Paris Eternal 3 – 1 Florida Mayhem
The first match of the week saw the Mayhem up against the Eternal. Paris were rolling over Florida early in what was shaping up to be a disappointingly easy match for them. Out of nowhere, the match became competitive in the later maps. This could have been a five map set if Florida would have been able to put forth a more definitive defense on Blizzard World, a map they should have won.
Oasis (Paris Eternal 2 – 0 Florida Mayhem)
To begin Oasis, the Florida Mayhem were playing Winston Goats with Ha “Sayaplayer” Jeong-woo on Mccree. However, with Paris playing Wrecking Ball, Sayaplayer was not able to stabilize at any point on this map. Paris were dominant on their triple DPS composition and were able to take the first point of Oasis 100 percent to 0, with only three deaths to their name.
On the second point of Oasis both teams played Winston Goats. An excellent boop from Choi “Kris” Jun-soo resulted in the Eternal’s tanks being displaced which helped the
Mayhem to take their only percentage points on Oasis. After this small blunder, Paris then steamrolled the rest of this round. At the end of this map, Paris finished with 34 eliminations and Florida had only four. There is no analysis to be made here. This map was completely one-sided.
Hanamura (Paris Eternal 3 – 2 Florida Mayhem)
On the first defense, Florida played their favorite Orisa Bunker Composition. However, they set up their defense just a little too far forward which allowed LuÃs “Grey” Perestrelo to land a perfect set Ana grenade. This denied healing to many of the Florida players and allowed Paris to take an easy first point on Hanamura. Continuing on to the second point Paris were able to snowball the point with their Ultimate advantage. An EMP combined with a Nano’d Genji Blade in the upper corridors of Hanamura secured an easy completion.
Surprisingly, Florida were able to put together a great attack. Showcasing a poke composition with Hanzo and Pharah. Florida were able to complete the map with a couple of minutes left in their time bank.
Onto the second round of Hanamura, Florida were using the same poke composition. The Mayhem captured the first point quite easily but were held on the second point without a tick being taken. Despite Florida putting up an impressive defense, Paris had built a large time bank with their first attack. As a result, Terrence “Soon” Tarlier needed just one EMP to complete Hanamura and put Paris up two maps.
Blizzard World (Paris Eternal 3 – 2 Florida Mayhem)
This map was very close and came down to three crucial fights on Paris’ attack round. Florida looked like the legendary Selfless team of NA Contenders, spawn camping Paris for two minutes with their 3-3 composition. This was after shaving off a minute with their initial hold and Sayaplayer finally being able to play his signature Widow pick. Whether it was Florida choking or Paris showing determination and grit, Paris were able to complete the map in overtime. There were three crucial fights that Florida could have won to full hold Paris.
On Florida’s attack, they played Ana Goats and looked good. The Eternal were not able to slow Florida down until the final point. In saying this, Paris looked like the worse team and it was, in fact, the Mayhem that sabotaged their own chance to win the map. They became stagnant on the final stretch of Blizzard World and took too long to engage into a team fight. Florida had multiple opportunities to win this map, but it wasn’t to be.
Watchpoint: Gibraltar
This map showed once again, that Florida can be a tight and well-focused team. Their initial defense was impressive, playing Winston Goats. Only a well-timed pick onto Jo “HaGoPeun” Hyeon-woo by Grey allowed Paris to advance on to the Hanger Phase of this map. Yoon “Swon” Seong-won had multiple Primal Rage kills each time he used that Ultimate. Paris were absolutely
befuddled on attack and were held underneath the spaceship.
On attack, Florida pulled out an iteration of the Pirate Ship composition. With an Orisa and Bastion set up on the Payload. HaGoPeun impressed many with his Ana earlier in the day and now was showcasing a carry level performance on Baptiste. Paris were again lost and ended up losing Gibraltar.
Closing Thoughts:
Florida looked disjointed and messy in the first two maps. If they are going to record a win this stage they need to look as impressive as they did on Gibraltar, on every map. Otherwise, this could prove to be a long and disappointing stage for Mayhem fans.
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