Overwatch League Grand Finals Coverage Hub: Schedules, Results, And Recaps
The Overwatch League Grand Finals weekend kicks off on Thursday, October 8, and pits the world's four best OWL teams from around the world against each other for the title.
Playing for a total of $4,000,000 (~£3,100,000) with the winning team receiving $1,500,000 (£1,150,000), there are four teams remaining in the competition. The San Francisco Shock are the first seed from the North American division with Philadelphia Fusion coming in second. On the Asian region's side, the Shanghai Dragons grabbed the first seed and with the Seoul Dynasty sneaking into the final four as Asia's second seed.
With the seeds determined by the first playoff rounds, the Grand Finals week will be played in a double-elimination first to three format, with only the Grand Final being a first to four. For those unfamiliar with the "first to" format, it essentially comes down to a best of X series, but since Overwatch maps can be drawn, the League decided that these drawn maps wouldn't count towards the series' total.
PRE-COVERAGE
Want to get the edge on the upcoming matches? Check out our features on all four teams.
-
All of these teams have worked hard to get here. Who has the edge?
-
Who could win it all, and why? And who will be the MVP of the Finals?
-
Why the SF Shock are more than capable of bringing home the trophy again.
-
The teams that fell short of their potential for reaching the OWL 2020 Grand Finals.
Check out the everything you need below, including all the info on schedules, game recaps, and more!
Click the links to jump to the recaps and results for that game!
DAY 1 - THURSDAY OCTOBER 8 (Winners Bracket - Semi-Finals)
12pm BST / 7am EST - Seoul Dynasty VS San Francisco Shock
2pm BST / 7am EST - Philadephia Fusion VS Shanghai Dragons
DAY 2 - FRIDAY OCTOBER 9 (Winners Bracket Final + Losers Bracket Semi-Final + Losers Bracket Final)
10am BST / 5am EST - San Francisco Shock VS Shanghai Dragons
12pm BST / 7am EST - Seoul Dynasty VS Philadephia Fusion
2pm BST / 9am EST - Seoul Dynasty VS Shanghai Dragons
DAY 3 - SATURDAY OCTOBER 10 (Grand Final)
2pm BST / 9am EST - Seoul Dynasty VS San Francisco Shock
Seoul Dynasty vs San Francisco Shock (Rewatch Recommendation: )
Map 1 (Oasis): On Gardens, we are seeing the usual Ashe comps but with Seoul going Hanzo while Striker is on Tracer. Also just as yesterday, Shock counts on Zenyatta instead of Ana and Ball instead of Sigma. An early fight drags incredibly long despite Smurf dying but Seoul can eventually get point control. Off to a good start with a kill on Super, Shock do Shock things and bring the fight back from the brink and charge up to 78%. While Seoul gets control of the point once more and get it to 99%, Shock wins the next fight and has too many ultimate for Seoul to come back into the map.
Rolling out on the same comps just with Viol2t on Baptiste, with which they win the first fight and first 50% with. While it looks like the Shock are losing the second extremely long drawn out fight, as Marve1's shield breaks, he and Creative are open to Ans and with nobody contesting, the Shock bring it back once more, taking Control in a clean fashion and go up 1-0.
Former coach of the Toronto Defiant Matthew "Optidox" Sims: "On Oasis, Shock marked Gesture constantly with at least one of their tanks to deny flank pressure and refused to give Fits and Profit neutral 1v1s, instead relying on fast collapses mid-fight."
Assistant coach of the Houston Outlaws Chris "Dream" Myrick: "The Super/Smurf combo for Shock was insane, Super being able to hold the frontline vs Hog Sigma while his team got dives off is just too much pressure for Seoul to handle."
Map 2 (King's Row): Shock start their attack with a genius Symmetra rotate that completely catches Seoul off guard as they promptly lose the point. A bunch of questionable positioning lead to an incredible timebank leading into King's row Point C. Profit keeps them in the game on the last point, repeatedly finding high impact kills. Finally with a large ultimate advantage Shock can push cart in with 1:17 on the clock. Seoul averted the worst.
