OWL Grand Finals, Day 1
Barclays Center, Brooklyn NY
As the crowd roared in the sold-out Barclays center, you could feel the immense energy worthy of the Overwatch League Grand Finals. While the teams prepared, the analysts agreed that the London Spitfire had the edge against the Philadelphia Fusion going into the first night of matches. The fans disagreed with this, and the Fusion certainly had the home crowd advantage.
Dorado
First Attack: Fusion
First Defend: Spitfire
The Spitfire went with 3 tanks to start, while the Fusion chose the traditional 2-2-2 composition. Both teams chose the double sniper setup for their DPS. As they pushed past the fountain, the Fusion landed several kills and took the first checkpoint with ease. They round the corner, and Gesuture (Winston) chased down Carpe (Widowmaker) for the kill. Profit followed this up with a Hanzo ult, and they moved the payload backwards. After an extended brawl, the Fusion pushed to the second checkpoint, and were able to take it with a well timed Zenyatta ult from Boombox. As they dropped back to defend the final checkpoint, the Spitfire layered Winston and Hanzo ults to push the Fusion off the point, but it wasn’t enough. The Fusion pushed hard, and took the third point in overtime.
Second Attack: Spitfire
Second Defend: Fusion
Both teams chose Orisa as their shield tank, and the Spitfire went once again with the three tank comp. After Sado (Orisa) was taken down, the Fusion were left without a shield, and quickly lost the first checkpoint as nearly the whole team died as a result. The Spitfire looked unstoppable as they cruised past the second checkpoint, but were stalled halfway to the third as Sado showed off his skill on Winston, and the Fusion snipers put out great damage. Carpe looked impressive on Widowmaker, using superb angles and accuracy to push the enemy back. Showing patience, the Spitfire waited for the right time, and made a strong push at the end. However, the Fusion defense proved too strong, and they were stopped just meters short of the final checkpoint.
Oasis
Round 1: University
Both teams chose to bring shield tanks and Pharah as they met on the University map. Despite the Fusion having the better record on Oasis, the Spitfire cruised all the way to 99% before being stopped. The delay was brief however, and the Fusion looked like they were caught sleeping as the Spitfire countered a Zarya ultimate and took the point back for the win.
Round 2: Gardens
The Fusion looked much more comfortable here to start, and Carpe danced around the enemy team on tracer, dealing heavy damage to the Spitfires 3-support comp. The Spitfire regrouped, and came back to push the Fusion off the point, surpassing the 41% that they had earned. Despite a two-kill D.Va ultimate from Hotba, the Spitfire were able to hold on and take the second round on Oasis, bringing the overall score to 1-1.
Eichenwalde
First Attack: Fusion
First Defend: Spitfire
The Fusion came out strong, looking to punch through the enemy defenses with three DPS heroes. After a brief delay at the first choke point, Hotba got behind the Spitfire on Tracer and routed them, allowing the rest of his team to join him and take the point. At the second checkpoint, the Spitfire did a great job of shutting down Carpe, preventing his Widowmaker from getting the high ground. As London focused the enemy DPS, the tanks did great work for the Fusion, with Poko and Sado both terrorizing the defenders. This strategy could only work for so long, however, and the Spitfire utilized great Brigitte play by Profit to keep the Fusion to one point on the map.
Second Attack: Spitfire
Second Defend: Fusion
Both teams selected triple-tank Compositions with Mercy to heal, and the Fusion chose to defend with Hanzo and Pharah while the Spitfire chose to push with Hanzo and Widowmaker. In a complete turnaround from Dorado, the Spitfire were stopped early, as the defenders held the first choke point until the clock ticked down to 30 seconds before finally conceding the point. With only three minutes to push farther than the Fusion had, the Spitfire turned up the heat and took Map 3.
Volskaya Industries
First Attack: Fusion
First Defend: Spitfire
As soon as the match started, the Fusion changed their comp to be three supports and three tanks, and moved in a tight group quickly to the first point. Unfortunately for them, Profit and the rest of the Spitfire were waiting for them, and made short work of the attackers. The initial massacre gave Profit enough energy to charge his ult, and he stopped their second attempt with a massive play. Things looked bleak for the Fusion until EQO and Poko layered their Zarya and D.Va Ults, decimating the enemy team and taking the first point.
The Fusion took this momentum to push the second point, but the Spitfire were ready for them. Profit switched to Mei, which disrupted the enemy while Birdring cleaned up the kills. Gesture and Poko did what they could to prolong the overtime and salvage the round, but to no avail, and the Fusion ended with one point on the map.
Second Attack: Spitfire
Second Defend: Fusion
The Spitfire pushed onto the point on their second try, but were thwarted by Neptuno, as he killed both Nus and Profit with his Mercy. They held on bravely, taking the first point to overtime before the Spitfire was finally able to take it from them. After racing to the second point, the Spitfire were devastated by Poko’s D.Va ult. Both Profit and Birdring survived it, though, and got within a hairs breadth of taking the point, and with it the game. The Fusion delayed as long as they could, but in the end, Profit proved too much on Tracer, and the London Spitfire won the first night of the OWL Grand Finals 3-1.
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