A win against the Fusion last week helped the London Spitfire cement themselves as a top five team as the halfway point of stage 2 approaches. The Spitfire are looking much better than they were at this time last stage, with Ji Hyeok “BIRDRING” Kim becoming quite an asset in London’s core lineup. Their match against Boston this week will help viewers get a better idea of the playoff picture as these two teams fight for positioning.

Last Week’s Recap

Philadelphia Fusion (7-4)

Image Courtesy of NBC

The rivalry between London and Philadelphia has been well hyped coming into Season 2 of the Overwatch League. The opening match of these former championship teams went in the Fusion’s favor, but London came into their second face-off this season prepared.

The Spitfire started strong, clinching a win on Lijiang, but tapered off on Hanamura after wasting a five-minute timebank to force a draw. After halftime, London performed well on offense but struggled on their defensive rounds. Philly tied up the match with an overtime win on Blizzard World, leaving Rialto as the deciding tiebreaker between these two rivals. Fortunately, the Spitfire prevented the Fusion from completing the map, leaving fans optimistic that a match win was possible. Thanks to positioning errors from Philadelphia, London quickly captured points A and B, and brute-forced their way to a map completion to win the match 2-1.

Courtesy of the Overwatch League

Player of the Game

Seungtae “Bdosin” Choi

Bdosin’s flex support play enabled the rest of London to play with a more aggressive style than they’re known for. His Ana play was particularly impressive. Several offensive biotic grenades on Hanamura helped London collapse on Fusion before they could kick into gear. His positioning has also greatly improved from Stage 1, which provided London more consistent survivability in the thick of multiple team fights.

Preview for this Week

Boston Uprising (6-4)

Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

After trading Lucas “NotE” Meissner for Richard “rCk” Kanerva in between stages, Boston have performed above expectations in Stage 2. They are maintaining their stage playoffs caliber from the last stage, but have added versatility thanks to rCk’s flex-Sombra skills. Their matches so far this stage have all been close calls requiring a Map 5, but the Uprising appear to perform best when under pressure.

Boston’s victories so far this stage were against Atlanta and Toronto, two teams whose performance has dramatically dipped between stages. As such, it is difficult to determine how the Uprising will fare against the on-the-rise Spitfire. Given the Spitfire’s 4-0 performance over the Reign versus Boston’s 3-2, London appears to have the edge in this matchup. But in typical Boston fashion, they might need a Map 5 to make it happen.

Prediction: London wins 3-2.

Player to Watch

Jaehui “Gesture” Hong

2018-07-14 / Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

Gesture’s performance slumped last week compared to his Week 1 performance. His performance on Reinhardt continues to underwhelm, but his teammates have improved his survivability so far this stage. If London tries to force Reinhardt 3-3 into Cameron “Fusions” Bosworth’s Reinhardt on Boston, they will be in for a rude awakening. However, London’s recent composition diversity should give fans hope that they play to their strengths instead of blindly following the meta. Keep tabs on Gesture’s synergy with his teammates as they play against a team known for their strong main tank.

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