On Sunday, several Overwatch League (OWL) teams played friendly games against one another. These games did not count towards their standings in the league, and they were also able to use Echo. As a result, these matches gave us an inside look at what the meta might look like once Echo arrives.
The matches
As expected, damage players picked Echo in every game. The San Francisco Shock looked dominant with the hero right off the bat. Jay “Sinatraa” Won and Mino “Architect” Park both looked great with her, and they easily swept the Seoul Dynasty.
The Shock paired her alongside a GOATS-like team composition in their first game on Lijiang Tower. They had her, Reinhardt, Zarya, McCree, Brigitte, and Ana. On Junkertown and Horizon Lunar Colony, they played several different compositions including Roadhog, Orisa, D.Va, Widowmaker, Wrecking Ball, Winston, and Mercy.
The OWL friendly between the Los Angeles Gladiators and the Los Angeles Valiant was much closer and saw similar team compositions. The Reinhardt-Zarya tank combination mixed with Echo and Brigitte or Lucio seemed to keep popping up in both matches.
How Echo might shape the meta
Echo’s ultimate ability, Duplicate, allows her to become a hero for a short period of time. This means that, even with 2-2-2 role lock, a GOATs-like team is entirely possible. If Echo uses Duplicate on a tank hero, the team will have a 3-2-1 composition for a short period of time. Since Echo is undoubtedly strong on her own, this seems like a likely scenario.
Echo was also seen alongside Roadhog and Orisa, a tank combination that we haven’t seen much in the OWL this season. Duplicating Roadhog seems very powerful at first glance due to his high health pool and pick potential.
Ultimately, with Hero Pools in place, how Echo is played in the OWL will also be determined by who is available each week. We still don’t have word on when Echo will be available in the OWL. It may yet be a couple of months. Be sure to stay tuned for more information!
Published: Mar 23, 2020 02:27 pm