Overwatch League Recap: Stage 1 | Week 5 | Day 1

Welcome to the Overwatch League Stage 1 Week 5 Day 1 Recap! Stage 1 is coming to a close, and with it, we have seen mostly GOATS, but also some great plays that came with it. From actual goats showing up at the arena to some interesting team compositions, here is what happened during the most recent Overwatch League matches.

Washington Justice versus Paris Eternal

The first game to kick off the fifth week was the match between two struggling teams. The Paris Eternal have lost three games since this most recent matchup, whilst the Washington Justice are still looking to get their first Overwatch League win. Unfortunately for Washington, Paris weren’t going to give it to them, as the Eternal took the win with a final score of 2-1.

Justice

It may not have been a victory for the Justice, but that isn’t to say it wasn’t close. The Justice did manage to tie a map between themselves and the Eternal on Kings Row, as well as taking one off of them on Volskaya Industries to tie up the series and prevent a fifth map. They haven’t received a win yet, but they are steadily improving with their synergy, even though they are still making a few mistakes that are costing them either valuable time or entire map wins. The Justice still have one more match to play against the Florida Mayhem, where they may be able to avoid going 0-7 this stage like the LA Valiant.

Eternal

Paris is out of Stage Playoff contention, but they had a stronger showing than in their most recent matches. They also pleased the crowd with a shakeup from the usual GOATS composition, as they decided to run four DPS characters on their attack during Volskaya Industries. Coupled with some solid communication and effective teamwork, the Eternal capitalized on Washington’s mistakes when they mattered most, save for the unfortunate moment on Volskaya when they allowed the Justice to capture the point. The Eternal have one more match to play this stage against the Philadelphia Fusion, and it’s their last chance to improve their current 3-3 match record.

London Spitfire versus Seoul Dynasty

The second match of the night was a match that fans of the APEX tournament would be looking forward to, as the Seoul Dynasty and the London Spitfire faced off. Both of these teams originated in the APEX circuit, with Seoul Dynasty previously being known as Lunatic Hai. The players of the London Spitfire coming from GC Busan, managed to win the final season of APEX before the Overwatch League began. During APEX Season 4, Lunatic Hai were unable to beat GC Busan, and it has remained that way throughout the entirety of the Overwatch League thus far. Now, an era has finally come to an end, as the Seoul Dynasty took the win over the London Spitfire with a final match score of 3-0.

Seoul

Seoul have done it. They have finally beaten their long-time foes of the Spitfire/GC Busan. Not only this though, but newly signed main tank Fissure has now never lost to his former teams. Fissure originally came from the London Spitfire before being signed to the LA Gladiators during Season 1 of the League. At the end of the season, he was transferred to Seoul Dynasty, where Fissure has now beaten both of his former teams this stage. Their teamwork was so much better than in recent matches and Fissure was playing exceptionally well. Jecse also booped Gesture off of the rooftop as Lucio to hinder London during the team fights on Route 66, and he did it three times to give Seoul an advantage. The Dynasty are now locked in for their very first Stage Playoffs of the Overwatch League, and their chances look quite good.

Spitfire

London Spitfire is falling down, my fair lady. Points to those who understand the reference. The Spitfire are once again proving that they are the most inconsistent team in the league and nobody is quite sure what to expect from them. Seoul picked them apart during the game, and the Spitfire only managed to achieve a draw on Temple of Anubis against the Dynasty. London are out of the stage playoffs race, and they have completed all of their matches for Stage 1, finishing with a relatively disappointing 3-4 match record and a -4-map differential. It’s back to the drawing board for the Spitfire to see where exactly they can improve for Stage 2 and beyond.

Dallas Fuel versus Boston Uprising

Both Boston and Dallas are still fighting for stage playoff spots, and this match was going to help one of them improve their chances. Boston have now boosted themselves in trying to secure a playoff spot, as they took the win in their match against the Fuel last night. The final score was 3-2 in favor of the Uprising.

Uprising

Boston took the win over the Dallas Fuel, even though they were down 0-2 in the first half. The Uprising completed the reverse sweep over Dallas, and they have now boosted their record to 4-3 for Stage 1. They’re currently in 7th place overall, whilst the Dallas Fuel are in 8th. Both of them are hoping to secure their playoff spots. From DPS player Colourhex switching to Widowmaker and getting a double kill, to flex tank NotE switching to Tracer to recontest the point, they looked much stronger in the second half of the match. They now have to hope that Atlanta, Guangzhou and Houston don’t overtake them in the standings, or else they will lose out on their playoff spots.

Fuel

Dallas couldn’t take the win in the end, but they had a strong start to the game, and they pushed Boston to a third round on the final map, with the final map being a 2-1 victory for Boston on Nepal. They had good team coordination and effective communication that resulted in some great plays. Dallas had a 3 man kill from main tank OGE as Reinhardt that was assisted by DPS player AKM’s Graviton Surge as Zarya. Dallas are in the same boat as Boston when it comes to stage playoff hopes, they simply have to wait and see.

Chengdu Hunters versus Atlanta Reign

The final match of the night was a close game between the Chengdu Hunters and the Atlanta Reign. Whilst Chengdu are out of the playoffs race, Atlanta is still very much in it, and their results in this match have not boosted their chances, as Chengdu took the win over the Reign with a final match score of 3-2 in favor of the Hunters.

Hunters

The Chengdu Hunters are having the time of their lives with their games, and they’re giving the fans some entertaining matches whilst they’re at it. They always play with Wrecking Ball in their composition, mainly because of the fact their other main tank is struggling with visa issues. But it’s a delight to see a variation from the usual GOATS composition used by almost every team, except for Chengdu of course. The Hunters used a Pharah-Mercy combo a lot of the time, as well as Sombra to counter the GOATS composition, and it worked very well. They may not have made stage playoffs, but their improvement over the stage has been very noticeable.

Reign

Atlanta lost, but they managed to take two map wins on Numbani and Rialto away from the Hunters. When they didn’t win, however, they lost quite badly. They were full held on Horizon Lunar Colony and couldn’t pick up any points on the control maps of Nepal and Busan. The maps where they did win were quite close, with the win on Numbani being a 4-3 victory and the win on Rialto ending at 3-2. Atlanta needed to win this one to help boost themselves into the Stage Playoffs, but they still have one more match left against the Houston Outlaws to play.

SUNDAY 17TH MARCH

3 PM EST – Philadelphia Fusion vs. Paris Eternal

4:30 PM EST – Washington Justice vs. Florida Mayhem

6 PM EST – Houston Outlaws vs. Atlanta Reign

7:30 PM EST – Guangzhou Charge vs. Vancouver Titans

Images via the Overwatch League and the Atlanta Reign