Vancouver Titans (15-0) vs Atlanta Reign(7-9)
Vancouver Titans Starting Lineup
Sangbeom “Bumper” Park
HyunWoo “JJANU” Choi
Seong jun “SLIME” Kim
Juseok “Twilight” Lee
MinSoo “SeoMinSoo” Seo
Hyojong “Haksal” Kim
Vancouver Titans 3-1 Atlanta Reign
The Vancouver Titans returned after the midseason break with a tough challenge against a resurgent Atlanta Reign. Two days after pushing the Shock to five maps, the Reign put up another great showing against the Titans. They made Vancouver sweat during this series, but the Titans pulled it out to remain undefeated.
Nepal: Titans 2-0 Reign
If there were any concerns about the Titans being rusty after the break, they were put to rest immediately on Nepal. They came out on a tear on Shrine, winning the first two teamfights easily with opening picks onto the Atlanta support line. Atlanta retook at 81%, but JJANU answered with a double kill Self-Destruct. The Reign couldn’t muster a response, and Vancouver cruised to a win on the first stage.
On Village, the Titans again took control early, this time by taking down Andrej “babybay” Francisty. Then Bumper went for a flanking Earthshatter but got caught out, giving Atlanta a chance to retake the point. The Reign put up a good fight, even building up to 95% but Vancouver played patiently, waiting for Twilight’s Transcendence to push back in for the deciding final fight.
Paris: Reign 3-2 Titans
Moving over to Paris, the Titans opted to open with their 4-DPS composition. They struggled to find their footing, very nearly getting full held on point A. They managed to sneak away the first two ticks on failed pushes before finally capping the point in overtime after Haksal’s Rocket Barrage secured a double kill. Even after switching back to 3-3 the Titans continued their lackluster showing on Paris, wasting push after push. Again it took overtime to capture, but they put two points on the board.
Atlanta pulled off a much stronger start to their attack round, capturing point A after an extended first fight that saw Bumper walk into Donghyung “DACO” Seo’s Self-Destruct. The Reign rolled into point B with a massive time bank, and despite pulling out the first defense, Vancouver couldn’t hold on. Another Daco ultimate separated SeoMinSoo from his team and gave the Reign the pick they needed to take point A.
Vancouver needed a monumental hold just to tie, but those hopes faded quickly. Bumper got stunned and focused down instantly when he tried to jump in as Winston, and Atlanta capped point A to tie the series.
Hollywood: Titans 1-0 Reign
Hollywood brought the Titans back to the friendly confines of the 3-3 mirror and they took advantage. A quick first fight gave Bumper the opportunity to go for a sneaky Earthshatter that no one saw coming, and Vancouver looked firmly in control. The final fight of point A kicked off with 1:45 still on the clock, as the two teams traded ults and the upper hand. Despite falling behind, the Titans held on long enough to build a second round of ultimates to close out the fight and secure the full hold.
Vancouver needed just over two ticks to retake the series lead, and they took their time. Daco ate SeoMinSoo’s first Graviton Surge, putting the Titans in a hole and eventually pushing them to back off. Vancouver then forced out Dusttin “Dogman” Bowerman’s Transcendence, opening the door for a Graviton Surge that secured map 3 for the Titans.
Watchpoint Gibraltar: Titans 6-5 Reign
A strong defensive effort from Atlanta turned the Titans’ attack round into a grind. Atlanta punished Vancouver’s mistakes, and Daco continued to be a menace, eating his third Grav of the series. Points A and B went to the Titans after long scrappy fights that exhausted both teams of their ultimates. Point C was a breeze in comparison, as an early kill on an out of position babybay gave Vancouver the chance to finish the map just before overtime.
Atlanta needed to finish the map to stay alive, and they played with urgency. They were incredibly aggressive to start off, repeatedly focusing down Bumper and cruising through the first two points. Vancouver put up a decent showing on point C but gave up too much ground in a losing fight. They didn’t get a cohesive last stand, giving Atlanta a big-time bank advantage for extra rounds.
That advantage didn’t last long as the Titans took a scrappy first fight and bolstered their ult economy. They carried that momentum nearly to the end of the map before Hyeonjun “Pokpo” Park finally shut them down with an Earthshatter just outside the defenders spawn doors. The incredible overtime push put all of the pressure on the Reign.
With a massive cushion to play with, the Titans decided to put SeoMinSoo on Sombra. He managed to build EMP during the first fight and Vancouver cleaned up. Atlanta eventually captured point A during overtime when they got ultimates off just before SeoMinSoo’s EMP. The Reign rolled through point B, but Vancouver built enough ultimates to stop them short and close out the series.
Conclusion
Atlanta gave the Titans a run for their money on Saturday, but the clutch factor was there for Vancouver. The Titans continue to look incredibly strong on 3-3 mirrors but need to clean up their play if they want to run other compositions. Vancouver moves to 15-0 on the season and can now look forward to a showdown with the Los Angeles Gladiators on Sunday.
Featured image courtesy of Ben Pursell for the Overwatch League.
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