Echo banned in Overwatch April 20 hero pool just days after release

Wanting to play Echo in Competitive Play? Well, you’ll have to wait a week now, after the newly-released Overwatch DPS hero was taken out of rotation in Week 8’s hero pool reveal alongside Tracer, Orisa, and Moira.

It’ll still be some time until we see Echo tear up the Overwatch League. Just a few days after the hero’s initial release on live servers, the Damage character will be out of service in ranked queues for a week.

She will be riding the bench with Tracer, Orisa, and Moira, after the bans for April 20 onwards were revealed after the Flash Ops Echo Showdown tournament.

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Overwatch Week 8 hero pool bans Echo, Tracer, Orisa, Moira

Echo was one of three heroes open to being banned after the last two weeks of Competitive Play. Since her release on April 14, Echo has featured in 18.3% of games. Given that she’s only been out for five days, it goes to show how much game time she’s had recently.

Tracer was also suspended after topping the charts at 25.7% play time, while Ashe avoided the pool once again.

In the tank department, almost every tank in the game aside from Reinhardt was open for bans. However, with double shield once again tormenting players, some will be able to breathe a sigh of relief now that Orisa has been taken off the table.

• Read more: 5 tips to dominate as Echo in Overwatch

Support-wise, Ana was by far the most played hero, with a 77.9% pick rate in the last two weeks of high-ranked Competitive Play. However, she eluded the ban hammer, with Moira instead falling victim, despite her 21.9% play rate in comparison.

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It means there’ll be another week before fans will see Echo hit the OWL stage. While pros have been experimenting with her in ranked play, as well as in the Echo Showdown, in a pure competitive setting, the hero is yet to be tested.

Without Orisa, bunker comps will go down in prevalence, despite the fact Baptiste, Sigma, Hanzo, and Mei remain available. Reinhardt-Sigma is open for teams who want double shields, but with one main tank gone, flexibility will be limited.

• Read more: Jeff Kaplan confirms change to player borders in Overwatch 2

McCree and Widowmaker have also been unlocked again. With the two best hitscan characters back on the board, without one of those major shields, DPS players will be having a field day ⁠— regardless of the fact they can’t play Echo.

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The Week 8 hero pool for Overwatch will activate on Monday, April 20, and will run until Monday, April 27. Echo will first be available to be selected by pro players in the Overwatch League in Week 13, which kicks off on Friday, May 1.