On Seoul's attack, their first two attacks turn into big duds with the DPS failing to hit their shots in crucial moments. Finally Gesture has a refuse to lose moment in overtime on the point and kills three, finally capping it for Seoul. In streets, Profit finally finds crucial kills with Gesture running a ridiculous flank through the subway that somehow works out. Throughout the map, objective play remained forgotten by Seoul, regularly favouring fight positioning over cart time.
Former coach of the Toronto Defiant Matthew "Optidox" Sims: "King's Row came down to Seoul focusing more on the fight than the cart and both teams focusing more on flanking than flanking well."
Assistant coach of the Houston Outlaws Chris "Dream" Myrick: "SFs tanks, backed up by the best Zenyatta on the planet, are just dominating the frontline and space control battle. Profit and Fits have to transcend if they want to win this series."
Map 3 (Hanamura): Seoul on their attack go for a Symmetra rooftop teleport play that fails and burns a lot of their timebank but eventually they can bring it back and cap. On their first attack on point B, the Hanzo/Mercy duos fight on left side while Gesture flanks into right side spawn. Getting nearly two ticks, eventual Shock crushes Dynasty's attack. Next fight, Seoul finds two sweet picks but Shock once again play positions which allow their individual skill to shine through but sacrifice another point tick. As the third fight to point B goes the same way, it only makes sense that Shock eventually given us point with 11 seconds left.
Counting on D.Va ball probably anticipating the Pharah, the first fight once again draws out for a long time with the Dynasty winning it but the Shock immediately re-engaging in their usual aggressive ways, eventually capping and replenishing their time bank to four minutes going into point B. Dynasty had to commit a bunch of ultimate for their first fight defence and they are on the back foot for the second point. However, it's all Gesture once again monstering the next two fights, converting the resources pumped into him into pure gold. On the last attack, Profit contributes huge picks and the Dynasty make it a series.
Former coach of the Toronto Defiant Matthew "Optidox" Sims: "Shock is playing a genius, controlling style that relies on not putting their tanks (especially Super's Roadhog) in spots where they can be hooked, bio-naded, and killed early on in the fight. Unfortunately, the open nature of Assault maps means that to accomplish this on defense, they couldn't contest objective and on attack, it simply wasn't possible at all to avoid hard chokes."
Assistant coach of the Houston Outlaws Chris "Dream" Myrick: "Hanamura 2nd point attack has good sightlines for Zen if they can get point control, but Seoul controlled the choke too well."
Map 4 (Gibraltar): On Seoul's attack, it takes the South Korean team three minutes to get their card close to point and while it looks like the Dynasty are winning the fight for point, Shock has one of their signature miracle fight comebacks. Finally after isolating Viol2t, Seoul can grab point A slowly but surely and more so than just capping, they also get an important kill on Striker which allows them to put hard into second and getting it almost uncontested. Into third, Seoul is pounding Shock once again. Only a big Flux can help Super kill Gesture and Shock can put a stop to the Dynasty train. With a huge pick on Choi, Gesture can use his ultimate to push Shock out and take the point with 18 seconds left.
Profit pulls out the Genji and charges Dragon Blade incredibly quickly in the first fight, nanoblading the second and winning it with relative ease while forcing out Transcendence out of Viol2t. On the last fight, Profit looks to be deciding it with another Nanoblade but he gets blown up immediately and while this looks like a huge waste, Seoul still takes the fight with Gesture getting a pick and Fits turning it on. The series is tied up at 2-2.
Former coach of the Toronto Defiant Matthew "Optidox" Sims: "Shock is still having massive issues in situations where the map requires them to force an engage. The good news for them is that control is next and their style is nearly optimal for control maps. The bad news is that there's still two more payload-based maps afterwards, and while their style does work decently on most areas of most hybrid maps, it's not a slam dunk."
Assistant coach of the Houston Outlaws Chris "Dream" Myrick: "Profit and Fits both really hitting their stride, which takes so much pressure off of Gesture and gives him the freedom he needs. The Ana is really working for Seoul when they can play chokes and close sightlines to lower Viol2t's impact."
