RESULTS: New York Excelsior Reverse Sweep the Philadelphia Fusion

If the day didn’t already have enough action, the battle between the New York Excelsior and the Philadelphia Fusion certainly kept the fans glued to their seats, going the distance to become another five game extravaganza. Here’s a brief breakdown of the match.

The first map, Temple of Anubis, saw both teams put on quite a show. The Fusion had first attack, and they didn’t waste any time in their assault. After securing the first point, they quickly moved onto the second, rapidly securing that point as well to set a blistering pace. The attack from New York was equally as fast, as they too rapidly secured the first checkpoint before moving on to the second. Just as before, the defenders were caught completely out of position, as New York tied up the match and set up an overtime battle. The Fusion stepped up to the plate to attack once more, and were once again quick to hit the first point. With that area secured, they again moved to the second checkpoint, pushing New York out of the way to secure the area with plenty of time to spare. New York’s second attack did not prove as successful as their first in the end, with the team managing to secure the first point with great difficulty, before falling short on the second checkpoint. With Philadelphia’s defence proving too strong, they took an early lead in the series 1-0.

The second map, Numbani, proved to be quite difficult for New York. The Fusion took first attack, and after battling their way through the New York defence managed to secure the checkpoint and start the payload rolling. Despite New York’s best efforts, they were unable to stop Philadelphia from advancing the payload across the city, reaching the final checkpoint to give New York a hard target to aim for. The New York attack started sluggish, and though they were able to secure the payload, they were unable to advance the cart to the second checkpoint. After being stopped in their tracks twice, New York was on the brink of losing the series in the next map.

The third map, Ilios, was where New York started to turn things around. After a quick pounce from New York secured the first zone, Philadelphia was unable to retake the point, forced to watch from the sidelines as New York slowly captured the zone virtually uncontested. The second round was not quite as easy, with Philadelphia managing to get on the point for some time, however New York again proved too strong on the map, retaking the point and holding it long enough to secure the win.

The fourth map, Junkertown, was do-or-die for New York, needing to win the map to keep their hopes alive. Philadelphia once again had the first attack, and proved quite successful in their assault as they navigated the map. Pushing the payload right to the end, Philadelphia was able to complete the map entirely, though with only 20 seconds remaining on the clock. New York’s attack was very similar, as they too advanced the payload across the map. While it was a close call, they were also able to reach the end with just under a minute remaining, setting up more overtime between these two teams. With the Fusion again attacking first, they made their play to advance the cart through the first checkpoint. Unfortunately, Philadelphia would be blocked in their advance, never quite reaching the first point and now forced to aggressively defend against New York. New York came out of the gate swinging, only to be met with the full fury of the Fusion line-up. After a tense battle, New York finally prevailed as they eliminated most of the Fusion squad and freely walked the payload the required distance to tie up the series.

The fifth and final map, Oasis, would be the final showcase for both of these teams. Philadelphia came out hard and secured the first zone, holding New York at bay from multiple angles. After a tough fight, New York managed to force the Fusion off the point just as they were at 99%, however they themselves would be forced away at 49%, with the Fusion claiming the first round in the end. The second round went much better for New York, as they were easily able to secure the zone and start running up the score. Try as they might, the Fusion could not dislodge New York from their position, as the game came to a tie once again. The third and final round again went the way of New York, as they easily secured the zone and started the timer. The Fusion seemed lost as they tried to attack the zone, with New York holding down the key choke-points to prevent any kind of attack coming through. In the end, New York was able to keep the Fusion at bay long enough to claim the round, map, and series in an exciting reverse sweep.

For more Overwatch League action, check out the previous match recap between the Boston Uprising and the London Spitfire, and for more on when these teams will face off again, check out the Official Schedule page, here.