Field Level Media
29 Jun 2020, 09:10 GMT+10
The final day of qualifiers for the Overwatch League's Summer Showdown saw several top teams jostle for playoff seeding, while each region's respective May Melee champions dominated in a show of power that made statements before the final tournament of the year.
With the top half of the overallstandings shaking up, and with no hero bans present, Sunday's Week 21 action might be a Summer Showdown preview.
The weekend's marquee matchup was a clash of North America titans, as the third-ranked San Francisco Shock dominated the second-ranked Philadelphia Fusion (15-2) in a clinical 3-0 sweep.
It wasn't just that the Shock (14-2) took wins of 2-0 on Ilios, 2-1 on Hanamura and 3-2 on Rialto that made this series impressive. It was the way the Shock did it. San Francisco was in complete control of this series from the start, not giving up a single final blow on Ilios.
While the Fusion (15-2) would eventually get on the board with some kills, the reigning May Melee champs were too much for Philadelphia to handle.
In other Sunday action, the league-leading Shanghai Dragons picked up a convincing 3-0 sweep over the previously ninth-ranked Hangzhou Spark. The Dragons (18-2), like the Shock, were simply too overwhelming for the Spark (7-10) to deal with.
With superior mechanical skills and tactics, Shanghai took wins of 2-0 on Oasis, 4-3 on Volskaya Industries and 3-1 on Junkertown to continue their domination of the Asian region.
The Guangzhou Charge leapfrogged the New York Excelsior with a 3-2 win in overtime, knocking the Excelsior down to fifth and rising to fourth in the overall standings. Things were even heading into the half at 1-1, with New York (12-5) taking Nepal 2-0 followed by Guangzhou (13-6) taking Temple of Anubis 3-2.
The Excelsior were poised to wrap the series up after a 4-3 win on Watchpoint: Gibraltar, but the Charge battled back in what has become a common characteristic. The Charge full-held Blizzard World 1-0 and finished off the series comeback with a 2-0 win on Lijiang Tower.
The Paris Eternal picked up a big win against a surging Los Angeles Valiant, taking a 3-1 series victory, cementing themselves at seventh in the overall standings. The Eternal (9-6) seemed much more comfortable with superstar rookie DPS Yeong-han "SP9RK1E" Kim in the lineup, especially with his signature hero pick, Genji, receiving buffs recently. SP9RK1E was the catalyst for Paris' firepower regardless of who was his fellow DPS.
SP9RK1E shined in Paris' 2-1 win on Nepal and in a 2-1 win in Hanamura. When SP9RK1E got subbed out on Junkertown, the Valiant seized the chance and took the map 3-2. On Hollywood, though, Los Angeles (8-7) was unable to hold a returning SP9RK1E off as the Eternal took the map 3-1 to secure the series win.
In other North American action, the Atlanta Reign (7-6) ended the Vancouver Titans' (4-8) two-game winning streak in a 3-0 sweep. Despite the loss for the Titans, both teams earned byes to the Summer Showdown quarterfinals with their performance over the last few weeks.
Atlanta enters the tournament as the No. 2 seed, while Vancouver holds the No. 4 seed. The Reign made quick work of the Titans with a 2-1 win on Oasis, a 2-1 win on Hanamura and a 3-0 shutout on Watchpoint: Gibraltar.
In the Asia region, the Seoul Dynasty (7-7) snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over the Chengdu Hunters (4-14). The win gives Seoul the No. 5 seed in the upcoming Summer Showdown, while pinning Chengdu into the No. 7 seed with a first-round matchup against the Guangzhou Charge. The Dynasty took Busan 2-0, Temple of Anubis 2-1 and dominated Watchpoint: Gibraltar 3-0 to secure the shutout.
The Summer Showdown qualifier for the No. 12 seed in the North America region went to the Washington Justice in a 3-1 victory over the Boston Uprising. The Justice (3-13) secured a first-round matchup against the Los Angeles Gladiators (6-6), while Boston will not advance.
The Uprising (2-13) struck first with a 2-1 win on Busan, but then the Justice took over, rattling off wins of 5-4 on Hollywood, 3-2 on Temple of Anubis and 2-1 on Rialto to win the series and advance in the tournament.
Week 22 of the Overwatch League and the beginning of the Summer Showdown starts on Friday with four matches:
Los Angeles Valiant vs Toronto Defiant
Los Angeles Gladiators vs Washington Justice
Florida Mayhem vs Houston Outlaws
Paris Eternal vs Dallas Fuel
Overwatch League Season 3 standings, with match record (W-L), map record (W-L-T) and map differential:
1. (Pacific East) Shanghai Dragons, 18-2, 47-12-1, 35
2. (Atlantic South) Philadelphia Fusion, 15-2, 44-17-0, 27
3. (Pacific West) San Francisco Shock, 14-2, 35-11-2, 24
4. (Pacific East) Guangzhou Charge, 13-6, 38-34-0, 4
5. (Atlantic North) New York Excelsior, 12-5, 41-20-2, 21
6. (Atlantic South) Florida Mayhem, 11-5, 30-20-0, 10
7. (Atlantic North) Paris Eternal, 9-6, 32-27-0, 5
8. (Pacific West) Los Angeles Valiant, 8-7, 27-28-0, -1
9. (Atlantic South) Atlanta Reign, 7-6, 27-18-0, 9
10. (Pacific East) Seoul Dynasty, 7-7, 18-23-1, -5
11. (Pacific East) Hangzhou Spark, 7-10, 27-37-2, -10
12. (Pacific West) Los Angeles Gladiators, 6-6, 24-24-4, 0
13. (Atlantic North) London Spitfire, 6-7, 21-27-0, -6
14. (Atlantic South) Houston Outlaws, 6-11, 27-38-3, -11
15. (Pacific West) Dallas Fuel, 5-8, 21-28-0, -7
16. (Atlantic North) Toronto Defiant, 5-10, 25-34-0, -9
17. (Pacific West) Vancouver Titans, 4-8, 14-26-0, -12
18. (Pacific East) Chengdu Hunters, 4-14, 24-43-1, -19
19. (Atlantic South) Washington Justice, 3-13, 17-41-1, -24
20. (Atlantic North) Boston Uprising, 2-13, 12-43-3, -31
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