Map 5 (Busan): On Mechabase, Shock is once again counting on Ball with Marve1 staying on his trusted Sigma. Surprisingly, Fits is also on Sombra. Shock take a gigantic lead in the point charge time, going up 76/0 and with only one fight grace period, Seoul need to be clean. Using a ton of their ultimates, at least Fits retains his and they win the second fight too. Once again in with problems of point control, Seoul gives up progress without actually losing the fight which bites them in the last fight, losing Mechabase.
On Sanctuary, the teams stay to their comps and Seoul again gives up point to gain positional advantage which they can't convert into a fight victory. Shock drag the point to 99% and only a 4K by Profit can bring Dynasty back in the map. Fits uses his ultimate on Striker only but on the other side of the map, Profit once again finds a huge kill. As teams trade Sigma's, Ans wakes up and belts the head off two players, winning the map for the Shock.
Former coach of the Toronto Defiant Matthew "Optidox" Sims: "Seoul's adaptation with the Sombra let them put up a good fight, but a few questionable ults combined with Shock's absurdly strong macro on Control prevailed. Hopefully Seoul can keep their heads up, since next map is probably the most important of the series."
Map 6 (Numbani): Shock anticipating Profit's Pharah run ChoiHyoBin on D.Va. Losing the first fight decisively, the Shock catch out Gesture early in an unresurrectable position, winning the fight outright. Initially, Profit remains on Pharah for second but switches to Hanzo. For a while Seoul can hold on taking high ground advantages but Shock can also safely push the cart with nobody from Seoul contesting. On the attack that breaks point B, Viol2t gets on a flanking mission and catches out Fits and tobi. Into third, Shock is ahead with a Transcendence stocked up but Creative hits a huge Bionade and bring Seoul back. Now in overtime, Striker hits a juicy Dragon Strike and it looks like Shock can force it in but Fits on a back angle kills two with Marve1 stalling the point with Nano. Seoul win the fight and can hold Shock before third.
On their attack, Seoul remains ineffective until Profit finds a kill on Moth and Fits can kill Viol2t but somehow Shock holds on 4v6. In a last fight for their life, Dynasty can barely squeeze a fight out in very close fashion, effectively shutting down the reengage by Marve1 shutting down Super from healing himself. On the way to point B, Viol2t can trade Profit and the fight gets messy and the Shock once more get the upper hand. In what looks to be the last fight of the final, Shock is up by a crucial Transcendence which they can ride into a victory.
The best Overwatch team of all time has crowned itself today. GG, to the Shock for an incredible season!
Former coach of the Toronto Defiant Matthew "Optidox" Sims: "GGs. Seoul had some seriously impressive moments this series, especially Fits, but Shock's unmatched teamplay on Control and Hybrid as well as incredible individual play across the board pushed them over the edge. If there's one takeaway from the series, it's that Shock's ability to adapt through any meta and any roster changes and still come out on top makes them the greatest Overwatch team of all time."
Assistant coach of the Houston Outlaws Chris "Dream" Myrick: "Shock slowed it down, dragged out fights and gave time for the Viol2t diff to put them over the line. Great adaptation, and trust in their players to clutch up in the midfight. Well deserved W."
Shanghai Dragons vs Seoul Dynasty (Rewatch Recommendation: 4.5 / 5, Like it's 2018, it's the Gesture and Profit show)
Map 1 (Busan): On the first submap, the first two fights are all Diem on Widow, coming up with a quad into a triple kill in the first two fights. As so often in this meta, it's on individual performances to turn the tide of battle and Gesture is there for his team came a great comeback on this map. In the last fight, Seoul is up by two and would've probably won the fight either way but Shanghai also produce a good ol' c9.
With Diem and Lip as well as Fits and Profit playing Widow and Ashe respectively, the map starts out like the last one but this time around, Shanghai don't let up halfway through and win it outright without giving the point to Seoul even once.
Same spiel, different submap. First Diem, then Profit, then Shanghai all the way. The map remained incredibly close, promising a sweet series.
