From the start of the season, the Vancouver Titans have been the best team in the Overwatch League. On Saturday, they kept that title as they steamrolled the Dynasty on their way to the Stage 1 Finals. It was smooth sailing for the Titans, and they kept Seoul on the back foot for the entire match.
Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment
The series started out on Mecha Base, where the Titans cruised to a comfortable lead. An early Earthshatter from Sangbeom “Bumper” Park gave them the first capture and they never looked back. They put immense pressure onto Min Seo “Marve1” Hwang, including denying his ultimate with a well-timed stun from Hyojong “Haksal” Kim. Seoul won a single fight, but Vancouver answered back immediately to claim the stage and an early advantage.
On Sanctuary, they thrived in the chaos on the control point, and Seoul barely managed 9% before the round was over. Bumper owned the Reinhardt head-to-head, constantly charging his ultimate faster than Marve1. MinSoo “SeoMinSoo” Seo put in the killing blow with a well placed Graviton Surge and the Titans surged to a 1-0 lead.
The Dynasty took the series to Hollywood, and their offense showed why. With Min Hyuk “Michelle” Choi on the Sombra, the Dynasty played point A patiently. A crucial hack on Seong jun “SLIME” Kim deprived Vancouver of Lucio’s speed boost, and Seoul capitalized with a huge pick onto Haksal. Vancouver stabilized on point B, taking a number of aggressive fights to punish the Dynasty for the Sombra pick. It wasn’t enough to stop Seoul in the end, but the Titans still forced the attackers into overtime before they finished the map.
With Michelle on D.Va, the Titans resumed their dominance in the GOATs matchup. They rallied behind Juseok “Twilight” Lee’s fragging ability to take point A on the first attempt and carried the momentum into point B. Seoul had no answers and the Titans rolled into point C with over 5:00 remaining in the time bank. After a brief hold, HyunWoo “JJANU” Choi ate ByungSun “Fleta” Kim Graviton Surge, and the dominoes started to fall for Seoul. In extra rounds, Vancouver again took just a single try to capture point A and found themselves halfway to the Stage 1 Finals.
Seoul finally got the chance to show off their flexibility on Anubis. A triple DPS attack dismantled the Titans defense and gave the Dynasty a solid ult advantage as they pushed into point B. Vancouver outlasted the Rocket Barrage from Fleta and forced Seoul back into the GOATs mirror match. After losing much of their timebank, Seoul punished a sloppy disengage from the Titans and capture point B with 48 seconds remaining.
Photo: Stewart Volland For Blizzard Entertainment
On their attack, Vancouver continued their winning ways and claimed the first point with a tremendous time bank for point B. A protracted fight on point B went the Titans’ way slowly and then all at once. An early pick on Munchkin opened the floodgates for Vancouver and they went into extra rounds with a huge time advantage.
In extra rounds, Seoul went back to the triple-DPS well, but this time found it dry. Vancouver denied Sangbeom “Munchkin” Byun the sightlines he needed, and SeoMinSoo secured the necessary kills to keep the Dynasty off point A. With over five minutes to capture point A, Vancouver decided to have a little fun. A composition featuring Bumper on Hanzo and JJANU on Wrecking Ball made quick work of the Dynasty. Haksal’s Pharah did a lot of the dirty work, and Vancouver took the series to match point.
Photo: Ben Pursell for Blizzard Entertainment
With their backs against the wall, Seoul refused to say die on Rialto. Despite a solid point A, defense, Vancouver fell apart after an early death from Haksal. The Dynasty powered through point B behind a couple of key environmental kills from SeungSoo “Jecse” Lee and gave themselves a good shot to finish the map. ChanHyoeng “Fissure” Bae sealed the deal with a big Earthshatter, and Seoul finished the map.
Vancouver regained control on their attack, and Bumper completely took over the game. His Earthshatter cleared the way for a point A take, and Seoul never really recovered. JJANU had one of the best plays of the series on point B, when he denied Fleta’s Graviton Surge and found a triple kill with his Self-Destruct. The Titans closed out their attack when Twilight responded to Fissure’s Earthshatter with a lightning-quick Transcendence.
Extra rounds were mostly a formality, as the Titans shut them down at every turn. SLIME booped Fissure out of position, and Seoul managed only a meager push. The Dynasty tried a last-gasp Bastion defense, but SLIME booped the Orissa into the canal, and Seoul’s hopes sank alongside Fissure. The Titans completed the sweep in dominant fashion and punched their ticket to the Stage 1 Finals.
On Saturday, the Titans proved why they are the top team in the league. Just two days after Seoul knocked off NYXL, Vancouver thrashed them in a 4-0 sweep. The Titans dominated every aspect of the game, particularly the front line matchup. Bumper asserted his will over Fissure for most of the match, and the Titans never really had to sweat. Now they await the winner of the Fusion vs Shock semifinal. A single opponent stands between them and the league’s first truly perfect stage.
Featured image courtesy of the Stewart Volland for Blizzard Entertainment.
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