Defiant – 1 Titans – 3
In search of any sort of way to rebound their stage, Toronto stood before Vancouver. The undefeated Stage 1 champions needed to take advantage of the Gladiators’ recent defeat at the hands of the Boston Uprising. A Victory over the Defiant and Seoul Dynasty would lock the Titians into a top two seed. Toronto will face Paris to close out their stage on Sunday. If they can have a strong showing against Vancouver, defeating the Paris Eternal may not seem so daunting a task.
Oasis: Defiant – 0 Titans – 2
Toronto assessed the biggest threat and naturally found Sang-beom “Bumper” Park. They immediately opened University with a swift kill on the Vancouver main tank, but their lead wouldn’t last long. Even after gaining over 50% advantage, Toronto struggled to match the Titan’s mirrored 3-3.
Se-hyeon “Neko” Park took advantage of the available high ground on City Center. The advantageous positioning set Toronto up with heals over a wide span of the objective. Unfortunately for Toronto, Bumper’s Winston out damaged Gyeong-mu “Yakpung” Jo’s own. The decisive advantage was more than enough to sway the fight in Vancouver’s favor to give them the map.Â
Temple of Anubis: Defiant – 2 Titans – 0
After surrendering the first map so easily, Toronto came into Map 2 needing to make a stand. Within the blink of an eye, they managed to capture both points on attack with over four minutes remaining. Even after; on their first defense, they held their ground against the unwavering Titans to unbelievably drop a map to the Defiant.
Despite the impossible odds against Toronto, they managed to claim Anubis to even the series. The Battle for Canada may very well be more competitive than originally expected. It is possible that the Titans entered the matchup unprepared and expecting less of a challenge. A major factor in Toronto’s improved play could stem from Seung-hyun “Ivy” Lee’s return to Zarya.
King’s Row: Defiant – 1 Titans – 2
The Toronto attack did a good job avoiding the threatening cooldowns from Vancouver’s defense. Ivy’s return to Zarya really helped settle the Defiant into a rhythm against the Titans reminiscent of Stage 1.
Eventually, Toronto would expend their ultimates to force their way through the streets of King’s Row; but it wouldn’t be quite enough. A sneaking Joo-seong “RoKy” Park would be caught before there was any chance to contest the payload. Vancouver’s next attack would decide the map.
Against Vancouver, Toronto made their stand in the streets. Bumper’s aggression was finally able to decisively break Toronto’s hold despite their ultimate advantage. Toronto would fail to mount a recontest to prevent Vancouver’s capture and surrender the lead to the Titans.
Junkertown: Defiant – 2 Titans – 3
Ivy and Jin “im37” Hong each popped off in Toronto’s surprising opening attack. In the wide open area of before checkpoint A, Toronto’s DPS paired with Yakpung’s Wrecking Ball to easily dispatch the Titan’s 3-3 composition. Later, Toronto would swap to 3-3 themselves to push through the enclosed streets phase of Junkertown.
Two missed Graviton Surges from Ivy slowed their momentum and eventually was enough to halt Toronto’s push. They had once again made it very far, but failed to capture the final point.
The successful attack gave Toronto a chance to force a map 5 against the champs. They had already outperformed expectations, but the fairy tale ending came to an end once Vancouver struck the killing blow. Toronto lost the match, but showed a lot of improvement from their previous performances in Stage 2.
Conclusion
Although now officially out of playoff contention, Managing to take a map off of the Stage 1 champions bodes well for their success going forward. Ivy’s return to Zarya brought a comfort to the roster. The team was able to take advantage of the damage generated from his Particle Cannon and execute their plays with some success. If the Defiant have properly prepared for Paris, They could pick up a key momentum boost heading into Stage 3 when they meet the Eternal once again.
The Defiant will return to action against the Paris Eternal Sunday, May 5 3:00 pm EST. Be sure to check back with The Game Haus for updates on Overwatch League action.
Featured Image Courtesy of the Toronto Defiant
Player Images Courtesy of the Overwatch League
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