Map 2 (King's Row): Right out of the gate in the double sniper mirror, Lip does what Lip does best, building Dragon Strike incredibly quickly and smacks Gesture around with it. Pushing hard into second, the Dynasty only win one fight until the Dragons can cap point B with a huge Roadhog ultimate cleaning the point. The push into third looks almost trivial and the Dragons finish with 2:49 minutes left.
On Seoul's attack, it also goes surprisingly quickly with both Profit and Gesture lighting up the kill-feed. Continuing to dedicate the majority of nanoboosts, Gesture becomes a nightmare for Shanghai to deal with. His playstyle isn't even as sneaky but straight-up fights in which his aggressive play overwhelms the opponent. Seoul cap B incredibly quickly, bringing the time bank of Shanghai down to 2 minutes while they are sitting at 2:59.
On Shanghai's attack, Profit and Gesture make it 2017 all over again, taking over the round entire and leave no room for Shanghai to do anything effective with their time. With Seoul now having three minutes to just get a tick, an equaliser is in the air.
Map 3 (Volskaya): Playing around mega, for most of the point A attack by Shanghai the fights are once again all over the place with the snipers taking big duels and the Roadhogs bouncing bellies. Shanghai cap at 1:55 after LeeJaeGong takes an even bigger time bank from them by throwing himself in front of Fits to get a kill that likely wasn't crucial.
On Seoul's attack, Gesture is once again doing the heavy lifting though they cap fairly late. Looking almost as lost as Shock looked against Seoul yesterday, the Dynasty run their head into a wall without getting anything done on the point with dirty fights happening all over the place.
Map 4 (Dorado): Shanghai have real issues to get past arch and then fail to play effectively around well, giving Seoul a huge advantage. Sitting at the well, the cart rolls back under arch and Shanghai never gets in control of it again, getting full held.
With only 76 meters to push, it should be all Seoul from here. An early pick on Lip by Profit exhausts the resurrect of LeeJaeGon and Dynasty can easily push the first corner. Once again getting picks on second, it's just a matter of cleanups that are once again messy, but very doable and the series draws with having to produce a map 5.
Map 5 (Oasis): Gesture gets picked off on a flank early, Seoul can stall long enough for nobody to cap the point until he is back. Void even gets pushed on by Profit's Pharah and Seoul take the first percentages. Profit turns into a real problem for Shanghai with a large Barrage killing three. After Shanghai finally cap the point at 99% for Seoul, Profit switches to Hanzo. In the very next fight, it's once again Gesture who just pops off and gets a triple, helping the Dynasty to win the first submap.
The teams face off in a double sniper on university and who is making the difference? You guessed it, it's Gesture getting a ton of valuable picks. Holding steady, he repeatedly threads the needle to score unreal picks repeatedly leaving no room to breathe for Shanghai. The Seoul Dynasty are the second finalist facing off against the Shock tomorrow!
Philadelphia Fusion vs Seoul Dynasty (Rewatch Recommendation: 2 / 5, Philadelphia succumb to their meta weakness)
Map 1 (Busan): With Philly showing a weakness on Roadhog, they count on Sigma/Ball to mask their shortcomings. Against Seoul and Gesture specifically, this doesn't seem to work too well during the first map as the Dynasty look dominant to the point one has to wonder how the Fusion can come back in the series. With confused faces, the players of the Fusion entered the break between map 1 and 2. Let's see if the coaches have an idea to turn the series around.
First signs of resistance appear on Fusion's attack when they get to point B fairly quickly but can't translate that into point C. With the focus now on DPS heroes as well as the Roadhog, the power distribution across the two rosters seems thoroughly mismatched. Profit and Fits appear to be able to do whatever they want while Fury can't find the same value. Rotationally, the Fusion doesn't seem to be able to figure out manage the resources on their Roadhog sufficiently well and Gesture remains a major pain.
Map 2 (King's Row): Addressing the concerns of map 1, Fusion brings in Poko, switching Fury to Roadhog. Unfortunately for Fusion fans, the Dynasty keep rolling the Fusion heavily, just unrelentingly pushing the Fusion's defence to a 3:36 time bank after the first attack round.
