Week 2 of Stage 3 is behind us. With a lot of the teams changing their rosters, the results are mixed. The Dragons seem to be doing a lot better having changed out almost their entire starting line up. They still haven't gotten the victory, but they have been taking maps and their losses haven't looked as bad as they were previously. The Valiant started the Stage strong and looking to continue their week streak  against a scary San Fran team and a Dallas team who is just starting to get their stuff together. 

Despite Boston losing a great flex DPS player, they still managed to win both of their matches in Week 1. But they also had are coming into some tough matches in Week 2 having to play against NYXL who is the number 1 team in the league and the Mayhem, who are sporadic at their best. 

Seoul, who was once the best team in the league, has been having issues going into Stage 3. While they took a game last week, it was very close and they ended up losing a game that should have a been sure victory. 

Stage 3 so far has been very different than any other Stage this season. The mid pack teams are doing amazing, despite having tough matches, and the top teams seem to be struggling against the new rosters. 

Lets see if this continued into Week 2. 

Match Summary

Day 1 – Shanghai Dragons vs. Los Angeles Gladiators

• Anubis: Gladiators – 2, Dragons – 1
• Blizzworld: Gladiators – 2, Dragons – 1
• Nepal: Gladiators – 2, Dragons – 1
• Route 66: Gladiators – 3, Dragons – 2
• Final score: Gladiators 4-0

Day 1 – San Francisco Shock vs. Los Angeles Valiant

• Volskaya: Valiant – 2, Shock – 1
• Blizzworld: Valiant – 4, Shock – 3
• Ilios: Valiant – 2, Shock – 0
• Route 66: Valiant – 2, Shock – 1
• Final score: Valiant 4-0

Day 1 – Dallas Fuel vs. Seoul Dynasty

• Volskaya: Dynasty – 3, Fuel – 2
• Numbani: Fuel – 2, Dynasty – 1
• Nepal: Dynasty – 2, Fuel – 1
• Route 66: Fuel – 3, Dynasty – 1
• Oasis: Dynasty – 2, Fuel – 1
• Final score: Dynasty 3-2

Day 2 – Boston Uprising vs. New York Excelsior

• Volskaya: Uprising – 2, Excelsior – 1
• Numbani: Excelsior – 2, Uprising – 1
• Ilios: Excelsior – 2, Uprising – 0
• Junkertown: Uprising – 3, Excelsior – 2
• Oasis: Uprising – 2, Excelsior – 0
• Final score: Uprising 3-2 (dat upset!)

Day 2 – London Spitfire vs. Florida Mayhem

• Volskaya: Draw 3-3
• Numbani: Spitfire – 4, Mayhem – 3
• Nepal: Spitfire – 2, Mayhem – 1
• Route 66: Spitfire – 3, Mayhem – 1
• Final score: Spitfire 3-0

Day 2 – Philadelphia Fusion vs. Houston Outlaws

• Volskaya: Outlaws – 4, Fusion – 3
• Numbani: Fusion – 5, Outlaws – 4
• Ilios: Fusion – 2, Outlaws – 0
• Junkertown: Outlaws – 1, Fusion – 0
• Oasis: Fusion – 2, Outlaws – 0
• Final score: Fusion 3-2

Day 3 – Los Angeles Valiant vs. Dallas Fuel

• Volskaya: Draw 4-4
• Numbani: Fuel – 4, Valiant – 3
• Ilios: Valiant – 2, Fuel – 1
• Route 66: Valiant – 3, Fuel – 1
• Final score: Valiant 2-1

Day 3 – San Francisco Shock vs. Shanghai Dragons

• Anubis: Shock – 3, Dragons – 2
• Numbani: Dragons – 4, Shock – 3
• Ilios: Shock – 2, Dragons – 0
• Junkertown: Shock – 3, Dragons – 2
• Final score: Shock 3-1

Day 3 – Seoul Dynasty vs. Los Angeles Gladiators

• Anubis: Dynasty – 2, Gladiators – 1
• Blizzworld: Gladiators – 3, Dynasty – 2
• Nepal: Gladiators – 2, Dynasty – 1
• Junkertown: Dynasty – 2, Gladiators – 1
• Oasis: Gladiators – 2, Dynasty – 0
• Final score: Gladiators 3-2

