Overwatch League: Stage 2 Week 4 Day 1 Recap

~ Chris Cuevo

Originally posted at http://www.omnicpost.com/2018/03/16/overwatch-league-stage-2-week-4-day-1-recap/

Week 4 is underway and we are almost at the end of Stage 2. Two teams fight for the top spot in the standings, a volatile team tries to stay composed after one of their teammates departed, and a surging team seeking their sights on playoffs goes against a team looking for their first win in the Overwatch League. Who will come out on top in Week 4 Day 1?

Boston Uprising vs Dallas Fuel

After the Dallas Fuel announced xQc’s departure from the team, will the Fuel start to win games without any distractions? In the first map, Volskaya Industries, the Uprising was on the attack. They took a while to get warmed up as they looked to Dreamkazper’s Widowmaker to get the Fuel out of position. As soon as Dreamkazper found his stride, the Uprising took off and got the first point. Towards the second point, Striker popped off with Tracer obtaining three eliminations as the Uprising captured the last point. Now it is the Fuel’s turn to see if they can tie the game. The Fuel had to warm up as it took them a while to coordinate an attack to the first point. They eventually pushed the Uprising out of the point taking Point A. In Point B, the Uprising’s defense became stronger as they communicated better to the location of the Fuel. The Fuel could not push onto Point B and the Uprising took Game 1.

In Lijiang Tower, the Uprising immediately controlled the point out of the gates. Whenever the Fuel attempted to push to the point, the Uprising was ready to defend. The Uprising did not allow any room for the Fuel to squeeze in and won the first round. In the second round, the Fuel mimicked what the Uprising did in the first round. Effect was a big contributor for the Fuel pushing the Uprising out of the point. Eventually, the Uprising took over the point. Dreamkazper zoned the Fuel out of the point and Striker cleaned up any Fuel players going into the point. The Uprising was focused on the objective and took Game 2 of the set.

Prior to starting the next map, King’s Row, the Uprising was up 2 games to none. They decided to sub out Note for Kalios for his D.Va play. On the attack, the Uprising easily captured the payload and continued to push it. The Fuel could not defend the Uprising’s dive comp as the Uprising captured all points leading the game 3 points to none. The Fuel tried to capture the payload but their communication was not intact. The Uprising continued to poke the Fuel at all angles, not allowing the Fuel to get an effective push to the payload. The Uprising swept the Fuel and improved their record to 9 wins 8 losses.

New York Excelsior vs Seoul Dynasty

A battle of the two behemoths of the Overwatch League faces off to determine who the “King of the Mountain” is. The Excelsior and Dynasty did not hesitate to prove who is the best team on Hanamura. Right out of the gates, the Excelsior charged and took siege of two points while on the attack. The Dynasty did not lie down without a fight. On attack, they tied up the map with 2 points of their own on the backs of Fleta with Soldier: 76. Back on the attack, the Excelsior had captured both points after Libero’s Genji cleared Point B with a Dragonblade. The pressure was put back on the Dynasty to tie the map or lose Game 1. After capturing Point A, Ryujehong activated a clutch Transcendence to wipe out the Excelsior and reset the timers. With 1 minute left on both teams, the Excelsior was first to show if they can repeat their success. Saebyeolbe showed no fear as he led the Excelsior into Point A. After Point A, they quickly overwhelmed the Dynasty before they set up their defense to obtain Point B. Now it is up to the Dynasty to tie up the game. However, the Excelsior strengthened their defense. The Dynasty attempted multiple pushes into Point A, only to be stopped by Saebyeolbe and Libero. The Excelsior succeeded in winning Game 1 after a 40-minute game.

The meta favored the Seoul Dynasty’s playstyle in this patch; however, their backs are against the wall after Game 1. At Nepal, the Dynasty shrugged off the loss in Game 1 and showed why they should be in first place. In another close game, this map went to the last round. The Excelsior convincingly took the first round. In the next couple rounds, Fleta and Munchkin stepped up huge for the Dynasty. After capturing the point, Fleta and Munchkin carried and defended the point whenever the Excelsior came close to it. The Dynasty was successful in winning Game 2.

