<div id="readability-page-1"><div><figure> 
 <p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/607d15f3caf66322c1345468/960x0.jpg/query-Zml0PXNjYWxl?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/607d15f3caf66322c1345468/960x0.jpg/query-Zml0PXNjYWxl"/></p> 
 <figcaption> 
   
   <p>Minki &#34;Viol2t&#34; Park was the best player in the Overwatch League 2020 season, according to the Power <span>... [+]</span><span> Rankings with IBM Watson. He made a splash on opening weekend of the 2021 season too.</span></p> 
   
  <small>Blizzard Entertainment</small> 
 </figcaption> 
</figure> 
<p>The Overwatch League has returned with a bang. The opening weekend of the 2021 season saw some major upsets, ridiculous plays and several great matches. </p> 
 
<p>Beyond a few surprise outcomes (Chengdu Hunters did <em>what </em>exactly to Shanghai Dragons?), there are a few key takeaways for me from this weekend. I’ll delve into those after this weekend’s results, along with the VODs if you want to watch any of the series — though you absolutely should check out Houston Outlaws vs. San Francisco Shock. </p> 
<h2><strong>Friday, April 16</strong></h2> 
 
 
<p>Houston Outlaws 3-2 Dallas Fuel </p> 
 
 
<p>Los Angeles Gladiators 1-3 San Francisco Shock</p> 
<h2><strong>Saturday, April 17</strong></h2> 
 
 
<p>Guangzhou Charge 0-3 Shanghai Dragons </p> 
 
<p>Los Angeles Valiant 1-3 Chengdu Hunters</p> 
 
<p>Philadelphia Fusion 3-1 Seoul Dynasty </p> 
 
<p>Toronto Defiant 3-1 Vancouver Titans</p> 
 
<p>Atlanta Reign 1-3 Florida Mayhem</p> 
 
<p>Dallas Fuel 3-1 Los Angeles Gladiators</p> 
<h2><strong>Sunday, April 18</strong></h2> 
 
<p>Guangzhou Charge 0-3 Seoul Dynasty </p> 
 
<p>Chengdu Hunters 3-0 Shanghai Dragons</p> 
 
<p>Philadelphia Fusion 3-0 Los Angeles Valiant</p> 
 
<p>Houston Outlaws 3-2 San Francisco Shock</p> 
 
<p>Florida Mayhem 3-1 Vancouver Titans </p> 
 
<p>Toronto Defiant 3-2 Atlanta Reign</p> 
<p>Just want to point out that the Defiant are 2-0. It’s been a good weekend. </p> 
<h2>Takeaways</h2> 
<h3>Are Hero Pools Really Needed?</h3> 
<p>One of the key reasons for <em>Overwatch </em>and OWL introducing Hero Pools last year was to shake things up by making sure teams couldn’t run the same compositions every week. You have to try something else if your go-to heroes are unavailable on a given weekend.</p> 
<p>Although we’ll see Hero Pools (which are no longer in the retail build) once again later in the season, opening weekend gave some strong evidence as to why they might not be the best way to keep things fresh. While there were expectations that teams would largely use double-bubble (Winston and Zarya) or rush comps, we saw a lot more versatility this weekend. In fact, all 32 heroes saw at least some game time.</p> 
<p>That suggests that effective balance patches, and not Hero Pools, are an better way of fostering a wider range of hero selections without limiting the available characters.</p> 
<p>There will always be a meta of some kind. Things might change drastically by the second tournament cycle if balance changes on the latest Experimental Card make it into the live game, such as a health reduction for Reinhardt and shorter cooldown for Orisa’s Halt! ability. But perhaps it’d be best for Blizzard to tune heroes so that they’re all viable, rather than arbitrarily locking a few each week in OWL.</p> 
<h3>Viol2t Flexing</h3> 
 
<p>Is there anything Minki “Viol2t” Park can’t do? He was the league’s best player last season, according to IBM Watson’s Power Rankings. The San Francisco Shock’s support superstar showed this weekend that he hs a few more tricks up his sleeve.</p> 
<p>Viol2t switched over to the hitscan damage role for a few maps, and showed just how good his McCree is. In Friday’s third map against Los Angeles Gladiators, Gibraltar, Viol2t picked up 15 final blows with that hero. Against Birdring and Kevster, and a solid team overall, that’s mighty impressive.</p> 
<p>Viol2t’s fine showing in that match wasn’t that surprising, given he’s shown off his hitscan prowess on his stream. Things didn’t go quite as well for him in the loss to Houston on Sunday, however. By my count, he only picked up one kill on Dorado as McCree, and it wasn’t a final blow.</p> 
<p>Even with a world-class abundance of DPS talent at their disposal, the Shock have an even deeper reserve of talent to slot into the damage roles. Who knows? Perhaps we’ll even see more Super Genji this year. </p> 
<h3>Texas Strong</h3> 
<p>Houston Outlaws and Dallas Fuel did Texas proud this weekend. The teams faced each other in a thrilling season opener, with Outlaws taking the win 3-2. They each went on to face stiff competition, with Fuel battling Los Angeles Gladiators and Houston taking on two-time defending champions Shock. Both Texas teams won those matches, with Outlaws taking Shock to a sixth map for a 3-2 win. </p> 
<p>In the Fuel’s case, their 3-1 win was perhaps even more remarkable. Hitscan specialist Ki-hyo &#34;Xzi&#34; Jung left the team and OWL two days before the start of the season due to ongoing injuries. That put the Fuel in a position where they were having to run unusual compositions, but they made a Mei-Doomfist DPS line work to great effect against the Glads. They could be a real threat if they can pick up a talented hitscan player who gels with the team.</p> 
<p>Outlaws and Fuel were both hotly tipped to have a great season, and they’re off to a fantastic start.</p> 
<p>The Overwatch League will return for week 2 of the 2021 season on Friday, starting with Paris Eternal vs. Vancouver Titans at 3PM ET.</p> 
 
</div></div>

<p>Not many fans will have picked Chengdu Hunters to steamroll the mighty Shanghai Dragons.</p>

Overwatch League 2021: Week 1 Takeaways, Results And VODs