The week 13 Overwatch League hero pools have been confirmed and Mercy sees her first ban while Wrecking Ball receives his second. McCree and Widowmaker top the list for the upcoming week as the duo have now been banned three times together with McCree leading all heroes with four bans to his name so far this season.
The Overwatch League promised hero pools throughout the 2020 season and while the first few weeks did not match the hero pools in standard competitive play for all players, the hero pools have since then merged, making one unified hero pool for all levels of play. Percentage of hero usage determines these pools, but the difference between the Overwatch League and the rest of the player base is starting to be felt as the typical, more fun heroes see a larger play time with the new format (and thus more likely to be banned) while some of the heroes that dominate the Overwatch League either dodge getting banned or aren’t even an option despite the large amount of playtime in the league (looking at you, Mei).
The Mercy and Wrecking Ball bans don’t have as much impact as say a hero like McCree as only a few teams utilize these heroes in play. The Chengdu Hunters would be the most affected, but they have recently been focusing on playing more meta comps, opting out of their typical wacky shenanigans they are known for.
Many debate the pros and cons of the hero pool format. Some think it hinders the competitive aspect of the game while others agree that it makes matches more exciting. There has certainly been a large variety of comps played in the Overwatch League because of hero pools, but it sometimes doesn’t look as clean as it should be when watching such a high level of play. It is unclear how long Overwatch will stick with this format as it is proving to be more decisive than anything.
