Advertisement
Upsets setting the tone for an unpredictable Overwatch League semi-finals
Philadelphia Fusion and London Spitfire score surprise wins over the top two teams on the first day
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
This article originally appeared on ABACUS
Los Angeles Valiant and New York Excelsior were at the top of their respective divisions heading into the Overwatch League playoffs. But all that good work during the season meant nothing in the playoffs, as both teams were soundly defeated in the first match of their best-of-three semi-finals.
The day of the underdogs started with the sixth seed Philadelphia Fusion facing off against top seed New York Excelsior, arguably the best team in the entire league. Excelsior has only lost six matches the entire season, and most casters and analysts predicted an Excelsior victory.
But on Wednesday night, Fusion was the better team.
Advertisement
The first map was very, very close. Excelsior only needed to push the payload just a couple of meters further, but couldn’t do it in time. It also showed how the rest of the games would go -- right down to the wire.
Advertisement
Excelsior’s individual players played great games. Saebyeolbe’s Tracer and Pine’s Widowmaker got several extremely skilled pulse bombs and headshots on Fusion’s team. Overwatch League MVP JJoNak was pulling off kills and massive heals left and right.
But their strong individual performances couldn’t beat Fusion’s teamwork.
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x