Despite being one player down in their OGN Overwatch APEX match this morning, LW Blue has earned the third-place slot in the prestigious South Korean Overwatch tournament.
With Gye “r0ar” Chang Hoon standing in for LW Blue Reinhardt player Song “janus” Jun-hwa, who has been hospitalized for a collapsed lung, LW Blue played to their strengths as a dive-heavy roster—and as it turns out, that’s exactly Meta Athena’s weakness.
Fresh off a loss against Lunatic-Hai in the Overwatch APEX semifinals on March 28, Meta Athena looked worn down in the third place decider’s match. But it wasn’t their individual skill that was Meta Athena’s problem: Kim “Libero” Hye Sung and Choi “Kris” Jun Soo both played exceptionally well on Mei and Lúcio, respectively, during their Temple of Anubis defensive hold.
Zipping around Anubis’ columns, Lúcio player Kris managed to hold the capture point into an extended overtime, allowing Meta Athena to get back to the point multiple times to mount another defense. Libero, similarly, stubbornly held onto the point, planting his ice-blocked Mei in LW Blue’s path just when it looked like they might be able to capture the point. But the stalls weren’t enough: LW Blue would eventually capture Anubis.
Whether it was broken confidence or LW Blue ripping apart Meta Athena’s plans—or both—the team lacked the coordinated and creative strategies that got them so far in the tournament.
Though Meta Athena was able to take the first map, Oasis, the young team was unable to use that momentum to push them forward through the third-place match. LW Blue went on to take Numbani, Temple of Anubis, and Route 66 to earn the third place slot in the Overwatch APEX season two.
Overwatch APEX’s grand finals will determine the season two champion on April 8, when Lunatic-Hai and RunAway face off in South Korea.
