The New York Excelsior are quickly becoming the Goliath of the Overwatch League, taking down the Dallas Fuel in a tough fought 3-2 victory. Here’s a brief breakdown of the match.
The first map, Hanamura, saw New York taking the first attack. Though New York managed to secure the first point extremely quickly, they faced a much more difficult battle for the second point, securing it with only seconds remaining on the clock. Dallas also managed to secure the first checkpoint rather quickly before moving onto the second point. Dallas were able to secure the second point much faster than New York, giving them plenty of time heading into the overtime round. With overtime beginning, New York faced a difficult first round capture, only managing to do so in overtime. With scarce second remaining for their push onto the second point, New York found the crucial kills they needed to secure the second point. Dallas had the right of reply, starting their overtime attack with an ambitious push. The aggression worked well, granting them much more time to attack the second point than New York had. Unfortunately, Dallas stalled on their attack, and New York managed to hold on long enough to claim the first map win.
The second map, Lijiang Tower, went much better for the Dallas Fuel. They showed complete dominance over the first point, keeping New York from getting any capture percentage before wiping them out and claiming the point for themselves. The second checkpoint was much closer, with both teams getting a fair amount of time on the point. While New York came just second from securing the point, Dallas managed to hold out, and claimed the second map of the game.
The third map, Hollywood, was tightly fought battle for control of the chokepoints, as both teams showcased excellent flanking abilities. New York had the first attack, and were able to secure the payload and begin its journey. While Dallas tried their best to defend the area, New York were able to move the payload right through the map, completing the course in overtime. When it came for the Dallas attack, they found themselves able to secure the payload and start its journey, but were ultimately unable to complete it. The New York defence stalled Dallas before they could reach the final point, and no amount of pressure from Dallas was able to dislodge them. New York would ultimately claim the map and set up match point.
The fourth map, Watchpoint: Gibraltar, was a much closer match than before, with both teams struggling to find their way through the other teams defences. New York were able to push the payload through the first two checkpoints, but were blocked off by Dallas before they could reach the third. With Dallas now on attack, they needed to match the distance set by New York, or they would lose the series. Fortunately, though they had to do it in overtime, Dallas slogged their way through New York, to ultimately reach the required distance and set up a final round.
The fifth map, Ilios, was almost the inverse of the previous King of the Hill map. New York managed to keep Dallas at arm’s length for the first checkpoint, capturing it while keeping Dallas in the single digits. The second checkpoint was much closer, with both teams battling back and forth for control of the zone. While Dallas was able to reach 99% capture rate, they were unable to breach that final gap, and New York claimed the map, and the series.
New York has continued their dominant run, though Dallas certainly gave them some trouble today. For more Overwatch action, check out how the Houston Outlaws took down the Seoul Dynasty for the first series of the day, and to see when these teams are clashing again, check out the Official Schedule page, here.
