Week 3 of Stage 3 kicked off in the Overwatch League and there were many exciting matches to look forward to. One of those being the Stage 2 Finals rematch: Philadelphia Fusion vs New York Excelsior. After Philadelphia failed to take a third map, leading to their reverse sweep by the NYXL in the Stage 2 Finals, Philadelphia hoped to even the playing field in their rematch. Since the last time they met, both teams have continued to play well, taking care of business as usual and improving in the downtime. With their constant improvement, the Philadelphia Fusion were looking poised to beat the New York Excelsior in a rematch. But to no avail, the Fusion again found themselves in the same position.
Pine of the NYXL
After a dominating Map 1 on Temple of Anubis and Map 2 on Numbani, the New York Excelsior looked like they didn’t have any answers for the Philadelphia Fusion. However, after a halftime break, the NYXL were able to regroup and it all came crumbling down for the Fusion. New York made key player substitutions in the tank and DPS roles, most notably they put in the big boss himself, Do-Hyeon “Pine” Kim. The final three maps – Ilios, Junkertown, Oasis – favored Pine heavily, due to his exceptional play on Widowmaker and McCree. Pine helped elevate his team’s play and lead the reverse sweep of the Philadelphia Fusion. Fusion players and supporters were in disbelief again, as they let another victory against the NYXL slip away.
To the NYXL’s credit, they had many clutch moments and stepped up when they needed to. The New York Excelsior are at the top for a reason, they either dominate teams or take games to a close map five. When teams play against the New York Excelsior they know that nothing comes free, it is earned. If the Philadelphia Fusion want to be known as a top tier team or even the best team they must close out series, against teams like the New York Excelsior. This game in Week 3 of Stage 3 proved two things: the NYXL are the best team in the Overwatch League, no questions, and the Philadelphia Fusion have the potential to be a great team like the NYXL. The clip below is from Map 4 on Junkertown in overtime and it show just how close these teams are.
Philadelphia Fusion has all the pieces to be a great team. The Fusion have the raw talent such as Carpe and Eqo, they have great communication and they also have very good strategical awareness as a team. However, they need to finish out series. Just think, if they closed out the series in the Stage 2 Finals and in this rematch, beating New York Excelsior twice, we could argue that they are the best team in the Overwatch League.
We have a clear answer that the New York Excelsior are the best team in the Overwatch League, but if the Philadelphia Fusion continue to play well we can confidently say that they are a high tier team as well. The Philadelphia Fusion have shown that they can strategize and play against the best, they just need to convincingly finish out the series against strong teams, to be considered great. Depending on how the latter half of Stage 3 goes, there is a possibility that the Philadelphia Fusion and New York Excelsior can play each other again in the Stage 3 Playoffs. Stay tuned to the Overwatch League to find out if the Philadelphia Fusion can make the Stage Playoffs again and have another chance to beat the New York Excelsior.
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Featured Images Credit: Blizzard Entertainment/Overwatch League
Videos Clips: Overwatch League
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