2019-02-28 / Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment
Su-min “SADO” Kim
Gael “Poko” Gouzerch
Josh “eqo” Corona
Jae-hyeok “Carpe” Lee
Isaac “BoomBox” Charles
Alberto “neptuNo” González
Courtesy of: Gamenews
Things were off to rocky start on Busan. The Outlaws once again started Jiri “LiNkzr” Masalin and let their DPS players do what they do best. On Sanctuary, fans saw Linzkr on Soldier 76, Wonhyeop “ArHaN” Jeong on Torbjorn, and Dante “Danteh” Cruz on Sombra. This trio of DPS characters would give the Fusion an extremely hard time. Danteh was constantly in the Fusion’s backline, hacking and taking out BoomBox. Using Visor, Linkzr managed to take out more than half the team after Danteh landed a sick EMP. The Outlaws would end up taking Sanctuary, but Meka Base would be where things started to look brighter for the Fusion.
Although the Outlaws managed to cap the point first, the Fusion would be able to take it back after a clutch EMP from Carpe. From here on out, the Fusion would be the most coordinated they’ve looked in months. BoomBox and neptuNo were able to keep SADO alive for the majority of this match and Busan was where fans got to see the rise of SADO. On Winston, SADO was constantly taking out the Outlaws. With the map going into overtime, SADO managed to knock back Linzkr while using his Primal Rage, effectively keeping the Outlaws from stepping back onto the point.
Both teams running GOATS, the Outlaws managed to take Downtown first. However, all it took was a famous Poko-bomb to help the Fusion quickly flip the point. Philly played their defense aggressively, but it ended up working out in their favor for once. Linkzr didn’t help the Outlaws’ cause by throwing an extremely questionable graviton surge that caught no one. With the clock ticking, Carpe went after the Outlaws support line, effectively ending the Outlaws chances at taking the map. The Fusion would win Busan 2-1.
Photo credit to Overwatch
After clutching out Busan, the Fusion ran out that winning high and took Point A of Anubis with ease. However, the Outlaws would quickly reset and give Philly some trouble. Danteh was able to get key picks on SADO and BoomBox and Philly would be unable to capitalize on any kills they managed to get. Locked in a graviton surge, BoomBox’s use of transcendence would turn things around. Panicking, the Outlaws split-up and played away from the point, allowing the Fusion to cap.
When it came time for the Fusion to defend, it nearly wound up being a full hold, but Danteh would use Graviton Surge to keep Philly off the point. After capping, Matt “coolmatt” Iorio would eat Carpe’s graviton surge, but the Outlaws would be unable to capitalize on this. Houston struggled with getting past the Fusion’s defenses, but an eventual shatter from Austin “Muma” Wilmot would turn things around. Capping the point during overtime meant that all the Fusion would need was a tick to take the map. The Fusion would end up doing so with ease and they took Anubis 3-2.
Picture courtesy of Overwatch
On Eichenwalde, the Fusion were the first to attack. Starting off with Carpe on Soldier 76, the Fusion were quick to switch back onto Winston GOATS. The Outlaws refused to play on the point, allowing the Fusion to quickly get two ticks. Feeding into SADO’s ultimate, the Fusion used Primal Rage to knock the Outlaws out of position and cap the point. The Outlaws were unable to hold the Fusion as the pushed the payload to Point B. Stuck in a corner with nowhere to go, Danteh ended up throwing a questionable graviton surge where the Fusion were still able to take out the majority of the Outlaws. From there, the Fusion lost momentum. With one member down, Carpe ended up throwing his graviton surge in an attempt to clutch a fight. It did not work, and the Fusion started pressing Q left and right. The Fusion would end up not being able to push the payload to completion, but their defense would end up being unbreakable. SADO landed an insane Earthshatter on the Houston Outlaws after a clutch stun from eqo. The Philadelphia Fusion would full hold the Outlaws on Eichenwalde 2-0.
Image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.
On Gibraltar, the Fusion would start off with a cheeky Symmetra fake-out composition. Swapping back onto GOATS, the Fusion would have no trouble pushing the payload through Points A and B. Near the end of the map, coolmatt would end up having a great two-kill self-destruct, but Poko would end up matching it mere seconds later. Taking their time, the Fusion played it cool and got key picks on Shane “Rawkus” Flaherty and Daniel “Boink” Pence. The Outlaws fell apart from there; the Fusion pushed the payload to the end with more than enough time to spare. Despite Muma’s best efforts to back cap, the Fusion would full-hold the Outlaws and take Gibraltar 3-0.
The Fusion looked a lot better during this series. While things were off to a rocky start, the Fusion were able to clutch out the win on Busan. From there, they were able to capitalize on the Outlaw’s predictability. Tonight’s game was the best that fans have seen SADO, and the rest of the team, look in quite some time. Hopefully, the Fusion will keep this trend up and continue to look this well-coordinated for the rest of the stage.
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