Fans and players alike expected the Atlanta Reign to start off strong in the 2023 Overwatch League playoffs, but instead, they faced two of the best DPS players in the world and crumbled to lose their first LAN match all season.
The Hangzhou Spark reverse swept the Atlanta Reign 3-2 today in the first match of the playoffs, sending them into an elimination match much earlier than many expected. The Atlanta Reign have been the Goliath of OWL in 2023, from their strength on paper to their performances both regionally and internationally. But both teams had to adjust to a new meta, and it was the Spark with better mid-match adaptations that won the series and got out ahead in Toronto.
Heading into this series, despite their talent, nobody expected the Spark to defeat the Reign. Atlanta won the Midseason Madness in 2023 without dropping a series, sweeping Hangzhou in that run. This time for the Spark, jet lag wasn’t even the biggest problem they faced, as they were only able to scrim against one NA team before their playoffs match against the Reign.
The Spark fought entirely on their understanding of the latest patch from Sept. 7, and it didn’t start off great. They kept map one close, though map two slipped through their fingers. Despite going down 2-0, they kept the mood up and believed in the comeback.
“I think in map one, the Control map, we fought them really close, 99 to 99,” Guxue said to the media in a post-match press conference. “Map two, we took four minutes just to get the first objective, which is why we didn’t get it. We didn’t do too well the first two maps, but we made some adjustments, and we just were able to defeat them.”
Those adjustments came in three waves, first with the tank role. Despite various changes that gave the tank player a tougher time on Winston, Guxue managed to adapt, mainly with swaps to Doomfist when he was getting focused too much.
“I think in this meta, Winston isn’t the ultimate choice for comps, because he can’t take as much damage,” Guxue said. “Instead, we use Doomfist due to his better chance of survival, and I’m equally confident on both heroes.”
The other two adjustments came from the DPS players, Leave and Shy. Spark began the series running Sombra, but they adapted to Tracer and Sojourn as the third map began. This gave the Spark flexibility for their Ana ultimate, able to give it to Shy for his Sojourn or for Guxue to stay alive and dive.
The Reign weren’t able to keep that duo contained, and the crowd erupted when the Spark completed the comeback on Route 66, much to the appreciation of Leave.
“We feel really excited because we know the Reign are a really strong team, and being able to reverse sweep them is a big accomplishment,” Leave said to the media. “Also, we feel extra excitement playing in a LAN because of our fans support, cheering for us.”
Underdogs are always going to get love from live crowds, and the Spark got that love when they completed the David vs. Goliath tale to start off the tournament today. Now, the Reign will have to win two matches in a row just to make it to the final day of the event if they still hope to lift their second trophy above their heads.
The Hangzhou Spark face the Dallas Fuel next, and Atlanta Reign face the loser of Boston and London, both on Sept. 29.
