RESULTS: Philadelphia Fusion Overcome the Shanghai Dragons 3-2

Determined not to be the first casualties of the Shanghai Dragons, the Philadelphia Fusion pulled out all stops in their tough and prolonged battle here today. Here’s a brief breakdown of the series.

The first map, Temple of Anubis, was a tough battle for both teams. Shanghai took their attack first, and though they were able to overcome the defences of Philadelphia on the first point, they could not carry this momentum to the second, falling short of their intended goal. The Fusion’s offense faced a similar struggle, only overcoming the Shanghai defence with great effort. They were ultimately able to secure the first point however, and managed to narrowly capture the required percentage on the second to claim the map victory.

The second map, Blizzard World, was another close contest as both teams stepped up their offence and defence. Shanghai took first attack once more, and showed their offensive strength by securing the first checkpoint after a tough battle. With the payload now moving, the Fusion did their best to prevent Shanghai from advancing, however they were unable to do more than slow down their push, which eventually reached the end of the course with some time to spare. The Philadelphia assault was likewise successful in capturing the point and moving the payload, however they were only able to reach the end of the course in overtime, leaving Shanghai with another chance to win the map. The second assault from Shanghai was faced with another tough slog, however they were ultimately able to use the little time they had to spare to push the Fusion off the point and capture the required amount to claim a map victory.

The third map, Nepal, was an extremely close battle once more. Philadelphia came out swinging and won the first round, however Shanghai were able to accumulate 93% capture with the time they had. The second round went to Shanghai, after they managed to keep the Fusion down to just 43% overall. The final round was once more a Philadelphia victory, though it was a narrow one with Shanghai locking in 99% and threatening to win the round themselves.

The fourth map, Junkertown, was a blow-out in favour of the Shanghai Dragons. Showing their practice on the map, the Dragons managed to advance the payload across the entire course, defeating the Fusion time after time. The Shanghai Dragons managed to reach the end with time to spare, again setting themselves up for potential overtime. The attack from the Philadelphia Fusion was nowhere near as successful, finding themselves blocked from reaching even the first checkpoint by the strong Shanghai defence. With the score tied 2-2, both teams would have one final battle to determine the winner of this series.

The fifth and final map, Oasis, was another blow-out match, though this time in the favour of Philadelphia. Shanghai could not get any time on the point before the Fusion secured it and began their defensive hold. Despite everything, Shanghai could not dislodge the defenders in either round, with Philadelphia claiming a complete victory in both round to end the series and keep themselves in the playoffs hunt.

For more Overwatch League action, check out the match recap from the previous series, here, and for more on how the teams are sitting on the ladder, check out the Official Standings page, here.