The Fusion are fresh off a second consecutive tournament championship loss. This time, it was to the hands of the powerhouse, San Fransisco Shock. Their run to this point was extremely solid. They took the match against the Gladiators 3-0 and posted a dominant performance against the Eternal, 3-1. That win had to feel good for the players since they lost the Summer Showdown tournament against the Eternal a few weeks back 4-3.
In the final match last weekend, the Fusion showed their strength but it wasn’t enough to topple the current dynasty level talent the Shock possesses. Kyung-bo “Alarm” Kim put on a performance that made him even more relevant in MVP vote, shutting down high noons, EMPs and blades all weekend. Despite his performance, the Shock’s tanks and DPS were just slightly better and edged out a close 4-2 scoreline.
After the action-packed weekend, the Fusion look to get back on track and take a win in their final regular-season game of the 2020 season. This won’t be easy however, because they are facing the Shock for the second week in a row. The casters last weekend during the match brought up a point. The Fusion have not beaten the Shock since season one.
This game has two things riding on it. Most importantly, the Fusion will want to grab a final regular-season win to help keep them at the number one seed for NA in the playoffs. Secondly, they are looking for the revenge win. The Fusion need this win to carry the momentum and confidence into the season playoffs.
2019-07-12 – Overwatch League 2019 Stage 3 Playoffs / Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment
One thing that both teams have coming into this weekend is depth. Both the Fusion and the Shock have plenty of weapons to place on the field depending on the map and situation. This does not mean the depth is equal, however. The Shock has two players on the bench that are household names in the league. Those being Philadelphia’s own Matthew “super” DeLisi and Grant “Moth” Espe. These two players make a splash whenever they are out there representing the team. In front of them, however, are another insane group of playmakers. Myeong-hwan “smurf” Yoo takes the majority of time in place of super on main tank and Minki “Viol2t” Park is immensely skilled off-healer.
In order for the Fusion to win this weekend, Alarm must continue his dominant play. The Fusion must also work on what composition they will play this weekend. The Fusion looked best when running Winston and Zarya upfront last week. When they weren’t running this composition, they were earlier outplayed by the Shock. Unfortunately for the Fusion, Zarya and Genji, two heroes they used a lot last weekend, are banned this week.
Overwatch League 2020 Season 2020-02-23 / Photo: ROBERT-PAUL For Activision Blizzard
Ana comes out of last weekend without a ban. This means that MVP candidate Alarm is free to play his arguably strongest character. In the matches against the Eternal and Shock, Alarm was always there with the clutch sleep. If Alarm continues to carry the same pace as last week, the Fusion has a chance at winning against the Shock. Fans should look out for him to make an impact again this weekend.
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)
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