Overwatch League 2021 Week 17: Atlanta Reign's Top Plays, Prize Money

It's been a weird week for the Overwatch League, as consequences of California's Activision-Blizzard lawsuit trickle down. But, while production adjusts to lost sponsorships and players remove their Coca-Cola labels, one team is unfazed and keeping its blinders on.

Executives deal with brand partnerships, the Atlanta Reign deal with enemies. And, in the Countdown Cup qualifiers, they've done so quite effectively.

After failing to secure a single point in the $225,000 Summer Showdown, Atlanta is on top of the West for the Countdown Cup with a 4-0 record heading into OWL 2021's final tournament. Rookie DPS Pelican is playing like an award-winner, Hawk is playing like a man possessed by the spirit of Hana Song, and a coalescing Reign squad is building spooky momentum.

Friday, August 6

London Spitfire 1-3 Toronto Defiant

Vancouver Titans 3-0 Boston Uprising

Saturday, August 7

New York Excelsior 1-3 Philadelphia Fusion

Seoul Dynasty 2-3 Shanghai Dragons

Chengdu Hunters 3-1 Guangzhou Charge

Dallas Fuel 3-1 London Spitfire

Florida Mayhem 2-3 Atlanta Reign

Toronto Defiant 3-0 Washington Justice

Sunday, August 8

Philadelphia Fusion 2-3 Seoul Dynasty

Chengdu Hunters 3-1 New York Excelsior

Shanghai Dragons 3-1 Guangzhou Charge

Boston Uprising 1-3 Florida Mayhem

Atlanta Reign 3-1 Dallas Fuel

Vancouver Titans 0-3 Washington Justice

In Week 17, the Reign edged out a struggling Florida Mayhem lineup and then comfortably took down their region's scariest team, the Dallas Fuel.

If you ask fans or analysts what prompted this recent surge in Atlanta form, you'll likely hear attribution to some blend of team synergy and Pelican dominance. After revamping an already-impressive DPS group this offseason, the Reign finally seem to be jelling around their rookie damage-dealer.

As seen in the Mayhem match, a perfectly paced Atlanta teleported into Florida's backline and proceeded to play pure bully ball. Gator on Orisa, Masaa on Brigitte, and Pelican on a pesky Symmetra...close-quarters demolition was guaranteed.

Already knee-deep in the ROY conversation, Pelican is now entering MVP consideration as well. Playing heroes like Sym and Tracer, while dabbling in some of the newly meta Pharah compositions, the DPS is a force to be reckoned with. And even he knows his ceiling hasn't been tapped.

After beating Dallas, one of the OWL's top two teams this season, Pelican tweeted about being unable to contest the Fuel's SP9RK1E on Pharah. After the Mayhem match, he tweeted a similar line toward Yaki.

It's unclear whether Pelican is naturally this humble or if all of Atlanta was simply humbled during the Summer Showdown. What is clear, though, is that the Reign look their 2021 best and that momentum couldn't come at a better time. The $225,000 Countdown Cup is just two weeks away and, soon after, the $3.2 million playoffs.