Week four of the OGN Apex League finished this morning and both matches were high pressure situations. For both Conbox T6 and Reunited, they were in must win situations in order to leave groups. Meanwhile, Lunatic-Hai and LW Blue were interested in winning their match to avoid three way ties in their group.
In case you missed any of today’s action we’ve got you covered with our in depth recap.
Conbox T6 vs. Lunatic-Hai
Today was an important match for both teams, but Conbox had more to prove. The squad captained by the ex-Fnatic LOL player Gamsu was coming into this match as the underdog. What made this matchup so interesting was that both teams in this series are famously known for their tank play, so this match was a matter of who could better fight fire with fire.
To kick off the final day of week four, the series began on Lijiang Tower Garden and was immediately an oddity. Before the point was even available for capture, Myunghoon of Conbox T6 had already built a dragonblade. But unfortunately for Conbox, their Zarya player got knocked off the map twice by Ryujehong’s Zarya. This meant the first three fights passed in Lunatic-Hai’s favor, meaning the point was 99 percent captured by Lunatic-Hai by the time they lost the point to the ultimate advantage of Conbox.
Conbox had to completely reverse sweep the map in order to win and incredibly they managed to do just that. The first retake attempt from Lunatic-Hai took too long and Conbox was able to respawn and keep control. In the final fight, Dean who was playing Ana for Lunatic-Hai, was picked off early and left his team at a Nano Boost disadvantage, so Conbox took the first point of Lijiang.
The second point of Night Market started off in much the same way. Lunatic-Hai took control initially and held the point off of a well placed Graviton Surge from Ryujehong. But once again, Conbox T6 managed to build up an ult advantage and swing the map back in their favor. However this time, Miro on his infamous Winston led Lunatic-Hai in the final retake attempt to close the second point in their favor.
It was down to the final point of Control Center to determine the map one winner. This time, Leetaejun showed off some excellent tracking skills on Tracer as he bullied the backline of Conbox in order to secure the point for Lunatic-Hai. Once in control, Miro pushed forward with Primal Rage to zone all of Conbox and secure more capture percentage for his team. But for the third time in the map, Conbox showed their discipline as they built an ultimate lead that they abused to retake the point.
In the last two fights, Esca nearly had heroic Deadeyes only to be shut down both times by Zunba’s Zarya. These clutch picks were critical in saving Conbox’s backline and allowed them to take the third point, and as such, the map, putting T6 at a 1-0 advantage in the series.
As is normal, the second map went to a hybrid map, this time Numbani. Lunatic-Hai began on offense and they struggled to push the point. On the first few attacks, they were caught off guard by the Mei of Myunghoon as he separated and trapped players with his Ice Wall. They continued to hold and the first glimpse we saw of Lunatic-Hai even having a chance was in overtime. But the ultimate advantage Conbox T6 had built meant that they were able to maintain control and full hold Lunatic-Hai on their own map pick.
It seemed that Conbox had all the answers for Lunatic-Hai and all they had to do was take a single point in order to win the map. But Miro wasn’t ready to roll over. He constantly was an absolute hero for Lunatic-Hai as he dove the backline and absorbed the focus from Conbox and created space for his teammates to work. The pressure he provided allowed Esca the free time to hit headshots left and right to bring the map to the first draw ever in Apex history.
The tiebreaker took place on Nepal Sanctum and, like every point of Lijiang earlier in the series, Lunatic-Hai found the early edge and was the first to capture the point. But this time, the story of the map was the McCree vs. McCree duels between Esca and Liz. They took turns picking each other off, but in the final fight, Esca found headshots on both supports of Conbox and Liz’s McCree and was more than enough for Lunatic-Hai to secure the point and tie the series 1-1.
All tied up, the series now headed to it’s Assault map, and this time it was Volskaya Industries. Lunatic-Hai began on offense and almost instantly found three picks that allowed them to crush through point A, taking right under 50 seconds to do so. In their first transition to point B, they were even on ultimates and were unable to finish the map.
However, Lunatic-Hai didn’t panic. They baited out ultimates from Conbox for a couple of minutes while they built their own. They were so far ahead that despite being caught in a five man Graviton Surge from Zunba, they were still able to crush the fight and grind out the second point capture. This meant that they were able to finish the map with 4:29 remaining, leaving them ample time if they needed to attack again.
When it came time for Conbox to attack, they were completely unable to deal with Miro’s Winston as he zoned out their supports and eliminated Myunghoon’s Genji. Despite eventually giving up the first point, Lunatic-Hai held for long enough that they ensured their advantage in the time bank. Conbox once again demonstrated their patience and understanding of the ultimate economy as they took a couple of engagements to draw out ultimates from Lunatic-Hai while building their own. Once they had all six of their ultimates charged, it became a simple matter to begin wiping out their foes and finish the map with 2:16 remaining, leaving them with over two minutes less time available for their second offense.
