Today’s Overwatch League Rundown sets out to answer a highly contested question: Who is the best Widowmaker Player in the Overwatch League? We also take a look at this week’s Can’t-Miss Matches, which features a number of rivalry-rich fixtures.
1) Who is the League’s Best Widowmaker Player?
With her cool as ice demeanour and wonderfully morbid voice lines, defence hero Widowmaker is easily one of the most beloved characters in all of Overwatch. In the Overwatch League, she is just as, if not more hallowed, since dominant Widowmaker play is often essential in producing a winning outcome. But who is the most dominant Widowmaker player in the Overwatch League? Let’s find out!
Starting with Stage 1, the best Widowmaker competition was very much a two horse race between Byung-sun ‘Fleta’ Kim and Ji-hyeok ‘Birdring’ Kim. Birdring stood out in practically every category, but his kill to death ratio (K/D) of 2.42 kills per 1 death is especially impressive. Fleta, on the other hand, finished just shy of Birdring in every major category but had an extra 40 minutes of Widowmaker playtime. Consistency is key to Widowmaker play and the fact that Fleta was able to keep playing at such a high level is nothing short of impressive. That being said, in the end, it was Birdring’s London Spitfire who took the Stage 1 Championships and his Widowmaker play was a large reason why.
Stage 1 Winner: Birdring
Stage 2 started off similarly to Stage 1 as Fleta and Birdring dominated the Widowmaker leaderboards. However, their reign at the top soon got challenged by one Jae-hyeok ‘Carpe’ Lee of the Philadelphia Fusion. Where some players saw their stats go down due to the Mercy meta changes, Carpe’s went way up. The Korean sniper led the league in many of the major categories and the one that stood out most had to do with his lack of deaths.
Carpe only contributed to 16% of his team’s deaths, which is the lowest of any Widow main in Stage 2. To put that number into perspective, Birdring contributed to 23% of his team’s deaths and was also near the top of the league in that category. Given Widowmaker’s importance in deciding team fights, Carpe’s ability to stay alive was a crucial one, and it helped his team make it all the way to the Stage Finals.
Stage 2 Winner: Carpe
2) Who is the League’s Best Widowmaker? (Continued)
By Stage 3, Widowmaker play was much-improved league-wide, and as a result, it’s extremely difficult to pick a top performer from the mix. In fact, all of the top tier teams relied heavily on stellar Widowmaker performances throughout the Stage. However, the Stage’s standout player didn’t come from a top of the standings team, but instead from the lowly Florida Mayhem. The person I’m talking about is, of course, Jung-woo ‘Sayaplayer’ Ha.
Right off the bat, he impressed with his aggressive play style and mesmerizing killstreaks. Also because he was on a lower-skilled team, Sayaplayer ended up getting focused on quite a lot, and his team only won 23% of the matches that he used Widowmaker in. However, in those matches, Sayaplayer managed to win 44% of the fights that he was involved in, which is a much higher percentage than his team’s overall win rate, and an extremely impressive figure. He was very much able to win fights for his team single-handedly and was easily the most impressive player at his position throughout Stage 3.
Stage 3 Winner: Sayaplayer
While Stage 4 isn’t even halfway over yet, it’s very much shaping up to be all about Lane ‘Surefour’ Roberts of the L.A. Gladiators. Surefour currently possesses a 60% fight win rate as Widowmaker, which is both impressive and unheard of at the same time. Add in the fact that his team has won 93% of the matches that he’s played in and you have the makings of an MVP. There’s simply not much more to say about his performance other than reiterating that he’s been dominant and speculating that his domination could very well continue this week and beyond.
Stage 4 Winner: Surefour
The Overwatch League’s Best Widowmaker Player: Carpe
Having played a league-leading 9 hours, 48 minutes and 20 seconds on Widowmaker, Carpe is the league’s best Widowmaker. As mentioned earlier, Carpe simply doesn’t die as often as his competition, and he puts that extra life to good use with a league-leading 1.99 K/D ratio. Also, while most Widow players are prone to hot and cold streaks, Carpe has been remarkably consistent and a driving force in his team’s success thus far in the Overwatch League’s inaugural season.
Can’t-Miss Matches: Wicked Wednesday
Wednesday: NYXL vs. Philadelphia Fusion, 7:00 PM EST
In Monday’s Overwatch League Power Rankings, we asked the question, “Can Anyone Stop the NYXL,” and the answer could very well be the Philadelphia Fusion. Their match kicks off week three of the Overwatch League’s fourth stage and promises to be an entertaining one. This match is also a rematch of the Stage 2 Finals and could very well go all the way to a fifth map.
Wednesday: L.A. Gladiators vs. L.A. Valiant, 11:00 PM EST
Another top quality match happening on Wednesday is the fourth instalment of the Battle of Los Angeles. Thankfully, unlike the 2011 movie Battle L.A., this rivalry has been engaging and a joy to watch. Both of these teams are sporting undefeated Stage 4 records, and a win for either team would set them up well in this stage and beyond. Also, this match features former Valiant DPS player Ted ‘Silkthread’ Wong going up against his former team which adds yet another layer to this heated rivalry.
Friday: Seoul Dynasty vs. Florida Mayhem, 9:00 PM EST
Apologies to Thursday, but Friday’s matchup between the Florida Mayhem is far more interesting than anything happening on the previous day. This match features Byung-sun ‘Fleta’ Kim, one of the top Widowmakers from Stage 1, going up against Jung-woo ‘Sayaplayer’ Ha, who was the best Widow player in Stage 3. The Dynasty has been slipping lately and needs a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, and the Mayhem is more than capable of playing spoiler.
Saturday: London Spitfire vs. Dallas Fuel, 4:00 PM EST
It’s crazy to think that the Dallas Fuel is currently in the hunt for a Stage Playoff birth. It’s even crazier to think that they could very well defeat the London Spitfire this Saturday. This match will no doubt be a closely contested bout and it will most likely come down to a matchup between Pongphop ‘Mickie’ Rattanasangchod’s Brigitte and Ji-hyeok ‘Birdring’ Kim’s Widowmaker.
Liked this article and want to read more like it? Check out The Overwatch Stage 4 Power Rankings and Alex Handziuk’s interview with Mercy Voice Actress Lucie Pohl.
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