Home » Overwatch Recap: Philadelphia Fusion vs. Hangzhou Spark

Overwatch Recap: Philadelphia Fusion vs. Hangzhou Spark

The Game Haus Staff

Publish Date: June 8, 2019

The Philadelphia Fusion and the Hangzhou Spark are both considered middle of the pack teams at the moment. Unfortunately for the Fusion, the Spark seem to be on the up-and-up while Philly have begun to falter. It’s no secret that their GOATS is one of the weakest in the league, but would they be able to give the Spark a good fight? Here’s how it all went down.

STARTING SIX

Overwatch League 2019 Season2019-04-19 / Photo: Ben Pursell For Blizzard Entertainment

Su-min “SADO” Kim

Gael “Poko” Gouzerch

Jae-hyeok “Carpe” Lee

Josh “Eqo” Corona

Isaac “Boombox” Charles

Alberto “neptuNo” González

Oasis: Philadelphia 0-2 Hangzhou

Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment

The game was already off to a rough start for the Fusion. With a 0-2 win-rate on Oasis, fans were not expecting much from the boys going into this match. On University, the Fusion had a tough time getting onto the point. With Seong-Wook “Ria” Park hiding under shelter, SADO was unable to pave the way for his teammates as he was getting attacked from all sides. It took the Fusion many attempts, but they were finally able to flip the point during overtime. Unfortunately, the Spark had a larger ultimate economy going into the next fight. Getting a key pick on Carpe, Xu “guxue” Qiulin threw down a massive Earthshatter, allowing the Spark to retake the point as Guxue proceeded to take out the remaining members of the Fusion.

On Gardens, the Spark took to the high ground and were once again able to claim the point first. For a while, it looked as though Gardens would be a repeat of University. However, killing Jaehwan “Adora” Kang opened up the way for the Fusion, and they were able to take the point back much more quickly. Regrouping, the Spark attempted to engage on the back of guxue’s shatter, but Boombox’s use of transcendence kept the Fusion alive. The Fusion were able to maintain control of the map for quite some time, and it looked as though Gardens would be theirs after guxue whiffed his Earthshatter. During overtime, Hangzhou picked off Carpe and were able to maintain control for the remainder of the map. The Fusion lost Oasis 0-2.

Paris: Philadelphia 2-1 Hangzhou

Image Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment

Starting on defense, the Fusion went with Winston GOATS, a composition that generally works well for them. Unfortunately, SADO would end up feeding early on by jumping into the Spark as they moved their way through the patisserie. The Spark started to cap the point and got two ticks before the Fusion were able to push them back. Using Primal Rage, SADO got the Spark off the point. For a time, it seemed as though the Fusion would be able to full-hold them, but things were not meant to be. SADO would end up getting crushed by guxue’s charge. This would allow Hangzhou to take Point A, and they were able to cap Point B with no trouble at all.

On attack, Hangzhou surprised Neptuno by setting up a trap right outside their spawn. With Ria and Hui-chang “BeBe” Yoon working together, the Fusion were melted down quickly whenever they attempted to push. Much like the Spark, it would take the Fusion until overtime to cap Point A. The Fusion struggled with capturing Point B. It took them many attempts; as the game neared overtime, Carpe would land a Graviton Surge on Kyeong-bo “GodsB” Kim but would end up being picked off in the process. This move set the Fusion back, and they were unable to cap the point. The Fusion lost Paris 2-1.

Eichenwalde: Philadelphia 0-3 Hangzhou

Picture courtesy of Overwatch

Eichenwalde would be an easy win for the Hangzhou Spark. After sniping Eqo with his fire-strike, guxue and the gang would cap the point with ease. From there, they would steamroll through the Fusion’s defenses. While Philly was able to stabilize as the payload was just shy of Point B, it would not be hard for the Spark to come back and take them out. Ho-jin “iDK” Park would once again prove to be a Boop God and take down the Fusion’s backline multiple times. Hangzhou would end up pushing the payload to the end of the map despite Poko’s best efforts to stall the payload.

On attack, the Spark’s defenses would overwhelm the Fusion. Eating pretty much every graviton that Carpe threw, Ria would deny Philly any chance at engagement. Though Neptuno and SADO did their best to get on the point during overtime, they would be killed instantly, causing the Fusion to retreat. The Fusion lost Eichenwalde 0-3.

Gibraltar: Philadelphia 2-3 Hangzhou

Image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.

On Gibraltar, the Fusion’s defenses would crumble once more to the Hangzhou Spark. The Spark’s coordination would allow them to push through Points A and B with ease. As the payload neared Point C, guxue would use his Earthshatter while iDK dove into the backline to boop BoomBox into guxue’s line of sight. Unable to save himself, or the team, by popping transcendence, BoomBox would be taken out, and the Spark would push the payload to the end of the map.

When it came time for the Fusion to attack, SADO would get the first pick on iDK that would allow Philly to at least get the payload to the first point. After regrouping, the Spark would take out the Fusion and take the high ground to defend. SADO would end up switching to Reinhardt, but the Fusion would be unable to make any headway until overtime. Eqo’s use of rally would give Fusion the protection they needed as they engaged with Carpe’s graviton surge. Poko would get a key pick on guxue that would let Philly push the payload to Point B. Unfortunately, the Fusion would lose momentum and would be unable to complete the map. The Fusion lost Gibraltar 2-3.

Conclusion

Tonight was the worst that the Philadelphia Fusion have looked all season. The Fusion has talented players, but running the same rigid composition over and over again, while expecting different results, is killing this team. Watching the Fusion play used to be a treat. The Fusion were bold; they were brash; they were entertaining. Their GOATS is not improving, and it is painful to watch them play against teams who have figured the meta out. Hopefully, this isn’t foreshadowing for how the rest of the stage will go, but unless something changes, fans are concerned for the Fusion’s future.