Conbox attacked immediately again and they went for a Bastion strategy where they tried to set him up on the high ground. They spent far too long in one spot and allowed for Leetaejun to flank Conbox on Roadhog and shred them with a Whole Hog. But they came back and Myunghoon on Genji managed to capture the first point, putting the pressure back onto Lunatic-Hai to capture a point or lose.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Esca was the one to break Conbox’s defense. He timed his Deadeye around the deflect from Myunghoon and picked off two players with just his ultimate, after which, he pursued the rest of Conbox and eliminated Gamsu’s Winston and TheHell’s Ana to secure Lunatic-Hai the first point, ensuring at least a tie.
And a tie was all it came to be. Lunatic-Hai seemed desperate to close the map in their favor and wasted a couple of ultimates so none of their engagements on the second point of Volskaya were at full strength. So for the second time in three maps, we had to go to a tie breaking round on Sanctum.
Esca continued his MVP performance as he found three kills in the initial fight to set Lunatic-Hai up in control of the point. Once again, the aggressive zoning from Miro’s Reinhardt was backed up by the Nano Boost and allowed him to force Conbox back until they were able to reverse the ultimate advantage in their favor. Some critical plays from Zunba’s Zarya allowed Conbox to swing the point back to a 99-99 tie. It took Esca flanking completely behind Conbox and forcing their supports and Zarya back for Lunatic-Hai to recapture the point. For the second time on the night, Lunatic-Hai just barely managed to take the tie breaker, putting them in a 2-1 lead.
The series moved forward onto its fourth map, this time to be Watchpoint Gibraltar. Lunatic-Hai started on defense and they were determined to hold much farther forward than standard. Leetaejun found nearly a dozen picks with Roadhog in order to stall out the incoming push until there was less than 30 seconds to take even just the first point. But Zunba decided he had enough.
Zunba is one of the best Zarya’s in the world, and he reminded us why, finding four multi-man Graviton Surges over the course of the map in order to secure fights for his team. Sometimes he was his own follow up as he just used his particle cannon charge to disintegrate everyone in his path.
Zunba led his team as they were able to make up for their poor initial attack and Conbox was able to very nearly complete the map. Due to the huge defender’s advantage on the final point of Gibraltar, they were unable to fully capture the map, but the impressive performance they put up placed the pressure onto the shoulders of Lunatic-Hai.
When it came time for Conbox to defend, they also chose to take an aggressive hold. They were even farther forward than Lunatic-Hai held, and they were punished for it. The strategy was unsuccessful and it allowed Lunatic-Hai a very quick point A. In order to stabilize, Conbox threw every ultimate they had available to them and they managed to win that single fight.
However, the very next engagement went sour, as Lunatic-Hai now had the advantage and pressed it, meaning that they finished the hangar phase with over four minutes remaining with a scant 73 meters to push for victory. They smartly conceded the one fight, not wasting any ultimates, only to return with more tools available to them to close the map and take the series 3-1.
Sadly for Conbox T6, their season is now over and they end with a 1-2 record, but they had such a strong showing this season that I have no doubts we will see them again. For Lunatic-Hai, however, they are now guaranteed a playoffs spot; all that has to be determined is their seeding in the group, which is dependent on their final match against Mighty Storm.
LW Blue vs. Reunited
Like the first series of the night, this was a do-or-die situation for one team involved, and a way to secure a playoff berth for another. In this case, it was Reunited who needed to win in order to keep up their chances of finding an entrance into the round of 16, but for LW Blue, this match was their chance to secure a spot in the playoffs.
For the second time tonight, the series kicked off on Lijiang Tower. The two teams met to do battle on Night Market, and immediately, Reunited took the advantage as they found an initial pick and used that pressure to secure a free capture on the point. It was going well until LW Blue hit a three man Big Bang combination that secured them the point. Once they were in control, their DPS players NoName on Reaper and Saebyeolbe on Tracer took turns finding triple kills in the subsequent team fights as they were set up by their tanks’ ultimates. It was a crushing hold, and gave LW Blue a 1-0 lead on Lijiang.
The map progressed to Control Center, and once again, Reunited took initial control. However this time, they were able to keep their hold as they punished the pushes from LW Blue with Graviton Surges and Earthshatters, which allowed them to hold until 97 percent, where an overwhelming ultimate advantage from LW allowed them to capture the point. They managed to combo their ultimates repeatedly to bring the map back to 99-97 in their favor, but an overtime push from Reunited managed to barely secure the point in their favor.
The first map was now all down to the third point of Garden, and for the first time, LW Blue was the team to capture the point first. This time, Saebyeolbe was determined to win and he took duel after duel against the members of Reunited, emerging victorious in each one. It was only off of a strong Beyblade combo from Morte’s Ana and Unfixed’s Reaper that finally secured the point in the favor of Reunited. Not to be outdone, NoName returned with his own Beyblade and wiped out Reunited to finish the map 2-1 for LW Blue, taking the series lead 1-0.
