Wildly diverse Overwatch 2 meta defined OWL season curtain-raiser

The Overwatch 2 meta on display in the OWL Pro-Am pre-season tournament showed a variety of compositions and heroes. While there were plenty of ways to win and there was enough variety to keep games interesting, however, success was defined around three compositions that played out in a rock-paper-scissors fashion.

From Symmetra and Echo to Zenyatta and Ramattra, every hero got their consideration throughout the Pro-Am. Lots of that variety came from the Contenders teams in groups, with many providing their own unique looks according to their strengths.

However, the more frequent heroes, including Winston, Tracer, Cassidy, and Kiriko, were key to their own compositions too as the OWL rolled into its new season.

Here are the standouts in the emerging 2023 meta.

Dive is still very strong on specific maps in Overwatch 2

Out of the three main comps shown at the Pro-Am, the classic Dive composition was key. As one of the first-ever premier OWL meta leaders, Dive has gone through many changes, but still remains a great comp to focus down powerful or key enemies.

In the Pro-Am, the latest Dive composition consisted of Winston or D.Va, Tracer, Cassidy, Ana, and Lucio to dive onto their enemies and kill them fast. The only two that don’t dive are Cassidy and Ana, who both provide support and whittle down enemies.

Some of the teams that ran this comp the most included the Toronto Defiant, Los Angeles Gladiators and Florida Mayhem.

Rush returns in Overwatch 2 for OWL 2023

The other key comp that was used a lot in the Pro-Am was standard Rush. Where Dive focuses on targeting specific enemies, Rush focuses on the team moving as a whole.

This comp has the core of Reinhardt or Ramattra, Cassidy, Ana, and Lucio, or Kiriko. This time around, the team moves closer together, and thanks to heroes like Kiriko or Ramattra, provides a different way of winning fights. Plus, a variation of Rush used on Control includes Symmetra and Mei to separate enemies and get crucial final blows.

Some of the key teams that went Rush included the Los Angeles Gladiators, Toronto Defiant and the Houston Outlaws.

Wrecking Ball is back in the Pro-Am

Last but not least, the Pro-Am played host to one of the highest risk-reward tanks in the game: Wrecking Ball. In a way, playing him is similar to running a Dive comp, as the ball can have a similar engage tool as Winston and his jump. However, with how differently the Wrecking Ball players have to play, it shifts the whole team.

The key heroes include Wrecking Ball, Tracer, Sombra, Lucio, and Kiriko. The idea is to have both Tracer and Sombra finish up on the enemies that the Wrecking Ball knocks up while peppering them in between. The supports are very mobile and can avoid both dives and rushes easily while keeping their team alive.

Out of all the teams to use it in the Pro-Am, the biggest users were the Atlanta Reign. Their tank player, Kim “D0NGHAK” Min-sung, has already been regarded as one of the best Wrecking Ball players in both scrims and the Pro-Am. If you want to watch how to play ball, watch D0NGHAK and the Atlanta Reign.

⁠Other OW2 heroes, such as Echo, Pharah, Zenyatta, and more, were used a little more situationally at the Pro-Am. But, the fact they weren’t quick swaps and were used meticulously for maps is a good sign when the 2023 OWL season officially begins.

The only question left is: will Lifeweaver change the meta? We’ll have to wait and see.