Overwatch League Recap Stage 2 | Week 1

Welcome to the OWL S2W1D3 Recap! A shift in the meta brought new compositions to the field the weekend and some more exciting Overwatch. With another reverse sweep and a clean sweep to finish off the night, here’s what happened in the latest Overwatch League matches.

Contents

1 Florida Mayhem versus Philadelphia Fusion
2 Boston Uprising versus Toronto Defiant
3 New York Excelsior versus Shanghai Dragons
4 Chengdu Hunters versus Paris Eternal
5 Coming Up

Florida Mayhem versus Philadelphia Fusion

The night kicked off with an interesting battle between the Florida Mayhem and the Philadelphia Fusion. The outcome of the match wasn’t much of a surprise, but the score isn’t a true reflection of how close the match was. Unfortunately for Florida fans, the Fusion took the match win with a final score of 3-1.

Fans of the Mayhem shouldn’t be disappointed though. With the recent shakeup within the team’s management and roster, the team is playing considerably better than they have been. They managed to take the first map very convincingly, winning Oasis in two rounds. However, it wasn’t enough to take down the Fusion, as the team from Philadelphia picked up the next three maps and won the series. Besides the unfortunate moment of Florida leaving the cart for too long on Junkertown that gave them a boost, DPS player for the Fusion, Carpe, was back to his old ways, as he killed several members of the Mayhem on Temple of Anubis. The kills allowed his teammates to easily capture the point, securing the map win and tying up the series.

Boston Uprising versus Toronto Defiant

Fans were in for a real treat in the second match of the day, as the Toronto Defiant battled it out against the Boston Uprising. Both teams have looked good so far in this season of the Overwatch League, but only one team could emerge victorious. And to the delight of Boston fans, after an intense reverse sweep, the Uprising took the victory with a final match score of 3-2.

And the match itself did not disappoint at all. For the first two maps, Toronto came out of the gates swinging, taking both Busan and Hanamura before half-time, not allowing Boston to take any round on the Control map. But once half-time concluded, it seems as if Boston flipped a switch somewhere. They managed to complete Eichenwalde, full hold Toronto on Rialto and take the win on the fifth map, Oasis, after taking Toronto to a third and final round on the map. And the final map was an intense one. From Blasé keeping control of the point on University on his own to Colourhex getting three kills to allow Boston to capture the point on City Centre, the match was full of action.

New York Excelsior versus Shanghai Dragons

The third match of the day saw the Shanghai Dragons looking for a fourth win this season as they faced off against the New York Excelsior. Fans could predict the outcome, but the score doesn’t represent the gameplay in the slightest. Despite giving it their all, the Dragons fell to the hands of the Excelsior, with the final score ending at 3-0 in favour of New York.

Both Shanghai and New York played their hearts out during the match. New York stuck to the 3-3 composition but switched Reinhardt out in favour of Winston, whilst Shanghai mixed it up a little. Special mentions to DPS player DDing with his outstanding Pharah across the game, landing several multi-kills with very accurate shots, and flex tank Geguri had some stellar gameplay as Geguri with well-timed D.va Self-Destructs. Despite it all though, it was the Excelsior who took the win, and through good communication and strong teamwork, they managed to emerge victorious over the Dragons, even managing to full hold Shanghai on Watchpoint Gibraltar. At some points during the match, it could’ve been anybody’s game, but the win belongs to New York this time.

Chengdu Hunters versus Paris Eternal

If you thought you had seen it all, be prepared for this match. The ever-surprising Chengdu Hunters went up against the Paris Eternal to close out the night. While you may have thought that the match would be close, the Chengdu Hunters rolled over the Eternal. The Hunters completed a clean sweep and took the victory with a final score of 4-0.

The Chengdu Hunters are a fan favourite, and you can definitely see why if you watch this game. To start with, we have to talk about flex player Elsa for the Hunters. Normally you wouldn’t see a flex player deciding to switch to Symmetra, but that is exactly what Elsa did. Elsa played Symmetra for Chengdu’s first attack, and it worked out very well, much to the surprise of everyone watching. But Elsa didn’t just play Symmetra, he dominated with her.

As the Hunters tried to take Point B, Elsa went ham onto the Eternal and took down five members in order to clear and capture the point, wiping Paris out of existence with his beam and his turrets to destroy them. And you can’t talk about the Hunters without talking about Ameng, who dominated as Wrecking Ball all the way through the game. And though they lost, the Eternal did give Chengdu a bit of a run for their money, with dancing king Shadowburn getting three kills one after another on Oasis City Centre as Pharah. The team also won team fights where it mattered for them, but it wasn’t enough for them to win the match.