Stage 4 of the Overwatch League is reportedly going to feature the 2-2-2 role lock system.
Citing multiple sources within the league, a report by Upcomer states that the rumored 2-2-2 role lock will be implemented next Stage which would restrict teams to running compositions with 2 DPS, 2 Tank, and 2 Support heroes.
Following rumors during the post-Stage 2 break of the system coming in Stage 3, sources confirmed that the date for the format update had been delayed several times and that officials would be consulting players for their opinions before moving forward with such a drastic change.
Teams were reportedly only made aware of this decision from the Overwatch League to move forward with a 2-2-2 role lock in early June, which leaves both players and staff of each franchise six weeks to react and prepare accordingly for Stage 4, starting July 26, in order to remain competitive. With this in mind, fans can potentially expect a myriad of roster updates, whether it be new signings of young talent from the Contenders scene to internal promotions from an organization's Academy roster.
If confirmed to be true, this could have drastic implications to the state of the current leaderboard as it would mark an end to the 3-3 heavy GOATS strategy and its associated variants. Additionally, in light of these changes, it is anticipated that the Overwatch developer team will have to implement a wide array of balance changes to accommodate for heroes such as Brigitte who straddles the boundary of two classes to remain competitively viable options before the role lock system hits the live client.
After three weeks of play, the PHL Fusion are currently 13th in the Stage 3 standings with a 2-2 record and -4 Map Point Differential. The Fusion’s next match will be against the Boston Uprising on Saturday, June 29 at 1:45 PDT.