Philadelphia Fusion backed into the final Overwatch League playoff spot last night after their two challengers, Houston Outlaws and Seoul Dynasty, failed to win the matches that would make Fusion’s bout against London Spitfire tonight meaningful in the overall playoff race.
That didn’t mean the match was meaningless, though. Thanks to Dallas Fuel’s 3-1 upset win over the Los Angeles Valiant last night, Fusion needed a clean 4-0 sweep to supplant Fuel in the stage four title matches. And while Fusion played some great Overwatch tonight, they couldn’t close out the sweep they needed to reach their second set of title matches.
Related: Seoul Dynasty’s loss cedes an OWL playoff spot to Philadelphia Fusion
Fusion won the first three maps against Spitfire tonight, showing that they didn’t need help to earn their season playoff spot. But the 3-1 win only boosted their stage four map differential to positive four, a map behind the Dallas Fuel, which means Fuel will compete in the stage four title matches.
That’s likely a bigger deal for Fuel than it is for Fusion. Philadelphia still have a chance to win the entire OWL in the playoffs in July, but Fuel have long been eliminated from the main playoffs. Reaching the stage four title matches, though, shows that the team has improved drastically over the course of an incredibly-disappointing season. In stage four, Fuel posted a 6-4 record, ranked fourth in the league. That’s quite an achievement for a side who put up a 6-24 score throughout the rest of the season—and it proves that the players on the Fuel roster are still capable of winning matches on the big OWL stage. Their win this week against Los Angeles Valiant, Valiant’s only loss in stage four, shows that, and also proves that Fuel’s current form is strong enough to not only compete in the title matches tomorrow, but to win them.
Fusion’s match tonight certainly gave Fuel a shock. Philadelphia was in control throughout most of the series, and things didn’t look different on the final map, Watchpoint: Gibraltar. London Spitfire looked dead in the water with only two players alive on the cart in overtime a few meters away from Fusion’s spawn and the position they needed to push it, but they somehow survived and eventually ground away Philadelphia to take the map and give Fuel their spot in the title games.
For Fusion, missing those title matches has to be disappointing, especially after coming so close, but they’ve already played in title matches in stage two. They have their sights set higher.
The Overwatch League playoffs will begin on July 11, with the quarterfinals and semifinals running through July 21 at the Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles. The finals are set for July 27 and 28 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Philadelphia played like a team capable of reaching New York tonight, essentially dominating one of their playoff opponents in London Spitfire. They may be the lowest-seeded team entering the playoffs, but they’re a dangerous foe capable of beating any of the teams above them—and they’ll look to prove that on the road to New York next month.
