NYXL wins second stage Overwatch League finals

I’m going to level with you. As a writer, my math skills aren’t the best. After coming down to the wire for first two stage finals of Overwatch League I have a newfound respect for the statisticians.

In week five, we started off with a massive upset by the Philadelphia Fusion, which was nearly enough to take the Los Angeles Gladiators out of contention. However, the Houston Outlaws besting the Seoul Dynasty threw the finals picture into upheaval again. After the Fusion won 3-2 against the Los Angeles Valiant on Friday, things looked shaky for them, since their map differential only increased by one. They were crossing their fingers for the final match of the week, where the Boston Uprising had to win their match against the Gladiators for the Fusion to go to the semi-finals. If the Gladiators won they would be the ones playing, but unfortunately after a nail biting, ultra-overtime tiebreaker they lost 3-2, meaning the Fusion went on.

And went on they did. Facing the London Spitfire in the semi-finals, the Fusion squad had a lot to prove. The first match made things look bleak, when London full held the Fusion to the first point on Gibraltar. The Fusion fired back with two full holds of their own, on Nepal then Hanamura. The fourth map — Kings Row — was a much closer match, though London’s point one capture at 29 seconds in is the fastest in Overwatch League to date. It was so fast it fits entirely within one Twitch clip. The final map played on Route 66 was much closer. The Fusion finished their assault with just over a minute in the time bank, and were able to hold London just before point three, make them the victors.

Watch Full Match | Stage 2 Final | Philadelphia Fusion vs. New York Excelsior from OverwatchLeague on www.twitch.tv

The final series between Philadelphia and New York ended up being an amazing matchup. This series began on the same map the previous series ended on, so Philadelphia came out hot, holding New York to a single point captured. They kept on swinging for map two on Lijiang Tower, putting the Fusion up 2-0 at the half. However, New York answered back with a full hold on Volskaya and just allowing the Fusion to cap point one on Hollywood. The tiebreaker was Gibralatar, which was the first map in the Fusion’s series with London. They did considerably better this time, but New York stopped them just at the last bend.

The esports action resumes next week on April 4th, just after the trade deadline closes. I’m mostly looking forward to seeing how the new additions to the Shanghai Dragons, including a new coach and Geguri — and I’m not the only one excited about the latter. The Dragons play against the Dallas Fuel in the first match of stage three, so they have an excellent opportunity to show their stuff.