The Spitfire's previous two matches against top rated teams ended in heartbreak after falling 3-0 to the Dragons and 3-1 to the NYXL. Frankly, it wasn't a very flattering look, but a clean sweep against the Hunters in between those matches showed that London still has some firepower. Coming into this season, after completely restructuring the team, many people had doubts about the players being brought in. For just one minute, I want to point out that Spitfire is owned by Cloud9 who have had an extremely competitive team in a wide variety of Esports, including League of Legends and Rocket League. These guys know how to build a team, we should have had more faith.
Now to this current week's match, coming against the Spark, I was even down against the Spitfire. Not that I don't like them or think they are a solid team, I just thought the Spark had finally hit that next tier of play with new players QOQ, M1ka, and Architect really bringing the heat. The Spark even upset the NYXL, a team the Spitfire sputtered against recently, as well as giving the Charge a run for their money in Game 5.
The Spitfire outclassed the Spark on every level though, but keep in mind how close of a game it was. The Spark had quickly been touted as one of the Top 4, if not Top 2, in APAC after just a few weeks of changing things around, and they showed why. Every map, despite it being a sweep, came down to a few massive plays from the Spitfire. I thought Although was the key performer for the Spitfire if I had to pick just one, as he really limited Godsb and Architect from dominating the field like they did against the NYXL. But, this wasn't a one-man effort. The tank line and support line played solid Overwatch over their opponents. I can't wait to dive in after all of the matches this week to take a deep look at the tank and support performances as the Spitfire's players definitely don't have the same reputation, but have proved they can compete.
It's a rough path ahead of the Spitfire though, as the APAC is still dominated by teams like the Dragons, NYXL, and Charge, and I believe a rematch against the Spark would be a lot closer. Their record of 6-7 isn't convincing, and they remain only a match or two away from falling deep in the standings. On the same note, though, if they perform like they did against the Spark, they are only a few weeks from climbing high in the standings. This team has the foundation to begin looking for a return to their Season 1 glory. It might not be this year, but keep an eye out as these players progress. They might not have the most dominant record but have shown competency, even proficiency, on all three lines of the lineup. The Summer Showdown could be a proving ground for these underdogs as they look to prove they belong in the top half of the league.
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