PHILADELPHIA FUSION (0-1) vs. New York Excelsior (1-0)
STARTING SIX
- Su-min “SADO” Kim
- Gael “Poko” Gouzerch
- Josh “eqo” Corona
- Jae-hyeok “Carpe” Lee
- Isaac “BoomBox” Charles
- Alberto “neptuNo” González
SUBSTITUTION
- Elijah Hudson “Elk” Gallagher
PHILADELPHIA FUSION LOSES 4-0
Lijiang Tower: Philadelphia 0-2 NYXL
On Night Market, Philly started things off with quad DPS, but an unfortunate pick on EQO had the team switching back to GOATS. Also favoring GOATS, the NYXL barely let the Philadelphia Fusion touch the point. The Fusion were unable to break past the NYXL’s defenses, and the NYXL took Night Market with ease.
On Control Center, the Fusion once again struggled against the NYXL’s GOATS composition. Deciding to shake things up, eqo made the switch onto Baptiste. The Fusion were able to turn things around during overtime. Unfortunately, the Fusion were not able to hold back the NYXL for very long. The Philadelphia Fusion lost Lijiang Tower 0-2.
Paris: Philadelphia 1-2 NYXL
On the new Paris map, we saw the Philadelphia Fusion try out some unique compositions. Taking a leaf out of the Chengdu Hunter’s book, fans saw SADO on Wrecking Ball alongside three DPS characters. Unfortunately for the Fusion, the NYXL’s GOATS composition was too powerful. Their communication and coordination helped the NYXL steamroll through the Fusion’s defenses in no time at all. When it came time to attack, the Fusion continued to try out DPS focused compositions.
With eqo and neptuNo on Pharmercy, fans also got to see Carpe on Soldier 76 as they slowly poked their way onto Point A. On Point B, the Fusion had little time left to push. All it took was one large self-destruct from Tae-hong “MekO” Kim, and the Fusion collapsed during overtime. The Fusion lost Paris 1-2.
Eichenwalde: Philadelphia 2-3 NYXL
Hoping to turn things around, the Philadelphia Fusion decided to sub in Elk for the last two maps. The last time that fans saw Elk was during the Fusion’s unfortunate Week 2. Overall, the Fusion looked better this series. The coordination between BoomBox and Elk was great, and the Fusion were able to stall reasonably well as the NYXL pushed the payload towards the end of the map.
When it came time for the Fusion to attack, they were able to take Point A with ease. The Fusion looked strong as they pushed the payload, but Poko made some choice self-destructs that could have been saved for later fights. With barely any time left on the clock, the Fusion managed to wipe the NYXL as they neared the end of the map. Philly got close, and eqo had an amazing stun and kill on Dong-gyu “Mano” Kim, but it would not be enough. The NYXL came back and managed to down both Elk and BoomBox. With no healers, the Fusion collapsed, and they lost Eichenwalde 2-3.
Rialto: Philadelphia 1-3 NYXL
On Rialto, Sung-hyeon “JJoNak” Bang destroyed the Philadelphia Fusion as the NYXL pushed the payload towards Point A. As the payload made it’s way towards Point B, both the Fusion and the NYXL decided to throw their Graviton Surges while both teams were on the staircase. Both JJoNak and BoomBox used transcendence to save their teammates from any damage, but the Fusion were easily taken out by JJoNak and Yeon-kwan “Nenne” Jeong during the next fight. Unfortunately for the Fusion, Nenne did not miss his Graviton Surge, and the NYXL were able to push the payload to the end of the map.
As the Fusion began their attack, fans once again saw them pull out a crazy DPS composition. They gave it their all, but Philly were unable to push past the NYXL’s defenses for quite some time. It was after Carpe got two significant picks on Nenne and JJoNak that Fusion were finally able to make some progress. Finally gaining momentum, it looked as though the Fusion would be able to take things to the end. Eqo had some incredible picks on Hanzo, but it would not be enough. With only seconds left for one last fight, Mano got an early pick on Boombox and the match was over. The Philadelphia Fusion lost Rialto 1-3.
Conclusion
An unfortunate first match of the stage, the Philadelphia Fusion got rolled this game. While fans can appreciate the different compositions that the Fusion tried tonight, the coordination was not where it should have been. Luckily, the Philadelphia Fusion will have a shot at redemption in the next coming weeks against the NYXL. Hopefully, they will be able to handle the NYXL’s dominant GOATS better next time.
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