This was one of the Los Angeles Valiant’s most back and forth series. On one map they would look solid, then on the next simply lost. When it came time to clutch, though, they truly shaped up.
Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
Round one was on Night Market. The Los Angeles Valiant took the win convincingly. Their ultimate usage was superior to that of the Hunters.
Round two brought the teams to Garden. It was a shutout win for the Valiant, with them outperforming the Chengdu Hunters in all facets.
The map ended 2-0 in favor of the Los Angeles Valiant.
Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
In round one, the LA Valiant started on attack. After a couple minutes of delay, they eventually found the needed picks to grab the advantage and take point A. Point B gave the Valiant even more trouble, and, in the end, they could not grab a single tick.
Round two saw the LA Valiant’s point A defense fall very quickly. They held Chengdu off of point B for one fight, but were overwhelmed when the Hunters came back for their second attempt.
The map ended 2-1 in favor of the Chengdu Hunters.
Courtesy of eSportsJunkie
King’s Row had the Los Angeles Valiant starting on defense. They lost point A immediately after the start of the round. On point B, they contested much longer, but the payload still eventually made it through. After a lengthy overtime fight on the final point, the Valiant came out on top and denied Chengdu the map completion.
In round two, the LA Valiant took point A at a similar speed to the Hunters. They went on to finish point B with no issues. However, they struggled on point C. In what seemed like a lost overtime fight, the LA Valiant regrouped and, with a great round of ultimates, turned the tides in their favor. A nice Graviton Surge from Kyle “KSF” Frandanisa kept the remaining members of the Chengdu Hunters off the payload long enough for it to make it to the end.
The map ended 3-2 in favor of the Los Angeles Valiant.
Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
The Valiant started on defense on Watchpoint: Gibraltar. They held the Hunters off for a couple of minutes before losing a trade-heavy fight, and point A was completed. Despite a strong showing on point B from the LA Valiant, a back cap from Hunters support Xianyao “Yveltal” Li kept his team in the game. In the end, though, Los Angeles was able to keep Chengdu from finishing the map.
On attack, the Valiant could not complete point A in part due to major pressure from Chengdu DPS Zhihao “YangXiaoLong” Zhang on Widowmaker.
The map ended 2-0 in favor of the Chengdu Hunters.
Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
Round one took place on MEKA Base. It was back and forth and extremely close, coming down to a close fight in overtime. The members of the Chengdu Hunters accidentally stepped off for too long, though, and the Los Angeles Valiant came out on top.
Round two was on Downtown. The Valiant were completely dominant, and won it 100-0.
The map ended 2-0 in favor of the Los Angeles Valiant.
Although not a clean win, beating a team like the Chengdu Hunters is a sign of significant improvement for the Valiant. Chengdu is regarded as a solid mid-tier team, therefore this victory is not only cause for celebration, but crucial to maintaining morale. Of course, there is still plenty to improve upon.
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Featured image courtesy of the Overwatch League
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