The second map went to Eichenwalde and LW Blue quickly established a strong defense, finding two clean team wipes in a row and building a significant ultimate advantage. But NoName on Mei had a positioning error and was punished for it. Without his Blizzard to defend the point, LW Blue was quickly forced to concede the initial section of the map.
In the streets phase, Vallutaja found his way behind all of LW Blue and found an instant pick that allowed Reunited to maintain their momentum that carried them through to inside the castle, at which point a Graviton Surge from Meko halted their push. Reunited returned immediately and won the following fights to finish the map due to some excellent ultimates from Winghaven’s Reinhardt and Unfixed’s Mei.
When it came time for LW Blue to attack, they also struggled to find any traction, until Reunited made a mistake. Vallutaja thought he could simply left click on his foes in a Graviton Surge, and as such, they didn’t kill enough players and lost the fight. LW Blue surged onto the point and looked like they were going to capture it, but a heroic reengage from Winghaven’s Reinhardt set up his team to begin clearing out the point and allowed them to get a full hold at the first point.
The series was now tied up 1-1 as we moved into the third map of Volskaya. LW Blue began on offense and took a methodical first point, finding picks and taking a slow push to secure the point. They quickly transitioned to point B, with three ultimates charged to zero.
Everything seemed set up for a record setting time until the push actually happened. They found only two kills with three ultimates, and took far too long to do so. This let Reunited spread out to avoid losses while finding kills of their own. The wasted fight meant Reunited was able to establish a solid hold and take almost three extra minutes from LW Blue’s time bank before they did eventually capture the point.
Now it was time for Reunited to make their attack and they were not nearly as successful at attacking the first point. The first engagement was a nearly two minute extended fight that they lost after bleeding kills. But because of how long the fight took, they managed to charge several ultimates that they immediately used to convincingly take the fight.
However, as is becoming standard, when the offense reached the second point, they were stalled out. NoName on Mei was crucial for stalling on the point with Ice Block and Ice Walls to give his allies time to join him. But it was Saebyeolbe who’s Tracer constantly found isolated players to pick off and delay Reunited. It came down to an overtime push in which WingHaven made some absolute hero plays, distracting the remaining players on LW Blue, which allowed Vallutaja on McCree to hit a Deadeye on two players to allow Reunited to finish the map.
However, LW Blue still had over four minutes to take just a single point to win the map, and Reunited had the tall task of holding. LW Blue made some poor ultimate decisions and committed multiple ultimates to deal with just the McCree of Vallutaja. They were unable to find any traction and Reunited was able to hold their defense strong and send us to a sudden death on Nepal: Sanctum.
In the sudden death, it was all about Unfixed and his Mei. He found headshots onto Saebyolbe’s Tracer multiple times, quickly removing him from the map. Unfixed was even able to place walls in front of his enemies to block them from finishing off his low health teammates. Reunited was able to take the point from 0-100 uncontested, giving them an incredible comeback victory. Going from barely capturing the second point in overtime, to a four minute hold to go to sudden death, to an uncontested win on that sudden death.
Reunited had the series momentum as we moved into the fourth map of Watchpoint: Gibraltar. LW Blue faced little resistance for the entire map as Saebyeolbe’s Reaper tore Reunited apart. It wasn’t until the very end of the map that Reunited even put up a fight, where after LW Blue had committed everything to a fight, they went for the finish. They emerged into an ult deficit and were unable to finish on that push. But they returned a couple of fights later with freshly charged ultimates to easily crush through Reunited’s defense after NoName’s McCree hit a four man Deadeye.
Reunited’s offense went very similarly to LW Blue’s, where they faced little resistance in the first two sections of the map; so little resistance that even the fact that OniGod and Unfixed completely wasting their ultimates on nothing went unpunished. LW Blue seems to have a choking problem and is critically unable to close out maps. As such, Reunited finished the map with over three minutes, where LW Blue only had 1:20 remaining in their time bank.
When LW Blue attacked for the second time, they took a methodical approach, but considering the time they had left, it was too slow of an approach. They won a single fight, but it wasn’t enough as Reunited was able to get back to the payload. LW Blue was so preoccupied with clearing the payload to at least finish the first point that they missed Vallutaja’s McCree channeling a Deadeye, a Deadeye that found a free triple kill to stop the push just short of entering the hangar.
Now it was LW Blue’s turn to defend, and because of how little Reunited had to push, they attempted a forward hold. But as so often happens on payload maps, a forward hold is punished when you get picked off, and you concede so much momentum. This meant that Reunited won Gibraltar and took the series 3-1.
Reunited has not yet secured their berth into the playoffs, and LW Blue isn’t yet eliminated, but the odds of both of these happening has increased dramatically due to the results of tonight’s matchup.
What was your favorite play of the night? Comment below or tweet your answer to us @GAMURScom.
GGs, Elbion
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