After a strong showing in the opening weekend of OWL 2020, the boys in blue are back in action once again. Broadcasting live from The Anthem in Washington D.C, OWL Week 3 is sure to excite as the Excelsior faces down both an old rival and an old friend.
Photo: Stewart Volland for Blizzard Entertainment
Luckily for NYXL fans and analysts alike, both of the Excelsior’s opponents played last week in Philadelphia, giving the team ample time to preview their performances. To say that the power gap between the Philadelphia Fusion and the Houston Outlaws is large would be an understatement. Granted, this is the first time either of these teams were seen on stage. Outlaws staff claim that most of the team was sick that week and that their performance was stifled.
Be that as it may, Houston got absolutely trounced, losing all six of their maps to the Florida Mayhem and Washington Justice respectively. Working with a largely unproven roster that still needs time to meld, not to mention the fact that the team’s new additions in Meko and Rapel still need time to adjust to a mixed roster.
It shouldn’t come to a surprise then that the odds are swayed heavily in NYXL’s favor. Though, this is probably not how the boys from New York wanted to greet their former teammate. Nevertheless, this series will serve to send a message to NYXL doubters that thought the team’s performance would slump after the departure of their superstar off-tank.
Image Credit : Blizzard Entertainment
On the completely opposite end of the spectrum, we have the Philadelphia Fusion. It can’t be said enough: if your team can afford to bench Fury, you must be pretty good. And pretty good they are, after a middling 2019 season the Fusion entered the 2020 season in full force, handily defeating the Washington Justice and Florida Mayhem. A major highlight of the event was off-tank Su-min “SADO” Kim.
Despite being slept on for large portions of the 2019 season, SADO showed exactly why he should be considered a tier 1 off-tank (insert photo of SADO stonks here). With an absolutely stacked lineup and loads of momentum from their homestand the Fusion will serve as the NYXL’s first major challenge and could definitely set a larger narrative over the rest of the season.
Michael “Modelo” O’Brien is 23 years old and a little too obsessed with the NYXL, for more hot takes on the OWL and everything else, give him a follow on Twitter @ModeloFrags
Photos Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
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