Day 4 – London Spitfire vs. Philadelphia Fusion

• Anubis: Fusion – 2, Spitfire – 1
• Blizzworld: Fusion – 3, Spitfire – 2
• Ilios: Spitfire – 2, Fusion – 0
• Junkertown: Spitfire – 2, Fusion – 0
• Oasis: Fusion – 2, Spitfire – 0
• Final score: Fusion 3-2

Day 4 – New York Excelsior vs. Houston Outlaws

• Volskaya: Outlaws – 3, Excelsior – 2
• Blizzworld: Excelsior – 2, Outlaws – 1
• Nepal: Outlaws – 2, Excelsior – 1
• Route 66: Excelsior – 3, Outlaws – 1
• Oasis: Excelsior – 2, Outlaws – 1
• Final score: Excelsior 3-2

Day 4 – Florida Mayhem vs. Boston Uprising

• Anubis: Uprising – 1, Mayhem – 0
• Blizzworld: Uprising – 3, Mayhem – 2
• Nepal: Mayhem – 2, Uprising – 0
• Junkertown: Mayhem – 3, Uprising – 2
• Oasis: Uprising – 2, Mayhem – 0
• Final score: Uprising 3-2

Judging by the results, it was a crazy week. Boston with the upset against NYXL and Fusion still showing that they have the Spitfire's number. And look! The Dragon's took a map! While its not a complete victory, they're showing that they know how to win. They just can't finish. It will come soon though. Do not count the Gladiators out either. They're looking better and better every single game.  

The LA Valiant (+13) and the Boston Uprising (+7) are the current leaders in this stage with NYXL (+8) and the LA Gladiators (+5) to finish out the top 4. But the Stage is still young, and we still have a lot games left. 

Here is the rest of the Stage 3 standings so far.

Stage 3 Standings 

And now, for some news. 

News around the league.

- Agape has returned as a coach for the London Spite. He left last stage after head coach Beom-joon “Bishop” Lee parted ways. Agape then left for an undisclosed reason. Agape is now back and hopes to propel the Spitfire into the number 1 team in the league. 

-Los Angeles Valiant picked up their 12th man.  Min-chul “Izayaki” Kim will be joining the team as a support. He played for the Korean pro Team "Foxes" and will be instrumental in in their overall team synergy going forward.  

- Boston Uprising have signed 19 year old support player Min-Seok “AimGod” Kwon marking the 10th player for the Uprising. Aimgod is a support main and played for the Korean team " Meta Bellum". They're not expecting him to start until Stage 4 since he is waiting on his visa to clear. 

And finally. And probably the biggest news to come out of the week. 

Dallas Fuel has announced the departure of their head coach Kyle “Kyky” Souder and their DPS player Dong-jun “Rascal” Kim.

KyKy has been with the Fuel since the beginning of the beginning when they were Team EnVyUs in the APEX NA contenders tournament. He was instrumentalist in putting the Dallas Fuel team together. He has also been a controversial figure in recent being blamed for much of the drama that lead to the team struggling all of Stage 1 and much of Stage 2. With this done and set, Emanuel “Peak” Uzoni will step up as a interim head coach and Kang “Vol’Jin” Min-Gyu of Meta Gaming joining the coaching staff as an assistant in the coming weeks. 

Having said that, Dallas was not tight lipped on why they let Rascal go. Having been acquired him last stage in a deal with the London Spitfire. They were first happy to bring him aboard for his flexibility as a DPS. But according to the Fuel “his commitment to the team did not meet our expectations and his unwillingness to communicate with the team while playing in recent matches became a large distraction.”. The unfortunate part for Rascal is, the signing period for the rest of the season is over. Which means he will not be eligible to play until Season 2. 

*UPDATE* More drama in the Fuel. Rumor has it that Seagull, Effect, and Taimou are very unhappy with the direction that Dallas Fuel have taken and asked for their leave. Harryhook, Fuel's flex support player, has always commented on how he wants to win. There are some interesting things going on over at the Dallas Fuel. 

I will update as this story continues.   

 Thats it for this week! This has been James with Game Fix, bringing you your Overwatch League round up.