On Hollywood, the Dynasty almost held the Excelsior to no points on attack, but the Excelsior powered through to obtain the payload. The Dynasty backed out and set up a strong defense to prevent the Excelsior from advancing further to the next point. The Excelsior was next to stop the Dynasty on the attack. The Dynasty obtained the payload and managed to push the payload beyond the Excelsior’s payload to win Game 3.

The Excelsior is now in a do-or-die situation. If they lose Game 4, the Dynasty will be the undisputed #1 team in the Overwatch League. However, the Excelsior is not about to give it up. In Watchpoint: Gibraltar, the Excelsior managed to get 2 points. On the push to the last point, the Dynasty had a strong defense and the Excelsior only obtained 2 points upon switching points. The momentum shifted towards the Dynasty at this point in the game. In a similar position, the Dynasty was able to push the payload to 2 points. On the last point, the Dynasty was close to winning the set but Saebyeolbe’s Tracer stalled the Dynasty’s payload from pushing through. This aided the rest of Saebyeolbe’s teammates to recover from the spawn and collapse into the Dynasty to hold and go to the last game.

The tiebreaker map is in Ilios and is known for Pine to shine through for the Excelsior. However, the Excelsior took a chance in not subbing him in for this last map. In the first round, the Excelsior swiftly took the point and did not defer it to the Excelsior. Saebyeolbe shinned through once again with help from Mano and Meko to take the first round. In the second round, the Dynasty crumbled apart while the Excelsior meshed as a team as they took down the Dynasty. With this win, the Excelsior is the undisputed best team of the Overwatch League.

Philadelphia Fusion vs Shanghai Dragons

This game has strong implications on the playoff race for the Philadelphia Fusion. For the Shanghai Dragons, they are improving each week and are looking to seek their first victory in Overwatch League. The first game was set in Volskaya Industries as Snillo debuted for the Fusion. The Fusion’s playstyle did not deviate as they took both points of the map. After switching sides, the Dragons was unable to synchronize a gameplan to match the Fusion’s success and lost Game 1.

At Lijiang Tower, the Dragons started to show some life as Undead attempted to carry the game. The Dragons took control of the point in the first round but they were unable to defend it for long. The Dragons’ communication continues to suffer as the Fusion launched a well-timed push to take over the point and win the first round. In the second round, Undead continued to try to carry the Dragons into victory. Undead played as McCree and got a triple kill with Deadeye. The Fusion recovered from the Deadeye as they collapsed to the point and getting the Dragons off. The final moments of Game 2 saw both Zaryas unleashing their Graviton Surge. Poko then uses D.Va’s self-destruct to clean up the rest of the Dragons and win Game 2.

With 2 wins in the set, the Fusion are looking to be victorious in Hollywood. The Fusion are first to be on the attack. Poko with the rest of the Fusion cleaned up to obtain the payload. Undead’s Widowmaker tried to stop the Fusion from advancing the payload from the Westworld-inspired area. However, the Dragons could not coordinate with Undead to eliminate the Fusion. The Fusion easily pushed the payload all the way to earn 3 points. Switching sides, the Fusion overextended allowing the Dragons to eliminate the Fusion and take the payload. The Dragons fought with every ounce of their strength, but the Fusion’s aggression turned up. The Fusion’s aggressiveness overwhelmed the Dragons and they won the set in a clean sweep.

The Fusion’s new DPS, Snillo looked great in his debut and it allows the Fusion to switch between him, Shadowburn, and Carpe. On the other side, the Dragons continue to improve. Undead is clearly the best player in the team and the Dragons should build the roster around him. As Stage 3 looms in the distance, these teams will continue to find weaknesses and strive to be the best in the league.

This wraps up the first day of Week 4. Stay tuned for more Overwatch League coverage in the Omnic Post.

Published by Chris Cuevo

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