New York Excelsior
2019-04-18 23:15:00
Philadelphia Fusion

New York Excelsior vs Philadelphia Fusion

2019-04-18 22:49:18Posted by Petar

What a spectacular way to start off the week. We have a clash for the ages to start out the day -- a fight between the New York Excelsior and Philadelphia Fusion. Whenever these two giants meet, fireworks are almost always guaranteed – regardless of the meta or state of the game.

Both teams are exceptional competitors, and much like all great teams, they play the best when they find themselves across someone equal in strength and potential. That’s when the magic happens – those insane matches determined by the slimmest margins, that almost always go the distance.

That said, both of these two teams are entering today’s clash with different amounts of hype and momentum. Perhaps above all, both teams are playing at completely different levels right now. On one hand, we have one of the best Overwatch teams that have ever stepped foot on the stage – the New York Excelsior. They’re downright exceptional right now, and they’re showing no signs of stopping. They’re – at worst – a top three team right now, and are adept and highly capable at anything that’s viable in the current meta.

There’s just no way around it – they’re absolute beasts in all facets of play.

They had two wins in week one (a 4-0 and a 3-0), along with two spectacular performances against the Washington Justice and the Florida Mayhem last week – both of which also ended in 4-0 fashion in favor of the boys in black and blue.

Talk about dominant.

They’re as strong and capable as everyone thought, and they have their eyes set on the playoffs. Any team on their path is just a negligible block in the road that has to be dealt with promptly.

Philadelphia Fusion, on the other hand, haven’t been playing that well in the second stage of the sophomore Overwatch League season. Far from it. They were only able to get two 3-1 win over the Florida Mayhem in week one, and that isn’t really anything worth praising. That was a given – something that was expected. Their second win came over the Toronto Defiant which, to be fair, is somewhat commendable. This win, in and of itself, tells us that they’re still highly capable, but they’re just not playing at a high enough level in order to take on the big dogs. They have the tools to compete with the best in the region, but when push comes to shove, they simply crumble and fail under pressure – for one reason or another.

Perhaps they’re the perfect Overwatch League gatekeepers – always better than the teams below them, always able to clutch things out when it matters the most (at least against mid-tier opposition), but just not good enough (not now at least) to take on teams like New York, Vancouver, and San Francisco.

This leaves them in a tough spot going forward, but they have a ton of innate talent, and they’re improving at a solid pace, so they should still be a dangerous adversary when the playoffs come around.

Finally, this is a repeat of the clash we saw in week one of the second stage. These two giants already fought each other just two weeks ago and it was the Excelsior that came ahead. Perhaps “ahead” is an understatement. It was a complete shellacking.

It wasn’t even remotely competitive, and that was strange seeing how both teams had the tools at their disposal to give us a match worthy of remembering. But the Excelsior had other plans. They came oout the gates swinging and completely obliterated the Fusion at will. They were able to outclass them across the board, and it was a huge statement -- the Excelsior want redemption for their stage one snafu, and they're willing to destroy anyone put in front of them in order to do so. It was an incredible clean 4-0 that was a spectacular sign of the things to come. Meko, in particular, was exceptional throughout the series and was rightfully awarded the "MVP of the Series" honors. He was able to set up incredible, advantageous fight for his team, he provided ample protection, and his many multi-kill D.Va self-destructs were absolutely mind-blowing. He makes every single opportunity count, and is invaluable for the New York Excelsior.

Will this series develop in a similar way? It’s never easy to tell, especially considering how Philadelphia always performs above expectations when you least expect them to. That said, New York want this win, they already know whom they’re up against, and they have the right tools to go for yet another 4-0 shellacking. In any case, make sure to tune in and watch because it surely won’t lack in top-tier Overwatch play.

GamePickBookmakerOddsStakeResult
New York Excelsior Betway 1.07 8 Win

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