Week 2 in the Overwatch League took place in Philadelphia where the headlining team faced off against the Florida Mayhem and the Washington Justice.
Many fans are curious how their teams will adjust to the demanding travel schedule that the 2020 season brings. Fusion fans have nothing to worry about if their last showing is any indication of what the future will hold.
The entire team walked out behind the Flyers mascot Gritty, who donned a customized Fusion jersey. There were cheerleaders, Eagles chants, booing the away teams and a lot of cheering for the home team. The Fusion bust through the gate and start their season 2-0 and top of the leader board after Week 2.
Photo: Stewart Volland For Blizzard Entertainment
The first day saw the Fusion take on the Justice, a team that is consistently ranked around the middle of the pack in power rankings. The starting six were as follows:
With a roster of 11, fans were curious who would take the lead in the Fusion’s opening week, and many were surprised not to see Junho “Fury” Kim on the starting roster. Fury was arguably the biggest pick up of the OWL off-season, and a huge boon to the Fusion’s tank lineup.
The Game Haus spoke with Assistant Coach Christopher “ChrisTFer” Graham who gave more background to how they conduct their decisions on who plays each week. “We have a much bigger roster now. They have to fight for position, whereas last year the starting six played almost the entire year.”
The match saw a tie at halftime, with the Fusion picking up Nepal, and the Justice pulling out the victory on Havana. But after the halftime show, the Fusion were able to stop the Justice on King’s Row 3-2.
The last match had Fusion fans biting their nails after a long fought match. When it looked like the Fusion had it in the bag, Yeonjoon “Ark” Hong back-capped the point and kept the Justice in the game. In the end, the Fusion were able to capture both points to Justice’s one and the match ended in a win for the Fusion.
Photo: Ben Pursell For Blizzard Entertainment
After an energetic start to the Fusion’s season, the Florida Mayhem had people betting that “it’s always Map 5 in Philly” and that the Fusion would take it 3-2. The Mayhem had an excellent first day against the Houston Outlaws and looked like a powerhouse going into day two.
Carpe started the first map on Symmetra before switching to McCree to match Sang-bum “BQB” Lee. The battle between the two carried throughout the match with McCree and Widowmaker battles, which made for a fun match to watch. Jeongwoo “Sayaplayer” Ha also made an appearance in Map 2 to face-off with Carpe.
The Fusion let the Mayhem put up points on the first and second map, but the Fusion busted straight through Blizzard World to win the match 3-0, much to the shock of Fusion fans and viewers who predicted more of a fight from the Florida-based team.
After their opening weekend, the Fusion found themselves at the top of the leader board, but they will find a tougher fight next weekend against high-ranked New York Excelsior and the Toronto Defiant in Washington.
Follow Jessica on Twitter: @JessScharnagle.
Featured Image Courtesy of Overwatch League.
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