Toronto Defiant: Top Five Moments of Stage 1

Toronto shattered Stage 1 expectations with an impressive 3-0 run in their last three games to lock up the third seed heading into the Stage Playoffs. Despite a quick exit at the hands of the San Francisco Shock, Toronto’s first action in the Overwatch League was chock-full of highlights and breakouts.

Here are the top five moments from the Toronto Defiant’s Stage 1.

5: Ivy Pops off

After surrendering a full capture to the Los Angeles Valiant, Seung-hyun “Ivy” Lee took advantage of Kang-jae “envy” Lee’s EMP on Toronto’s overtime push through Hollywood Boulevard. With three swift kills onto Pan-seung “Fate” Koo, Brady “Agilities” Girardi and Indy “SPACE” Halpern, Ivy completed his brilliant performance with three more kills to clear the way for Toronto to match Los Angeles and inevitably draw the map. 

4: Bed Time Mr. JinMu

After Toronto’s victory on Illios, Chengdu started King’s Row on attack. They continued to run their creative DPS compositions against Toronto who seemed determined to stay with their 3-3 defensive setup. Se-hyeon “Neko” Park ousted the Hunters lethal poke damage from the high ground with a  devastating Sleep Dart onto Yi “JinMu” Hu’s Pharah. With an assisted Bash from Do-hyung “Stellar” Lee, Neko dispatched the Pharah and then landed three quick shots onto Li “Yveltal” Xianyao’s Mercy to remove Chengdu’s Pharmacy, crippling the Hunters attack. 

3: A Friendly Reunion

As Toronto pushed through Hollywood Boulevard, the Uprising threw everything they had at the encroaching Defiant. With nothing to show for their efforts. Toronto responded with ultimates of their own crippling the Boston defense. When the dust had settled, nothing remained of the Uprising besides their bright blue and yellow emblem in the dirt.

2: Dancing into Playoffs

After their hard fought victory over the Hunters, only the Hangzhou Spark  stood between the Defiant and Stage 1 Playoffs. With Toronto up 2-0 coming out of halftime, the Defiant only needed a draw on Volskaya Industries to clinch their ticket, but it wasn’t easy. Their defense of Point B was highlighted by a massive Grav, Self Destruct combo from Ivy and envy made possible by a precise charge from Gyeong-mu “Yakpung” Jo to eliminate Xu “guxue” Qiulin’s shield. The exposed Spark were left defenseless and were eviscerated.

1: First Win, In Style

Flashback all the way back to Week 1. Toronto was on the cusp of a reverse sweep against Houston Outlaws who, well.. Just watch and enjoy.

Honorable Mention: Yakpung & Envy Send their Regards

After a lackluster result through the first three maps against the NYXL, Toronto entered Dorado seeking redemption. With Yeon-joon “ArK” Hong and Jong-ryeol “Saebyeolbe” Park seeing action on Dorado, New York’s lack of synergy cost them. Toronto managed to mimic a popular combo of the Excelsior with dazzling results culminating to their eventual victory. Despite the match loss, Managing to take a map from the dominant NYXL is something not many teams can manage. 

Be sure to catch all of the Stage 2 action through our coverage here at The Game Haus. Toronto kicks off Stage 2 on April 5 at 8:30 p.m. EST, against the Washington Justice 

Featured Image Courtesy of OverActive Media

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