Week 3 saw the Los Angeles Valiant maintain their fighting form from Week 2. They now sit at 2-9 after a very convincing victory against the Washington Justice. However, Week 4 is going to be the true test of how far they’ve actually come in terms of improving their coordination, ultimate usage and overall gameplay.
Review
Washington Justice (1-11)
Before the Valiant had even beaten the Atlanta Reign, fans were already fairly sure that they could take down the Washington Justice. In fact, many saw this match as the series that would give the LA Valiant their first win of the season. Aside from a decent showing from the Justice in the first half, the Valiant were completely dominant throughout the series. They ended up taking the series 3-1.
Much of their success may not stem directly from their own improvement, though. The Washington Justice are the second worst team in the league. By the time match day had rolled around for the Justice and Valiant, Washington was sitting at 1-10. Though not much worse than the Los Angeles Valiant’s 1-9 at the time, the Justice were certainly not looking like formidable opponents.
Player of the Match
Indy “SPACE” Halpern was consistently and completely outplaying his D.Va counterpart Hyang-ki “SanSam” Kim throughout the series. This is no surprise, though, as he is one of the best D.Va’s in the league. He looked very comfortable in this match.
Preview
Dallas Fuel (6-5)
Sitting at the upper echelon of the mid-tier teams, the Dallas Fuel, with considerable roster changes, have greatly improved since their 2018 season run. They’ve simply looked all around solid. Not strong to the point of contention for a top five spot in the league, but certainly at the front of the pack for the average teams. This is in great contrast to the Los Angeles Valiant, who are only now possibly finding their footing this season.
What the Valiant do have in their court, though, is the Fuel’s volatility as a team. They’ve come out so far with a positive win-loss record, but seem to bounce back and forth between looking at the top of their game and not even knowing what to do. This is not a true win condition, though. The LA Valiant’s win condition is more improvement as a team. It is hard to tell if their victory against the Justice was due to how poorly Washington is doing right now, or if they themselves have really gotten better. Hopefully, they learned a lot from their series against the Los Angeles Gladiators.
Prediction: Fuel win 3-2
Seoul Dynasty (5-5)
This match will most likely be even harder for the Valiant than against the Fuel. Despite the Dynasty’s 5-5 win-loss record, they just ended Week 3 with a crushing 4-0 victory over Dallas. Seoul have only improved over the course of this season, and are now sitting just under the Dallas Fuel on the rankings.
Knowing the Valiant’s chances of beating the Dynasty relies on how well they do versus the Fuel. If they come out swinging and beat them, even if it’s close, it will be clear that great strides of improvement have been made in the team. Thus, their chances of taking down Seoul will be looking much greater. On the other hand, if they have the kind of performance that they’ve been generally known for this season, then the odds of them being able to overcome the Seoul Dynasty are slim.
Prediction: Dynasty win 3-1
Player to Watch
A noticeable weak link of the team lately has been main tank Pan-seung “Fate” Koo. However, this is all the more reason to keep an eye on him. If the team has been improving, then chances are he has too. After all, the core of any team is its main tank. If Fate can bring his all, then the Los Angeles Valiant as a whole will be able to play much better.
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Featured image courtesy of the Overwatch League
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