First signs of resistance appear on Fusion's attack when they get to point B fairly quickly but can't translate that into point C. With the focus now on DPS heroes as well as the Roadhog, the power distribution across the two rosters seems thoroughly mismatched. Profit and Fits appear to be able to do whatever they want while Fury can't find the same value. Rotationally, the Fusion doesn't seem to be able to figure out manage the resources on their Roadhog sufficiently well and Gesture remains a major pain.
Map 3 (Temple of Anubis): On Fusion's attack it works decently well for the Fusion, finding frequent picks through Fury and Ivy, capping the point with 1:08 left.
However, Seoul once again demonstrate their superior understanding of the composition on their attack, with Gesture basically walking on water and bodies, allowing Seoul to capture the point with a three-minute advantage.
Having to defend once more, Seoul goes to their signature Pharah composition and can waste enough time for Philly do be unable to cap second, locking the point at 42.8%
With now four minutes to spare, Seoul doesn't have to do a lot to secure the series here and they shove it in with relative ease.
Gems from the player interview with Gesture:
"We knew that we didn't want to stop here"
"We really didn't talk much during the game, we really just tried to have the most fun"
San Francisco Shock vs Shanghai Dragons (Rewatch Recommendation: 4 / 5, Incredible close and fun series)
Map 1 (Oasis): Out of seemingly nowhere and actually believed to be dead, Sombra/Reaper/Winston the Dragons are bringing it back. With Jae-won "LIP" Lee and Eui-Seok "Fearless" Lee back in the roster, Dragons take on the Shock running dive tanks with Ashe and Tracer. Initially securing a large advantage in charge time, Shanghai are in the driving seed with the point flipping at 82%. Relying on the pick potential of their comp, Shock win fights that look like they shouldn't and after an incredibly long drawn out one, Shock clutch a really exciting first submap on City Center.
Sticking to their comps, Shanghai surprisingly lose the first fight on University which shouldn't happen based on the inherent power spikes of these comps. Capping it all the way to 99%, only an overextension by Ans allows Shanghai to find a favourable fight without Moth being able to resurrect him. Given the huge lead in point progression, Shock just take their chances and win the following fight by catching LeeJaeGon on a feeding mission. Shock go up 1-0.
Map 2 (Hollywood): Much like yesterday, we're back on the double sniper setups with Diem coming in for Lip. With Ans on Widow and Diem on Ashe, it works out for Shanghai's defence for a while but as Shock caps, Diem challenges Ans with a Widow-switch. Once again, the first couple of fights go towards Shanghai with great individual plays from Diem and Fleta until Striker and Viol2t turn it on. In front of C, it remains scrappy but Shanghai can hold Shock off until the defending champions cap in overtime.
On Shanghai's attack, Ans and Viol2t remain relentless. Even in the fights that Shock appear to have lost, Shock pop ults aggressively and bring them back from the brink of defeat. The support line difference becomes one of the most glaring differences with LeeJaeGon and Izayaki failing to keep up with Viol2t's output and moth's amounts of resurrections (which granted also come down to D.Va focus) is on another level. Shanghai get the cart on point and have a Transcendence advantage that Viol2t doesn't seem to believe in. Charging 40% ultcharge in 10 seconds, Viol2t mirrors Izayaki's Transce and together with a big pick on Fleta by super, Shock also take map 2.
Map 3 (Volskaya): In a bold move, the Dragons switch out Fleta for Lip and keep Diem in. Both teams mirroring sniper comps, Shanghai wins their attack at a staggering pace, finishing with 4:46 left on the clock on the back of Lip and Stand1 popping off.
On their attack, Shock are very close to being full-held but a solo play by ChoiHyoBin brings Shock back into the map and allows them to cap first. For point B, Viol2t switches to Baptiste once more and while Dragons hold on valiantly for a minute, the Shock can push in with two minutes remaining on the clock.
