Overwatch League Recap: Toronto Defiant vs. San Francisco Shock

Defiant – 0 Shock – 4

After the Stage 2 meta shift and Toronto’s roster changes, the Defiant have struggled to recapture their breakout success from Stage 1. Their back-to-back losses in Week 2 have them ranked outside of stage and season playoff contention. In Week 3, the Defiant faced off against a San Francisco Shock squad that has yet to lose a map in Stage 2.

Lijiang Tower: Defiant – 0 Shock – 2

Night Market opened up with the standard three tank and three support per side. San Francisco’s ability to successfully hold and maneuver around the point outplayed the Defiant who failed to gain any capture percentage.

Dong-jun “Rascal” Kim opened up Garden knocking Se-hyeon “Neko” Park over the edge, opening up the point for the Shock. Despite several strong engagements from Toronto, San Francisco’s ability to stall the point allowed for their eventual shutout victory. 

Hanamura: Defiant – 1 Shock – 2

Toronto Defiant main tank: Gyeong-mu “Yakpung” Jo

Toronto began Hanamura on defense. Seung-hyun “Ivy” Lee and Gyeong-mu “Yakpung” Jo took advantage of the focused damage directed at Matthew “super” DeLisi. The Duo provided a stout front line early on for Toronto. Despite the impressive beginning for Toronto, San Francisco rolled on to capture point B.

On attack, Toronto struggled to find an opening against Jay “sinatraa” Won’s Sombra. Ivy’s Pharah was disrupted constantly by hacks from the Shock DPS. On Point B, things only got more difficult for Toronto. The impressive hold from San Francisco was capped by an Earthshatter from Super.  

Eichenwalde: Defiant – 1 Shock – 2

Toronto Defiant flex support: Se-hyeon “Neko” Park

Toronto once again opened on attack. With their backs against the wall, Toronto found success behind Neko’s early elimination of Rascal. Without their Baptiste, the Shock would surrender the payload to the Defiant.

That would be as far as the Defiant’s attack would go. The Shock pinned Toronto in their spawn for the remainder of their attack allowing for little progress on the payload.

Jin “im37” Hong’s Zarya outplayed sinatraa’s at point A. His Graviton Surge would hit home, allowing the focus from Toronto to push back the attackers. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be enough. Toronto would drop Map 3 and subsequently lose their fourth straight match of the stage. 

Watchpoint: Gibraltar: Defiant – 0 Shock – 3

Superior usage and generation of ultimates decided Gibraltar. Nothing the Defiant did was enough to halt the unstoppable Shock. Without any answers to San Francisco’s superior 3-3 composition besides a mirror of their own, the unprepared Defiant would fail to claim a single map against the elite Shock roster.

Conclusion

(Toronto Defiant DPS: Do-hyung “Stellar” Lee)

Toronto’s fall from grace has been sudden in Stage 2. With a difficult schedule ahead, they seem incredibly uncomfortable running anything apart from standard or Winston 3-3. This could derive from the loss of Do-hyung “Stellar” Lee. Losing Stellar has shifted their DPS usage completely. To fill the void left by Stellar, Ivy has moved into the flex DPS role with im37 replacing him on Zarya. The changes have clearly not synced well with the team and their lack of synergy is taking it’s toll. Stage 2 is all but lost. Toronto will have plenty of time to prepare for Stage 3 with the All Star Weekend set to follow the conclusion of Stage 2. 

The Defiant will return to action against the reigning Stage 1 Champion Vancouver Titans Friday, May 3 10:15 pm EST. Be sure to check back for updates on Overwatch League action.

Featured/Player Images Courtesy of the Overwatch League

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