Widowmaker and McCree banned again in Overwatch April 27 hero pool

Echo is back in the Overwatch hero pool for Week 9, but it comes at a cost. While some of her biggest counters in Widowmaker and McCree are gone, so is her biggest ally in Mercy, alongside Wrecking Ball.

April 27’s hero pool in Overwatch has brought Echo back into the mix at the cost of four other heroes.

McCree, Widowmaker, Mercy, and Wrecking Ball will be unavailable for play starting on April 27 until May 4, after the quartet were taken away after this week’s Overwatch League action.

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Widowmaker and McCree have been banned as a duo three times since the inception of hero bans. McCree has been banned at every possible opportunity too, with the DPS character proving to be a nuisance in ranked play.

Mercy’s removal comes as a slight surprise, given numerous other supports like Ana are must-picks over her. Regardless, her removal will be a detriment to Echo players returning to the fold, with the Swiss medic being the best hero at enabling Overwatch’s new DPS.

• Read more: Overwatch exploit removes recoil from Mercy’s pistol

Wrecking Ball’s ban might be of little consequence to Overwatch League players, given that Reinhardt has seen the majority of play time. However, it could make the lives of ranked players just that little bit easier, not having to deal with the hamster in your backline.

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As with every hero pool, while some heroes depart, others rejoin the roster. Tracer, Orisa, and Moira will be rejoining the fray alongside Echo for the next week.

Double shield could then be making a resurgence, with Orisa and Sigma both being available at the same time, with Hanzo and Mei still on the board. The popular duos of Reinhardt-Zarya, Reinhardt-D.Va, and D.Va-Winston could also see some play.

• Read more: New Tracer bug allows her to pass through Blizzard World’s walls

However, we won’t be seeing Pharmercy taking to the skies for the third week in five, with one of either Pharah or Mercy taking time off in recent pools.

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The Week 9 hero pool for Overwatch will activate on Monday, April 27, and will run until May 4.

This week will also mark the first time teams in the Overwatch League will be able to play Echo, so if you want to watch the pros handle Hero 32, now’s your best chance.