Shock now tasked to attack get a huge entry by two nutty entry kills that Ans produces on his Widow, first jump-shotting across arch and disposing of LeeJaeGon and helping to take down Izayaki and Void. Only enough time for one more attack on point B which the Dragons take on.
With the aforementioned 4:46 remaining, it's the Dragons' map to lose and Shock is trying their best to hold on with the individual skill of their players shining through repeatedly. Finally Lip finds a good pick that opens up the point after Shock gave a lot of space up to the Dragons and the map is at the very least drawn. Losing the first fight into point B, the Dragons have to make it work with one last fight which they find big picks in and only lose Void at first. With a big resurrect, LeeJaeGon gets his offtank back but Smurf can kill Lip. With Shock still able to win this last fight, they step off the point. Arguably a pretty sizable C9.
Map 4 (Gibraltar): Once more on double sniper, Dragons have big problems pushing the cart into A as Shock frequently scattered fights out and force their opponents into 50/50s. As hard as point A was to capture, as easy was point B, with Shock only taking one fight that they lose decisively. Shock seem to lose the grip on the map as they frequently take uncharacteristically unfavourable fights and give Dragons an easy cap into point C albeit only with 3.5 seconds left.
On Shock's attack the Dragons' snipers remain largely uncontested with individual plays that Shock frequently won earlier in the series now turn into the 50/50s they should be. Able to full-hold Shock, the Dragons and especially LeeJaeGon in Mercy ultimate stalls to the max as Stand1 starts picking away at the numbers of the Shock. Now with a big spawn advantage, Dragons actually pull off the full hold. The ability of the Dragons to stay in a series is insane.
Map 5 (Busan): On the first submap, Striker remains unbeaten, slapping the Dragons around at will with the help of Ans and while the comp is able to stall with point control well, which the Dragons do for a while, the Shock take it in the end.
Flipping back and forth, the Dragons get an easy but crucial cap while also winning the fight at half-channel-point. LeeJaeGon remains a liability for his team, getting caught in a crucial moment as teams were otherwise trading equally. This gives Shock point control coming into the last fight and the Shock take an incredibly close series and are the first team in the Grand Finals.
Philadephia Fusion VS Shanghai Dragons (Rewatch Recommendation: 1 / 5, SAVE YOUR TIME, CATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS)
Map 1 (Busan): Philadelphia versus Shanghai was an immediate change of pace right out of the gate. While the match previous featured massive amounts of Roadhog paired with a smattering of Wrecking Ball and Sigma, the later pair took over as the tank line of choice the second seed from North America versus the first seed from Asia. Another point of interest was 2020 Coach of the Year winner, Moon "Moon" Byung-chul continuing to flex the depth of the Shanghai roster as they lead their opener with a surprise showing from main tank Seo "Stand1" Ji-won on the Wrecking Ball.
As Busan began, Fusion started very passive, this allowed the Dragon’s to quickly take initiative early with coordinated dive setups with Stand1 and Kim "Fleta" Byung-sun. This was always followed up with a soft side flank from Kang "Void" Jun-woo’s Sigma who became the hammer. The previous two set the nails, Void hammered them home. These full-court press attempts were a team effort and really showcased the calibre of team Shanghai has been all season long. As for Philadelphia, it felt as though they were only able to get momentum rolling through picks from their DPS lineup contrasting Shanghai’s default teamfight win percentage. Sadly, heroic flanks and picks form both Lee "Carpe" Jae-hyeok and Jeong "Heesu" Hee-su was not enough for Philly to stay even with Shanghai and drop map one.
Map 2 (King’s Row): Kim "SADO" Su-min attempted some magic with one of the longest—and slowest flanks—in all of Overwatch history as he waddled Roadhog around the backside of Point A to attack the high ground. It did nothing, but it was enjoyable to see him alone, on an island, attempting to catch a train out of South London. Outside of that, Philly looked despondent and uncomfortable. Now, it wasn’t that they were playing too passive, they just didn’t seem to have much of a gameplan. Heesu went dark and couldn’t get much done, Carpe wasn’t allowed to get anything started, Philly just looked flat. Some magic from Lee "LeeJaeGon" Jae-gon’s Mercy clutched the final fight duelling the enemy Widowmaker, earning the Dragons the winning tick to put them up in the series, 2-0.
