What we learned after Day 1 of the Semi-Finals in the Overwatch League Postseason Playoffs

The second week of the Overwatch League Postseason Playoffs began on Wednesday, July 18, 2018 as the Philadelphia Fusion took on the New York Excelsior, followed by the London Spitfire versus the Los Angeles Valiant. Since these Semi-Finals games featured the four best teams in the League, only high-level gameplay was expected and it did deliver. As a quick recap of the matches, the Philadelphia Fusion surprisingly defeated the New York Excelsior in a 3-0 fashion, while the London Spitfire took their match 3-1 against the Valiant. After solid wins in their first matches, the Philadelphia Fusion and London Spitfire have set themselves in a good position to make the Finals. Whether it was the underdogs playing well or the top teams losing because of their hubris, here are some things that can be taken away after the first day of the Semi-Finals.

Overwatch League Playoff Bracket as of Week 2

Hanzo is a Must-Play Hero on this Patch

What we thought was going to be a closer match between the Philadelphia Fusion and New York Excelsior, ended up being a blowout in favor of the Fusion. The Fusion quickly defeated the New York Excelsior and New York looked like they had no answer for the double sniper composition. Whether it was because of a lack of practice on the new patch, stage jitters, or not being able to adapt in game, the Excelsior had a poor showing. What was and is the best hero on the current patch, the New York Excelsior rarely touched Hanzo.

Credit to the Philadelphia Fusion for defeating the Excelsior; however, it is confusing as to why the Excelsior almost never played Hanzo. The Excelsior have one of the best and original Hanzo players in Hae-Seong “Libero” Kim; why didn’t he have more play time on Hanzo? Perhaps they weren’t practiced on it or they thought they could play without it, their strategy didn’t work. Simply, if teams want to be successful on this patch they must play Hanzo. If New York does not play Hanzo, Philadelphia will see themselves in the Grand Finals. Will Philadelphia continue to dominate with the double sniper composition or will the New York Excelsior fire back to heat up the series? To see the conclusion of Philadelphia Fusion versus the New York Excelsior, tune in to the Overwatch League on Saturday, July 21, 2018.

Streaky Teams

What some people thought to be series in favor of the Valiant, quickly turned to favor the London Spitfire. After a rather decisive 3-1 win for the London Spitfire, the underdogs are still looking hot. After only dropping a single map in three games, the Spitfire show no signs of slowing down. However, there is hope for the Valiant if they can take some maps of the Spitfire, grind out a series win, and flip the momentum. Every team currently in the Playoffs is streaky, they all have their highs and lows throughout the season. Whichever teams hits their stride throughout the Playoffs will make the Grand Finals. Will the London Spitfire continue to be an unstoppable force or will the Los Angeles Valiant show resilience and be able to turn the tide in their series? To find out how that series concludes tune in Friday, July 20, 2018.

Be sure to tune in and root for your favorite Overwatch League team. As always for more details about the players, league, and playoffs, check out the Overwatch League’s official website.

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Featured Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment/Overwatch – Robert Paul