Washington Justice (2-12) vs. London Spitfire (11-7)
Few things sound more intimidating for a struggling team than facing the reigning champions. While London aren’t among the dominant teams of this season, they’ve made an impressive showing in Stage 3. They took NYXL to the brink Friday night, nearly toppling the gods of the league. Would their focus on their big match give the Justice a chance to sneak through the cracks?
Starting Lineup:
Junhwa “Janus” Song, Tank
Hyang Gi “Sansam” Kim, Tank
Corey “Corey” Nigra, DPS
Gi Hyeon “Ado” Chon, DPS
Nikola “sleepy” Andrews, Support
Yeonjun “ArK” Hong, Support
Map 1: Nepal
On Sanctum fans immediately saw a new look from the Justice, with sleepy on Roadhog and Ado and Corey on Pharah and Widowmaker. London quickly turned around to adjust their comp, and Washington took first control. London switched onto a 3-3 with Winston, but the defensive advantage held strong and the Justice took the point 100-0.
The Justice took first possession on Village as well with Corey on Mei. London played aggressively, waiting for Corey’s Blizzard, and when he finally used it, it wasn’t enough to take back control.
On Shrine, the Justice yet again took first control and held strong. They reached over 60% control before finally using their first ult, Corey’s EMP. London retook at 99% with Jaehui “Gesture” Hong’s Earthshatter, but another EMP and Janus blocking the next Earthshatter gave the Justice the point and the map.
Score: Washington 2-1 London
Map 2: Paris
Washington’s first attack started off brilliantly, with Corey on Widowmaker picking off JiHoon “QuaterMain” Song to secure point A with seven minutes on the clock. Junho “Fury” Kim’s EMPs kept the Justice off point B until the clock ran out, but ArK escaped the last one with a clutch Sound Barrier, and they took point B in overtime.
On London’s attack round, they took point A quickly, with Fury playing an aggressive Pharah that Washington had no answer for. They snowballed onto point B before being pushed back and switching to a Sombra 3-3 composition. With Junyoung “Profit” Park on Sombra, Washington played cautiously around the EMP, and were caught off the point, allowing London to finish the map.
This left London with only the second attack round, but Washington’s defense came back with a vengeance. They held point A until overtime, when Janus used Primal Rage to knock three players off the map and secure the draw.
See ya! 👋 @januspy_ with a map-saving 3K! #OWL2019
🔴 https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/POYVb0Bnis
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) June 22, 2019
Score: Washington 2-2 London
Map 3: Numbani
Washington attacked first, going with three DPS again. London defended with a Reinhardt 3-3 and couldn’t counter Ado’s Pharah, leading to a quick cap of A. London went on to make some clumsy ult choices that allowed Washington to push through B and C. They stabilized before the end, but Corey dropped an EMP milliseconds before Profit’s to secure the overtime map completion.
On London’s attack, Washington decided to defend with a standard Reinhardt 3-3. The mirror matchup worked solidly in the Spitfire’s favor and they completed the map with time in the bank.
London then took their second attack with banked time. The Justice again went for the classic 3-3, and were overcome almost immediately to grant London the map win.
Score: London 4-3 Washington
Map 4: Dorado
Washington finally abandoned the 3-3 strategy that lost them Numbani, swapping onto the Sombra variation. They were only stopped briefly on point B before a clutch Graviton Surge from Ado on the bridge secured the point. London’s defense found their footing in point C, and they managed to hold the Justice back until overtime.
London’s first attack was similarly smooth. They started with a triple DPS comp for point A before switching to the Sombra 3-2-1 comp to match Washington and finish with time in the bank.
The Justice only had one minute on their second attack, and were stopped at the first archway by Profit, who built an incredibly fast EMP. The Spitfire then went heavy DPS on their own attack and finished the round quickly.
Score: London 4-3 Washington
Final Score: London 2-1 Washington
While the scoreline looks bad, this match was a remarkable resurgence from the Washington Justice. They tried new compositions, played far more cohesively, and used much better ults than we’ve recently seen. A couple of maps held shades of the Houston Outlaws’ surprise upset of the San Francisco Shock. While it wasn’t enough to secure the W today, Justice fans should be proud of their team and optimistic for the rest of the stage.
Follow Rainee on Twitter @Jezi_Belle for your daily dose of bad puns and emotional over-investment in Overwatch League and its players.
Follow The Game Haus for the latest on all things sports and esports:
Twitter: TGH Esports
Facebook: The Game Haus Esports
Want to show off how much you like TGH? Check out our merch shop here!