William “Crimzo” Hernandez was right that the first match of the night would be a total sweep; he just got the teams mixed up. The game started with a bang as XL2 Academy took down Team Envy with a solid 3-0 victory. Fans were shocked to see the Fuel’s academy team be sent home so early, but incredible plays from Kai “KSP” Collins kept XL2 Academy ahead. The next match of the night would be a return to normalcy as Talon Esports took down Gladiator’s Legion with another 3-0. Although Legion seemed to wake up on Lijiang briefly, they quickly lost their footing for the remainder of the match. Once again, Patiphan “Patiphan” Chaiwong proved to be the superior Doomfist in this matchup, and the Gladiators became the fourth team to be sent home.
In one of the most anticipated games of the night, Runaway obliterated Gen.G with a massive 3-0 victory. Many had predicted that Runaway would take the series, but it was disappointing to see Gen.G fall so easily. Despite Gen.G’s best efforts on Volskaya, Jae-gon “LeeJaeGon” Lee would pull off one of the greatest overtime holds of all time. Denying Gen.G the ability to capture Point B, Runaway was able to finish the map within minutes. The last game of the night would be an intense battle between Element Mystic and ATL Academy.
While things seemed grim after a dismal performance on Busan, ATL Academy brought things back on Eichenwalde. The series would go to Map 5 after a mind-blowing payload push from ATL Academy on Gibraltar. Steven “Kodak” Rosenberger made some great plays on Ana, consistently sleeping Yeong-han “Sp9rk1e” Kim, who was on Pharah. However, it would be Kodak’s teammate Garrett “Saucy” Roland, who would steal the show on Bastion. Despite how strong ATL Academy looked on Gibraltar, Dong-ha “Doha” Kim on Sombra would once again wreak havoc on ATL, and Element Mystic took the series 3-2.
Standout Moments
Big Patiphan
World class Doomfist.
@patiphanow steals the show in every fight. pic.twitter.com/Jn5yCJ24Kx
— Contenders Community (@Contenders_OW) October 11, 2019
“Fine, I’ll Do it Myself” – Leejaegon, Probably
We saved the clip @proxywolf.
LeeJaeGon and the rest of @Runaway_OW pull off one of the best defensive holds in Overwatch history!
INSANITY! pic.twitter.com/dGC9gFtesO
— Contenders Community (@Contenders_OW) October 11, 2019
Never Give Up, Never Surrender
Imagine. You're Element Mystic. You're pretty damn sure you've won the fight. Everything's wrapping up. It's over.
And then suddenly. You hear it.
@Saucy_OW's Bastion war cry. pic.twitter.com/GZ6Ve7C2i5
— Contenders Community (@Contenders_OW) October 11, 2019
Upper Finals
ELEMENT MYSTIC / RUNAWAY
The top two Korean teams will be facing off in the final match of the night. So far, Element Mystic has shown themselves to have moments of weakness. They are the only team to have gone to two Map 5 series. Doha and SP9RK1E are incredible, but they are easy to focus down if a team can set it up properly.
Both Team Envy and ATL Academy showed where the team’s weaknesses lie, and Runaway should be able to make the series close as well. Runaway dominated over Gen.G last night, but Element Mystic won’t go down as quickly. Mystic will put up a fight, and with everything literally on the line, Runaway needs to be ready if they want to advance to the Grand Finals.
Lower Round 2
ATL ACADEMY / XL2 ACADEMY
Tonight, NA West and NA East will meet to prove which of the two remaining NA teams is the best. Last night, both teams showed that they have what it takes to make it to Grand Finals. Hardly anyone was expecting XL2 to take down Team Envy, so ATL Academy will have to stay on their toes going into this match. While XL2 might be the wild card, ATL Academy has consistently proven to be one of the top teams in the North American region. Much like their older siblings on the Atlanta Reign, ATL Academy is a team that thrives off of momentum. ATL Academy will use their loss against Element Mystic as major motivation going into this series. Their determination will play a significant factor in how well they play tonight. Although XL2 Academy might be feeling confident going into this series, they’re going to need to watch out.
TALON / GEN.G
After last night’s stomp, Gen.G will be coming into this match a little worse for the wear. Despite their initial stumble, Talon Esports has proven to be one of the better teams coming out of the lower bracket. Talon have an insane DPS duo in Patiphan and Bo-hyun “Bashful” Kang. The team’s ability to study their opponent’s playstyles has given them the upper hand multiple times. While Gen.G has some incredible DPS players on their roster, few have proven to be a match for Patiphan’s Doomfist thus far. Talon also has an incredible Sigma in Ji-Yoon “Gogora” Lee, who has set up more than a couple of great fights for his teammates throughout the tournament. Talon is looking to be the favorite going into this match. Unless Gen.G can rally back after last night’s devastating loss, they will more than likely be sent home.
Make sure to tune in to the games tonight at 12 PM KST/ 8 PM PST!
Stay Connected
Follow me on Twitter: @Sybil_OW! You can also message me on Discord @ Sybil#3517! I’m always happy to discuss anything I’ve written!
Featured image courtesy of Talon Esports official Twitter
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