This weekend is the Summer Showdooownnn (down... down... down...) and as we get into, let's cover these last few batches of games. I am specifically going to be recapping the NYXL, Fuel, and Spitfire in this article. In the video I have attached I discuss the whole weekend of games. So let's dig in!
1) NYXL vs Guangzhou Charge
Before we dig into the XL, let's say something about the Charge for a minute. They're good. They're really good, actually. But... I'm not convinced. They have been to Game 5 in three of their last four games. They are scraping by through some of these rounds, and easily could have lost them had a few plays not gone their way. You have to credit them for it though. The plays did go their way. I especially enjoy their use of Torbjorn along side Happy's Widowmarker. The playstyle really fits what the Charge want to do and Torbjorn actually deals with many meta picks fairly well.
Now for the NYXL. They lost to the Spark 3-2, beat the Spitfire 3-1, then lost to the Charge 3-2. I can't gauge this team. The Spark looked great in that game, but pretty rough in their next two showings. The Spitfire looked pretty good though, so that was a convincing win. The loss to the Charge is what really throws me. It feels like it's been so long since we have seen a convincing performance from New York against a top tier team.
The DPS duo needs to be figured out for this team. I think that can honestly fix a lot of the problems. Not necessarily that they can't mix it up because I think that is a key component of the evolution of the league as a whole, but figuring who and when could be key. Against the Spark and the Charge, it just seemed like they had to mix it up way more than they should to try to deal with the other team while their opponent's would stick with a core duo for most of the map.
Anubis was pretty rough. They should have had that map, and they really didn't compete in the final two maps. They failed to get a point on Blizzard World, and Charge took both points of Lijiang. This is only speculation, but the mixing of support characters could be a problem too. We know Jjonak is great, but perhaps trying to play around Moira, Zenyatta, Ana, and Baptiste is causing some of the disfunction in team play? I would like to see him play one hero more consistently and see how that goes, but of course, you can't do that "just to see." Something to think about though.
There were bright sides though. Haksal put up a decent series, at least on the Genji. He put up the highest Damage/10, and 4th best Dragonblade Efficiency out of 9 players this past week. There are still a few tweaks that need to be made all over this roster, but it can all be fixed with the guys already on the roster. One week from the Summer Showdown, I still have faith in the Excelsior.
2) Fuel vs Defiant
I was proud of this match from the Dallas Fuel. I actually tweeted after the loss to the Titans that I expected the Fuel to bounce back, and that they did. Overall, it was a solid match to show they weren't the cellar dwellers everyone is convinced they are. Doha actually had a monster day on the Genji with 25.95 Elim/10 minutes. Absolutely crazy performance from him.
The Paris Eternal will be a difficult test for them though. Especially with Spark1e on the other team. He was literally the only Genji this past week to post better numbers than Doha and Onigod might get outclassed by Xzi and Soon. To be reasonable, I don't think anyone favors the Fuel in this matchup, but I cannot wait to watch this series. The Fuel have pieces on their team they can believe in as they move forward as franchise and this win was big after all the Decay drama last weekend. Their road through the Summer Showdown might not be easy, but Eternal, and then the Reign if they win, could be a lot harder.
3) Spitfire Underrated
I wrote an article on this the other day, so check that out for a deeper look, but we need to give these guys some respect. They swept the Spark in a series that was probably closer than the score indicated, but a sweep nonetheless. This organization has the history of winning that fans respect, not only in Season 1, but in plenty of other esports titles. We should have had more faith in the beginning of the season.
The tank line has really come into their own and I think they are underrated. I don't think they are great, just underrated. The support line is solid as well for a team that completely rebuilt after this past season. My favorite part of this lineup is the DPS though. The duo of Although and Babel handled Godsb and Architect well on Lijiang Tower, and Glister showed why he was so hyped up this past offseason.
These guys are my dark horse candidate heading into the summer showdown, so watch out for them. They face a very beatable Seoul Dynasty, but would have to face the Dragons after that, which is a scary idea. The Spitfire are rolling though after two clean sweeps over their past three games. Keep an eye out for some upsets this Summer Showdown, and I can't wait to watch these teams!
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