The virtual confetti has finally settled and the Overwatch League is ready to come out strong after an exciting May. On Monday, June 8, Blizzard announced the next three weeks of games as well as the Summer Showdown. This event is identical to the May Melee that just finished and provides a fun twist to the league’s format. TGH reported on this announcement here.
As fans might remember, the Fusion was handed an early departure from the May Melee tournament by the hands of a surging Florida Mayhem team. Since the May tournament has ended, teams have had time to take a break and gear up for the back-half of the season. Philly is poised to get back to their winning ways against a team still struggling to find their identity in the Houston Outlaws this weekend.
Philadelphia Fusion (13-1) vs Houston Outlaws (5-9)
Image Courtesy of The Overwatch League
After an abysmal 0-5 start to the season, the Houston Outlaws woke up. They beat the Defiant, shocked the Eternal and ever since, proved that they know how to take care of business to the bottom of the standings. Paris came back after the week five break to rematch the Outlaws and won 3-1. This showed if they are given the room to work, Houston will take advantage. The Fusion is famous for letting off the gas while in front and they need to make sure this does not happen against the Outlaws.
Hydrate!
An interesting story is a shakeup in the front line on the side of the Outlaws. The change came in the form of flex player, João Pedro “Hydration” Goes Telles. He recently dethroned one of the Outlaws most popular players Austin “Muma” Wilmot as he has had a bumpy season thus far. These are the kinds of changes that teams at the bottom part of the standings should be making. Mixing up a roster allows a team to see their depth and allows them to discover options down the road. Hydration has looked comfortable in the main tank spot, but the schedule has not been very kind to their team enough for them to really shine.
A Bumpy Road Ahead
Before facing the Fusion this weekend, the Outlaws faced a good Fuel team, the Shock and Atlanta who both won 3-0 and a “pick-me-up” game against the new-look Titans. For Houston, it will be an uphill battle this whole month of June. After this weekend’s Fusion match, the Outlaws play the Gladiators and a very scary looking Mayhem team. Now is the time for Hydration to prove to the fans that he is ready to take the next step and shine in this newer role on the frontline.
Prediction: Fusion win 3-0
Player To Watch: Poko
In the announcement of the Summer Showdown, hero pool changes were made. The Overwatch League hero pools will now last two weeks and D.Va was the tank selected. This shows that fans will likely see a double-shield meta and who better to slot in to play Sigma than the Fusion’s own Gael “Poko” Gouzerch. Poko has proven to the league that he isn’t just a great D.Va player in the off-tank position and that his Sigma is ready to play. Fans should look for Poko to shine in the next two weeks as they face the struggling Outlaws this week and an extremely struggling Boston Uprising the following week.
Stay Connected
Follow Rocco on Twitter @MaridonGaming for all things Philadelphia Fusion! You can also reach out to them on Discord and talk some OWL! (Maridon#6912)
Featured Image Courtesy of the Blizzard Entertainment
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