The Los Angeles Valiant were not expected to win this series, but it was much more of a stomp than what it should have been. It seems that even with the addition of their new main tank Russell “FCTFCTN” Campbell to the roster, the underlying problems of the Valiant continue to hinder them in the same way that they did before.
Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
Round one took place on Gardens. The Shanghai Dragons were very dominant, with the Valiant only able to find a handful of picks throughout the duration of the round. The Dragons shut them out 100-0.
Round two was on University. The LA Valiant put up much more of a fight, even getting to 99% themselves. However, it was not enough to keep Shanghai at bay, and the Dragons won the round.
The map ended 2-0 in favor of the Shanghai Dragons.
Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
Paris had the Los Angeles Valiant start out on defense. They were quickly overwhelmed by the Dragons and lost Point A almost immediately. The aggression didn’t stop, and with a round of ultimates, Shanghai claimed Point B with 6:00 left in their time bank.
On attack, the Valiant had a similarly speedy Point A capture to that of Shanghai, dismantling the Dragon’s defense. Again, like Shanghai Dragons, they kept their aggression up, and captured Point B with slightly less time left at 5:23.
Round three kept the LA Valiant on attack. It took a considerable amount of tries, but the Valiant eventually took Point A after finding a couple of crucial picks. However, they were unable to fully capture Point B.
In round four, the Shanghai Dragons had no trouble capturing Point A after an early pick onto Valiant main tank FCTFCTN. Point B also proved to be easy for the Dragons, and they won the round.
The map ended 4-3 in favor of the Shanghai Dragons.
Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
The Valiant started on defense on Numbani. Off the back of some key picks from Shanghai DPS Min-seong “diem” Bae, the Dragons swiftly claimed Point A. On Point B, the Dragons pushed through with almost no contention. Los Angeles showed some defense on Point C, but, near the end, a well-placed Graviton Surge from diem kept them from even touching the payload to contest. The Shanghai Dragons finished the map with 3:16 left.
On attack, the LA Valiant could not grab a tick on Point A, and lost the round.
The map ended 3-0 in favor of the Shanghai Dragons.
Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
On Gibraltar, the Los Angeles Valiant started on defense. Point A looked dire at the beginning, but, with a few picks, the Valiant stabilized and kept the Dragons from capturing even the first point for the rest of the round.
On attack, the Valiant were held off for some time, but eventually found the picks they needed to overwhelm the Dragons and finish it out.
The map ended 1-0 in favor of the Los Angeles Valiant.
Overall, the Valiant look to be in a similar form to how they were in the previous stages. Of course, this can not be directly blamed on their new player. Any new pickup to a team needs time to properly mesh with his new teammates. The important thing for the LA Valiant right now is addressing their foundational issues.
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Featured image courtesy of the Overwatch League
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