweep them 3-0 without putting up much of a resistance. Serious doubts remain about the tanks, supports and leadership, conditions that only worsened with the recent lackluster performance.

10. Vancouver Titans (3-7, 11-23-0, -12) The Titans finally got on the board with a 3-0 win over the Fuel, picking up the first win for the new-look Vancouver. DPS Niclas "sHockWave" Jensen has emerged as a star player to build around for the future, which looks considerably brighter for the Titans now that they picked up that elusive first victory.

11. Boston Uprising (2-12, 12-40-3, -28) While the Uprising got 3-0'd by the Fusion, they still made it a battle. This scrappy team continues to show some fight from its new players as it tests lineups for future consideration.

12. Toronto Defiant (5-9, 25-31-0, -6) The Defiant's falloff has been hard to watch, seeing as this team has world-class talent that plays disjointedly. Many fans expected more from this team, but with its head coach retiring midseason and the players seemingly checked out, this might be the new norm for Toronto.

13. Washington Justice (3-12, 16-38-0, -22) The Justice are a ship lost at sea at the moment, scrambling to find pieces to a roster they might disassemble in the offseason. The team's lack of direction and clear-cut plans are worrying, as is the 3-0 drumming they received courtesy of a minimal-effort Shock side last week.

Asian Region (match record, map record, map differential) 1. Shanghai Dragons (16-2, 41-11-1, +30)

Possibly the best team in the world at the moment, the Dragons have been dismantling the rest of the Asian region for the last several weeks. Reverse-sweeping the Chengdu Hunters 3-2 after letting some of the backup players start the series was a scary situation, but it adds more experience for a team that has demonstrated its clutch factor time and time again. 2. Guangzhou Charge (11-6, 32-31-0, +1)

Despite the roster/visa woes this team has dealt with, the Charge find themselves near the top of the Asian region pack. Solid 3-2 wins over the Seoul Dynasty and the Hangzhou Spark show that this team can stay strong and go the distance, though Guangzhou's ability to close out series is an area it will need to work on going forward. 3. New York Excelsior (12-4, 39-17-2, +22)

After signing the OWL 2019 Rookie of the Year, DPS Hyojong "Haksal" Kim, in early June, it is only a matter of time before New York rises to the top of the standings. Taking an all-star-level supporting cast and adding Haksal, the player who led his Titans team against the Shock in last year's finals, will only make the Excelsior more deadly, especially considering their other talented DPS players can come off the bench to switch up playstyles. Though New York lost 3-2 to the Spark and beat the lower-ranked London Spitfire 3-1 last week, the Excelsior's massive potential, plus their increasingly good-looking form, has them high up on our list. 4. Hangzhou Spark (7-8, 27-31-2, -4)

The Spark picked up a 3-2 win over New York and fell in a 3-2 series to Guangzhou last week, showing just how tough the Asian region can be. The signing of DPS Minho "Architect" Park was a huge pickup for a team looking to make a late playoff push. 5. This spot is intentionally left blank to signify the gulf between the top and bottom teams in the region.

6. London Spitfire (5-7, 18-27-0, -9) This young team has some high points, mainly DPS Gil-seong "Glister" Lim, Hyun-wook "ALTHOUGH" Jung and tank Se-won "BERNAR" Shin. Taking out the Chengdu Hunters 3-0 last week was a good sign for this team, though the subsequent 3-1 loss to New York showed that the Spitfire still have a ways to go before challenging the top of the region.

7. Chengdu Hunters (4-12, 23-37-1, -14) Chengdu is the worst team in the region, but it isn't necessarily a bad team. The Hunters' problems have always been their strengths: If you take away their quirky playstyle, they aren't nearly as good at "standard" Overwatch and struggle against all competition. With common ban targets such as Sombra, D.va and Brigitte being crucial to Chengdu's playstyle, it's no wonder the team has struggled in the hero-ban era.

Unranked. Seoul Dynasty (6-6, 14-20-1, -6) The Dynasty are so inconsistent that there is no point in ranking them. Sometimes they beat Shanghai, the best team in the region by a country mile, and sometimes they get 3-0'd by Chengdu. Sometimes they look as if they have the best roster in the league, and sometimes that roster fails to show up and they turn in miserable and head-scratching performances. This team is frustrating because it loses so often, but Seoul easily could put it all together and magically rebound. Only time, and possibly a coin flip, will tell which version of the Dynasty shows up this week.

--Field Level Media