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The Overwatch League Playoffs kick off with the Boston Uprising up taking on the Philadelphia Fusion for a chance to make it to the second week of Playoffs and maybe even onto the Grand Finals.
The Uprising (26-14) are third on the league ladder and second in the Atlantic division and they’re coming off some impressive victories after a shaky start to Stage 4.
Their first game rivals the Fusion may sit lower on the ladder in overall 6th place, but they can claim the last win between the two teams – a 3-1 victory over Boston back in Stage 4’s first week.
Where: Blizzard Arena, Los Angeles
When: Game 1: 10am (AEST), Thursday, July 12, Game 1/3*: 10:00am/12:00pm* (AEST), Saturday, July 14
How to Watch: Live on Twitch
* – if necessary
Stage 1, Week 5: Philadelphia 0-4 Boston
Stage 2, Week 1: Boston 0-4 Philadelphia
Stage 3, Week 1: Philadelphia 2-3 Boston
Stage 4, Week 1: Boston 1-3 Philadelphia
Overall: Boston Uprising 2, Philadelphia Fusion 2
The record of trading wins makes the matchup between the Boston Uprising and Philadelphia Fusion one of the hardest to call. With equal wins of similar strengths going to both teams across the season, this match is set to be one of the closest in the playoffs.
With significant shifts in the meta since the league began, it’s better to focus on the latter matches to try to get a handle on how these teams will fare.
The match in Stage 3 started out with a close game between Uprising and Fusion on Volskaya Industries. Boston has a stellar track record on this map and, unsurprisingly, ended up taking it out 2-1, which ended up setting the tone for the rest of the series. Both teams continued to trade mostly close wins, pushing the match into a tiebreaker which was eventually won by Boston in a fairly decisive 2-0 win on Oasis.
Stage 4 saw an almost complete flip of this same scenario, with the same trend of close maps but this time Philadelphia Fusion managing to ultimately come out on top. The Fusion were lucky enough to pull two of their stronger maps in this round, with strong showings on Hanamura and Lijiang Tower helping them secure the 3-1 win.
They can break the tie.
I’ve already predicted Boston to take home the first series in their matchup, but maybe lose the second, which ultimately puts this to a likely third match for the season – and this is the one Boston will need to win.
Ultimately, Boston is the stronger team, sitting higher on the ladder with a much stronger map differential of +28 compared to Philadelphia’s +13. Boston need to not only remember this but also play like it if they’re going to be able to take away the victory for this round.
It’s going to be up to Boston to break the tie and they’re by far the team with the stronger chops to do it. Holding out for the third game and rolling with the loss in the second match is their best strategy to overcome this matchup and move forward.
They can come back.
The Fusion may have won the last matchup but they will almost certainly lose the first playoff series against Boston. The maps swing heavily in the Uprising’s favour for this matchup, with Eichenwalde, Volskaya, and Junkertown all making appearances. They’re surely preparing hard for these battles in particula,r but it seems fair to expect a loss for this first series.
This means the Fusion will need to come back strong for their second set of games and this will take a good amount of mental fortitude. Even the pros can get tilted and it’s not uncommon to see a team get visibly downhearted after a big loss. Luckily, Philadelphia will have a couple of days between this first match to compose themselves for the next matchup.
As you’d expect with teams this evenly matched, Philly sees a bit of an advantage in maps they prefer for the second game, so if they can come in with cool heads they may be able to snowball this to a victory and make it to the next stage of the playoffs.
These teams are close when it comes to matching up against each other, but there’s a big difference in where they sit in the league.
Boston clearly have a more consistent track record and the ability to take this win further and be actual contenders for the finals. The Uprising are the clear winners when you look at the numbers and, unless the Fusion’s Jae-hyeok “Carpe” Lee shoulders can carry his whole team past this challenge, Boston have to be the ones to win it.
Boston 2, Philadelphia 1