Overwatch League Recap: Stage 2 | Week 1

Welcome to the Overwatch League Stage 2 Week 1 Day 2 Recap! The second day of Stage 2 was a treat for the fans as they were given some close matches throughout the day. From a clean sweep to an intense map five match, here’s what happened in the most recent Overwatch League matches.

Contents

1 London Spitfire versus Florida Mayhem
2 Washington Justice versus Toronto Defiant
3 Los Angeles Valiant versus San Francisco Shock
4 Los Angeles Gladiators versus Seoul Dynasty
5 Coming Up

London Spitfire versus Florida Mayhem

To kick off the day, the London Spitfire faced off against the Florida Mayhem. While the fans of Mayhem were hoping for their McDonalds-coloured squad to take the win, their dream was unfortunately broken. As a surprise to very few, and matching with the analysts’ predictions, the London Spitfire took the victory over the Mayhem, taking the match win with a final score of 2-1.

It may have been a loss for the Mayhem, but they did manage to take a win and draw with the Spitfire on the third map. They did have a somewhat good game, as they took the map win on Hanamura, which demonstrated a bunker composition using the newest hero, Baptiste, and using Bastion and Orisa. Considering that the Mayhem have had a complete shakeup in their management and their roster recently, with the announcement of them becoming a full Korean roster, they performed quite well. However, it was no match for the Spitfire, who managed to full hold the Mayhem on Watchpoint Gibraltar as well as not allowing them to take any points on Lijiang Tower. Fans of the Mayhem can only hope that the reshuffle will help their team in the long run and improve their season.

Washington Justice versus Toronto Defiant

The Washington Justice were hoping to take a second Overwatch League win as they faced off against the Toronto Defiant, but it wasn’t to be. With most people, as well as the analysts on the desk, putting Toronto as the favourite team to win, the pressure was on for the Justice to prove them wrong. Unfortunately for the Justice, Toronto took the win, with a final match score of 3-1 in favour of Toronto.

The Justice lost, but DPS player Corey was definitely in the house last night. One by one, four people fell to Corey’s gun as he landed the kills as Widowmaker on Junkertown. The kills opened the path for the Justice to push themselves to the finish line, winning them the map. Corey also decided to break out his Hanzo on Blizzard World, landing three kills to allow his team to keep pushing the payload. But overall, Defiant put the match away, and it was a quite special one for them.

It was the debut match of their newest addition IM37, who has made a name for himself by becoming the fastest player to make it into the Overwatch League through Path to Pro, making it into the league in around a week after joining an Open Division team to begin with. He then was asked to join NA Contenders team, Second Wind, and after their match against Mayhem Academy, he was asked to join the Toronto Defiant. And he proved that he was able to live up to the expectations, as he gave the fans a good show during the match.

Los Angeles Valiant versus San Francisco Shock

Unfortunately for the fans of the Valiant, they are still without a win in this season of the Overwatch League. The San Francisco Shock have shown no signs of slowing down as they came into the second stage, having come second place in Stage 1 after losing to the Vancouver Titans. After a not so very intense game, the Shock took the win with a clean sweep. The final score was 4-0 in favour of the Shock.

Whilst the San Francisco Shock are playing out of their minds, part of their victory came down to the fact that the Los Angeles Valiant look like they’re lost. There was little to no coordination and it seemed as if their communication was completely off. Coupled with the fact that there are internal issues, it’s hard to tell what’s going on with the Valiant. As Sideshow mentioned in the halftime, the Valiant are in the middle of rebuilding their roster. But in order to provide some good results, they need to rebuild it fast. As for the Shock, they haven’t lost their touch, as they are continuously bringing their A-game to every match.

Los Angeles Gladiators versus Seoul Dynasty

The final match of the night was by far the most exciting match, as the Seoul Dynasty and the Los Angeles Gladiators faced off once again. The Dynasty took the win in Stage 1 the last time these teams collided. This time, however, the tables have turned. After an intense and exciting match between the two teams, the Gladiators took the victory with a final score of 3-2.

The score was close, and the gameplay and maps themselves were even closer. Both teams gave it their all, bringing their best to the table and wowing the fans with some stellar moves. Surefour, for example, got a four-man kill as Bastion as his team defended on Paris, and it forced Seoul back to their spawn to regroup. In the end, the Gladiators won the map, and would then go on to take the series. But Seoul also had fantastic gameplay, with DPS player Fits getting three kills as Genji and main tank Fissure getting two more.

The kills opened the way for them to take the first point of Paris, moving on to attempt at taking Point B. Overall, it was the match of the night, and fans who haven’t seen the game yet should go back and give it a watch. It’s one you don’t want to miss.