Moments after the SF Shock defeated the Hangzhou Spark to advance to the Finals, Overwatch fans finally got to witness what some said should have been the Stage 1 Grand Finals matchup between Vancouver and New York.
Just when the Overwatch League fandom was getting back to a place where they could believe in the New York Excelsior, they fall in just 5 games to the Vancouver Titans. Sure, there were some moments where the NYXL could have stolen more than just the one map from the Bumper-led Titans of the Overwatch League, but in the end it all rounded the corner of expectation and Vancouver sent the big apple squad home.
A game against a worthy opponent is always an honor.
— Vancouver Titans (@VancouverTitans) May 11, 2019
GG New York.
By now, though, the Titans faithful have gotten used to the idea that Vancouver is an impossible-to-beat team will almost always give their opponent hope before booping them straight into obscurity. Inarguably, the Titans had the harder matchup in the Semis, but in the end they were able to instill faith and take the series fairly convincingly.
“At the beginning of the match the NYXL were focusing me, and we were having a hard time. But after they came back from Half-Time, they weren’t focusing on the Rein any more,” said Titans’ main-tank Bumper in his post-game interview.
It was that shift in focus that really let Bumper take over the team fights which would lift the Titans over the Excelsior in almost every single occasion.
Some things stuck out as concerning though, like Vancouver's continual lack of commitment on payload maps, which has been their most slippery slope throughout all of Stage 2 thus far. However, the scoreline always winds up in their favor so it’s hard to get too worried about it.
In a tweet after the match, Vancouver’s Jjanu said that he was feeling really bad today, and that’s why he didn’t play all that great. “I have not slept well today and my stomach hurt so badly. I did not get to eat because of the hurried schedule, so I came to the stadium and played usual. It was not even better. Tomorrow we will be in good condition,” he wrote.
Championship Sunday is right around the corner, and these sick (in both the good and bad way) Titans will have to go up against a San Francisco Shock team that has only dropped a single map in their last 35.
Considering this tirelessly savage and aggressive SF Shock team began their tear after the Vancouver Titans beat them in the Stage 1 Finals, it’s kind of all their fault.
Will the Titans be able to slay the beast that they created?
