Is Atlanta Reign on the verge of becoming a dynasty?

A franchise that couldn't help but laugh in the face of overwhelming odds is now the one with the last laugh. A franchise that was most known for being the one to upset and gatekeep is now welcoming all challengers for its crown.

For the first time in Overwatch League history, Atlanta Reign is a major title holder. Are we witnessing the birth of a new dynasty or was the Midseason Madness simply a flash in the pan?

Is this the start of an OWL Dynasty?

Without being picky on the semantics, a dynasty in Overwatch League usually has meant to span two major titles. Lunatic-Hai did this in the APEX Era of the game's history winning season two and defending their title in season three.

The San Francisco Shock was the first to nearly redefine the colloquial definition winning the Overwatch League title in 2019 in resounding fashion and defending its post come 2020. This is where the Atlanta Reign steps in. 

It is high time we admit that the Midseason Madness, an international, double-elimination LAN, should be weighed more than stage titles were in the past. On this sliding scale of prestige, the Midseason Madness sits somewhere in the middle. And, if you left it up to us, it sits shoulder-to-shoulder with a world title. 

Now, to address the doubter still stunned about the Reign's underperformance at the 2023 Pro-Am.

Stop.

The Pro-Am was a domestic pre-season exhibition and, at best, a litmus test to set expectations for midseason. 

As we compare the 2023 Reign to some of the greatest squads in Overwatch history, there is one attribute that tangles them all together; the ability to be meta-proof.

Meta matters but Atlanta flexes

Let's start with the obvious parts first; we've seen Kwon "Fielder" Joon play like an all-star for years and for parts of it he battled high latency and still managed to outperform a sizeable portion of his peers.

Han "ChiYo" Hyeon-seok has also shown to be an absolute bulletproof support player. Did we also forget that they both are defending champions?

Next, let's tackle the DPS discussion starting with Lee "LIP" Jae-won. Not only is LIP the best Sombra in the world, as we've been reminded constantly through the run-up to the Midseason Madness, but lest we forget how strong he was on Sojourn and Tracer in the past.

Last year LIP improved drastically and ended the season as one of the better Sojourn players in the world and when it comes to Tracer, 2021 saw him lead the league (albeit with a small sample size).

Standing beside LIP is Jeong "Stalk3r" Hak-yong. Not only is Stalk3r in the discussion for the most mechanically gifted Tracer players in the league, but he leads the league in most Mei statistics.

If that already seems like an odd hero pool to pull from let's also remember that Stalk3r cut his teeth in Overwatch Contenders playing quite a bit of Genji for Seoul Dynasty's academy team, Gen.G Esports. So when the meta changes, do not bother drawing any questions Stalk3r's way.

Rounding out the roster we have the perfect mix of tanks. Xander "Hawk" Domecq has been criminally slept on since his debut alongside the Atlanta Reign in 2020 and can pilot far more than your traditional flex tank hero pool. 

And leading the team stands rookie phenom, Kim "D0NGHAK" Min-sung. He is easily the front-runner for the Alarm Rookie of the Year award. Past that, he is competitive with some of the best Winston players in the world and has been commended by experts on his Wrecking Ball performances in the past. 

This team looks at the Overwatch cast and scoffs. 

Atlanta can and should be expected to do it all. 

However, there is one quickly approaching problem that could jeopardise its future as a dynasty.

When the Gods change the rules

With the announcement that the back half of the 2023 Overwatch League season will not only feature a brand new support hero but it will also introduce a new core game mode, Flashpoint, this should balance the odds. 

Strangely enough, that only speaks half-truths. If anything, this puts Atlanta as one of the most prepared teams in the league. 

There is one support duo who can argue that they've been here and done this all before. Both Fielder and Chiyo had to wrap their heads around Kiriko for the 2022 Overwatch League playoffs. The former ended up quick to the button and was a massive part of assisting the Dallas Fuel on their championship run. 

And be honest, running through that roster breakdown, you thought we forgot Kim "vigilante" Joon?

Between Fielder's experience and vigilante's mechanical prowess, they should be able to keep the roof from blowing off the Reign's growing empire. Better yet, if the meta-casino rolls into a double-flex support composition, Atlanta might even increase in power level. 

To be clear; we're not comparing apples to oranges, we have no inkling on how Hero 38 is going to play, but the Reign's supports have seen this scenario in the past and stepped up in a big way.

That also doesn't remove the fact that Flashpoint will likely throw everyone in the league for a loop much like Push did last year. This means that it should be a soft reset for everyone and play a larger role in teams that need that extra Control map to end the set, which Atlanta has not shown in the slightest.

Not only does Atlanta not need a double dip on their Control prowess, but it's actually the only map type the Reign looked mortal on during the regular season, losing one map to the Outlaws and the Uprising respectively.

So, are we witnessing the foundation of a new Overwatch era? 

The safe answer is that we can't be sure just yet. If we asked that same question last year with the Los Angeles Gladiators after their midseason win, where would we be left standing by the season's end? 

However, as food for thought, was the Gladiator's Midseason Madness run even remotely as one-sided as Atlanta's was?

Leading up to the offline playoffs this last week, nearly every pundit and expert agreed that Atlanta was the favourites to win the Midseason Madness title and leading up to the grand final, it was unanimous; Atlanta was going to handily win.

The team had beaten the Houston Outlaws at every turn, once to qualify for the event, once earlier in the tournament, nothing was different now. 

The Atlanta Reign waltzed forward through this event with little to no resistance and with the forecast placed before you, is there any reason to believe this dance will slow in tempo?

The team has more than enough star power to punch with the best players in the world. 

They are flexible enough to look dominant in all roles through the first half of the season.

And to top it off, they are uniquely prepared for the incoming changes headed down the development pipeline. 

Ask yourself this; who of their peers can match their flexibility and their mechanics?

Few teams escape having questions circulate around them, leaving no one to really hold a candle to the inferno raging in Atlanta.

What would the ideal dice roll for the Phoenix's competitors even look like?

The 2023 Reign is a special team, one that houses championship DNA as well as aspirations.

And it's likely they make good on that potential.