London to Face Tonight’s Winner in New York
In an exciting three map match last night the London Spitfire defeated the Los Angeles Valiant 3-0. Having already defeated the Valiant earlier in the week the Spitfire will be advancing to the the Grand Finals. The Spitfire were in top form last night. Even on their worst map they were able to dismantle the Valiant. The Valiant, whose only map win against London came on Wednesday looked completely unprepared for what the Spitfire had for them. Though the 3-0 final score looks one-sided, that score is slightly misleading as each map was very close. The Valiant did not make it easy for the Spitfire, even forcing the second round on Eichenwalde, the third and final map.
Fans will remember that the London Spitfire playoff run began last week with their defeat of the other LA team. Despite the Great Bamboozle and a first match win for the Gladiators the Spitfire came back strong to win both of Saturdays’ maps. Having fought both the of the Los Angeles teams and emerged victorious there can be no doubt. This is not the struggling London Spitfire that we had seen the last few stages. No this is a team that has the strats and skill to go all the way to the top.
The Grand Final Awaits
London is going to have their work cut out for them. The two teams they could face in New York are both very scary. The New York Excelsior is the number one seed, and for good reason. They had not only the best regular season record, not only the most stage championships, but also the league MVP on their team. To top it off, most of the South Korean roster for the Overwatch World Cup is the NYXL. They have been the best team in the league for nearly the entire season. By far.
They may not be the Spitfires’ opponent though. As of Wednesday the Philadelphia Fusion has a game up over them. Just like the Spitfire last night the Fusion need just three maps to, as the desk put it, “punch their ticket” for New York and deny the NYXL a game in front of the home crowd. Historically this has been the most inconsistent team in the league. When they stumble, they get destroyed, but when they’re in the zone nothing can stop them. Philadelphia has been in the zone lately, bringing out the right comp for each situation along with the technical prowess to back it up. Though unthinkable before, it’s very possible for them to get onto the stage next week.
The Grand Finals are being held in New York City and kick off on Friday July 27 at 4 PM PST. Who do you think the Spitfire will face there?
