The third week of OGN’s Apex Overwatch league began tonight with one predictable match and one exciting one. In case you missed any of today’s action, we’ve got you covered with our recap.
Kongdoo Uncia vs. MVP Space
Both Kongdoo Uncia and MVP Space played their debut series against BK Stars, and both teams lost. However, while MVP Space was thrashed by BK, Kongdoo Uncia fought through five games, only to lose in incredibly close fashion. So coming into this match, Kongdoo Uncia was the clear favorites.
As usual, the series kicked off on the king of the hill map of Nepal, and on the initial point of Village, it was a perfect hold from Kongdoo Uncia. They held the point without losing control once or having a single player fall, and it was in large part thanks to the excellent Reinhardt play of Panker. As we here at GAMURS discussed after his debut, he’s an amazing offensive Reinhardt player and it showed, as he picked up several double kills and hit a heroic six-man Earthshatter.
The second point of Shrine was much of the same. MVP Space at least managed to capture the point this time, getting to 90 percent capture. But they lacked closing power as Kongdoo Uncia leveraged their ultimate advantage and Birdring’s Reaper to take Nepal in a dominant 2-0, putting the series at 1-0.
For MVP Space’s hybrid map choice, they selected King’s Row, but it was fated to be no stronger of a map than Nepal. They were disjointed, and didn’t work together. They consciously took 5v6 fights and never dealt with Birdring’s McCree on the high ground above point A. Despite having ultimate advantage a few times, they never succeeded in taking the initial point.
When it came time for Kongdoo Uncia to attack, they had one extended push that was stalled until Birdring charged his Dragonblade on Genji. It was at that point that he tore through the backline of MVP Space, allowing his team to capture the first point and win the map, putting the series at a 2-0 scoreline after less than 20 minutes of game time.
With MVP Space looking for their first map win in the tournament, the teams took to Volskaya Industries for map three. Initially, the opening looked strong for MVP, as they maneuvered themselves into control of the high ground. But once they were in control, MVP failed to decisively pull the trigger, giving momentum back to Kongdoo Uncia, leading to their failure to take even a single point.
Kongdoo Uncia used a strategy very similar to that of MVP Space, taking the high ground, but unlike MVP, they pulled the trigger. Easily taking the first fight, they closed out the map just seconds into their assault. So 50 minutes after the broadcast began, Kongdoo defeated MVP 3-0, including breaks and introductions, in the most dominant series we’ve seen so far in the Apex league.
Conbox T6 vs. Team EnVyUs
Similar to our last series, both Conbox T6 and EnVy (nV) debuted against the same team, Mighty Storm. But, in our last series, both teams lost their first match. This time, both Conbox and nV easily swept Mighty Storm in dominant fashion. So this match was anticipated to be much closer.
As is quickly becoming the standard, we began on Nepal: Village. The start was a mixed bag for nV, as Talespin eliminated both enemy DPS players with some swift Mei icicles. But nV simply didn’t capture the point and wasted a significant amount of time. It was an insignificant error as their obvious coordination allowed them to outclass Conbox to control the map, taking a 1-0 lead on Nepal.
The second point of Nepal was Sanctum, and once again, an initial pick from Talespin, this time on Roadhog, was snowballed into map dominance. Conbox seemed unable to find any traction as nV chained their abilities together to consistently defeat the incoming assaults. As such, nV took Nepal in a clean 2-0.
Heading into the hybrid map, it seemed like Conbox T6 was looking for a wildcard, and as such, they chose Eichenwalde. They were obviously ready to play this relatively unpopular map, and they had some creative angles ready to hold and attack from. However, the dive composition nV brought was able to make strong pushes, streaming forward and finishing the map with 1:12 remaining.
Conbox T6’s offense was not as confident, as Taimou’s Roadhog dismantled their point A offense time and time again. Only in overtime was Conbox able to succeed, barely taking the first point. In the streets phase, it was still Taimou being the carry force for nV, this time on his McCree. But this time, Conbox was more decisive and they used an excellent Big Bang combination to snag four kills and find enough momentum to enter the castle.
But a key shut down onto Myunghoon’s Genji by Cocco on Reinhardt in the castle meant that nV was able to take back the ultimate advantage and prevent T6 from finishing the map. As such, nV took the map, and put themselves up 2-0 in the series.
For the second time on the night, the assault map was Volskaya and all the pressure was on Conbox to stay afloat in the series. But immediately, nV showed they had other ideas, showcasing their famous versatility. Harryhook went off his standard Lucio and reminded us that he’s also a world class hitscan player and picked up Tracer, leaving the Lucio to Cocco. Taimou, however, opened up on Widowmaker with an instant headshot and removal of Myunghoon’s Genji, leading to a simple point A capture.
nV hit a wall at point B, stalled out for several minutes as they were unable to find any lasting kills. They eventually switched back to their standard roles, but it was too late. They had given up so much ultimate charge and Conbox had the tools they needed to continue their hold. As such, nV only captured a single point on their attack.
Conbox seemed to wake up after their taste of success. They punished Cocco’s mistaken suicide and surged forward to take point A. Then, Conbox quickly transitioned to assaulting point B and immediately began capturing the point. nV desperately transitioned to stall heroes like Dva, even a Tracer on their Ana player Chipshajen. But it wasn’t enough and Conbox took a strong victory to bring the series to a 2-1.
Conbox T6 had taken some momentum back, but they weren’t out of the woods yet. They still had to win both remaining maps, while nV only needed a single win. For the payload map of the series, we went to Dorado. Talespin went onto his signature Pharah and, despite a slow start, began to hit his stride in the streets phase. Conbox didn’t pick up a McCree until the final stage of the map, which finally stalled out nV. But a switch to Tracer from Talespin and McCree from Taimou let them close out the map in overtime.
The pressure was put onto Conbox, as they had to complete the map with enough time remaining to attack a second time in order to stay afloat. But they showed the pressure hadn’t scared them as they blitzed through the first point. Some key picks from nV onto Gamsu allowed them to stall the payload under the bridge for a few minutes. But, it was not a full hold and T6 pushed into the final section of the map with just over two minutes to close.
Conbox used their ultimates in combination to very nearly close out the map. But some heroic Sleep Darts from Chipshajen on Ana shut down Myunghoon’s Reaper and let nV stop the payload just feet from the end. With just enough time leftover for another attack, T6 returned. But an excellent Graviton Surge into Pulse Bomb and Death Blossom from nV shut it down, resulting in a win for the NA squad. As such, nV took the series in a 3-1.
Who impressed you the most in today’s matches? Comment below or tweet your answer to us @GAMURScom.
GGs, Elbion
Follow the Author: @tuffsj
