OWL Quarterfinals: Fusion vs Uprising

The inaugural season of the Overwatch League began it’s playoffs today. The first match pitted the Boston Uprising against the Philadelphia Fusion. It was a match that saw the third and sixth seeded teams face each other. Through the first half of the match, the Fusion looked like the better coordinated team. During the second half, the trend continued.

Overwatch’s First Playoff Map: Dorado

Carpe vs. Striker sourced from the Overwatch League

The Philadelphia Fusion absolutely dominated their attack run on Dorado. They left nothing to the imagination of why they belong in the playoffs. There was hardly any time that the payload was not moving forward, and a large part of that falls to the snipers Carpe and EQO. After their attack, Uprising had managed around six eliminations on defense. That’s hardly a winning pedigree. While the Uprising would make a valiant effort to take the map, the Fusion would win 3-1 in map score. The final result for eliminations was 61-23, favoring the Fusion.

Round Two: Rising to the Challenge

2018-04-12 / Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

The Uprising did not want to go out with a whisper. They came out after their lopsided defeat on Dorado and made a statement in the first map of Oasis. The Fusion, however, did not like being steamrolled. They regrouped, and they were able to snag the second map of Oasis from the Uprising. In a highly contested third map, the Uprising came out victorious and tied the first match at 1-1.

Round Three: Eichenwalde

Eichendwalde was another highly contested map, but in the beginning it did not seem as much. The Fusion began on attack, and they’re Orisa, Roadhog composition absolutely rolled through the first point. Expecting to be eliminated through the second stage of the map, Hotba and Sado stayed on the heroes. However, the Fusion performed so well, that they walked through the second point. Capturing the second point, the Uprising had failed to manage a single elimination against the Fusion.

Boombox by Robert Paul

It was clear who was in control. However, the Uprising brought out all the guns to show they meant business. Mistakes and Striker would lead them through a quick point A take, and then through taking the final point to send the map to overtime. The Fusion would hold the Uprising right before they took the second point, and would take it themselves. Fusion lead the first match 2-1.

Round Four: Uprising unbeaten on Volskaya

The Boston Uprising came into Volskaya Industires holding a 91 win percentage, with their one non-win being a tie. They had drawn on the map once, never loosing. The Fusion wanted to press against the statistics. Press against they did. The Fusion handed the Uprising their first ever loss on Volskaya, and in return won the first ever post-season match of the Overwatch League. They don’t plan on stopping there at all.

To Be Continued

The Fusion and Uprising will face each other again on Friday the 13th. Starting at 5 p.m. PST, you’ll be able to see the Fusion face the Uprising with a chance to move to the semi-finals. If the Uprising win, a second match will occur that will determine the team moving forward. The Fusion were counted out as an inconsistent team, and can still be proven as such on Friday. However, they proved that they are serious contenders in the spanking they handed Boston today.