Map 3 (Volskaya Industries): The first fight of the map really spelt the general narrative of the entire series; every time Philly stepped up, they would get shot down. SADO venturing forward without the help of Kim "Fury" Jun-ho’s Sigma did not put Philadelphia off on good footing. The ultimate engine past that point made it incredibly difficult for the Fusion to march anywhere near the point. They would approach the main centre chokepoint, their Sigma’s shield would be pelted, they would sit and wait, then push a direction and either get flanked or picked.
Before the first fight ended, the Dragons had already advanced past the line of scrimmage set in the sand from Philadelphia’s attacking round. Again, this sense of passivity feels very tangible with the Fusion. If we compare the two defences, Shanghai would hold flush with the choke itself, Fusion gave up a lot of space which ultimately always put them on the back foot. After a big Chain Hook kill from Stand1, it was all but a formality, the Shanghai Dragons win the series, 3-0.
Gems from the player interview with Diem:
“To be honesty, I really didn’t expect it to go this fast.”
“Even though we are really close, [Carpe] and I didn’t talk all that much going into the match.”
“‘Carpe, this matchup ended really fast. Next time, I really hope to face you again. I want to have a fun and exciting match against you.’”
“Through this match, we proved that APAC is better than NA. San Francisco Shock, we’re coming for you!”
Seoul Dynasty vs San Francisco Shock (Rewatch Recommendation: 4 / 5, very close series that goes the full distance)
Map 1 (Oasis): Running Roadhog/Wrecking Ball/ Pharah, Seoul takes on gardens against the same composition but with Striker playing Sombra. After the first fight going to Shock, Jae-hee "Gesture" Hong starts slapping fools on his Roadhog. Fights turn messy, with the point bouncing back and forth and eventually at 99/99, Shock can win the last fight and take the map.
On City Center, Seoul Dynasty takes first fight with both Dong-eon "FITS" Kim and Joon-yeong "Profit" Park having pop off moments. Before ultimate become available, Shock re-engage a fight and get to win next. Teams trade fights based on ultimate states and eventually the submap once more reaches the last fight territory for both teams with Shock in control of it. Getting an early pick, the fight becomes exceedingly hard to win for Seoul and Shock takes Map 1.
Map 2 (Hollywood): Coming out the gates with similar comps but both teams playing Sigma, Shock puts Seonchang "ANS" Lee on his signature Widow pick. Almost immediately, he starts creating value for his team getting picks every single fight running all the way into the attack of point C. Finally Profit, now on Hanzo, can find a stop to the momentum of Shock. Striker also switches to Hanzo, with Shock now sitting on a double sniper composition sieging point C. Fits and Profit put on a clinic for point C, repeatedly bringing the fights back from the brink. Shock scatter the fight out and despite conceding a first kill, they manage to find enough isolated picks while Grant "moth" Espe even manages to shut down Fits on his Mercy.
On Seoul's attack, both teams immediately opt into the double sniper composition from the get-go. Finding repeated picks at the hand of Matthew "super" DeLisi's Roadhog and Ans' Widow, Seoul finds few openings into the map despite Fits going toe to toe in Widow output. Profit has yet to wake up and the Dynasty will need him to significantly turn it on. Fights are quick and erratic in this meta, possibly not suiting his playstyle in being able to take advantageous duels and not having to rely on his mechanics.
Map 3 (Volskaya): Myeong-hwan "smurf" Yoo is put in instead of Super but continues playing Roadhog for the Shock. With Min-seo "Marve1" Hwang on Wrecking for point A, Dynasty caps it with 2:15 left in the timebank. Running onto point B, Gesture finds two and can take enough space on the point to get a quick cap at 4:15.
For the first round of defence, Profit switched back to Pharah and for the first couple of fights, it barely works out until eventually Jin-mo "tobi" Yang gets caught out of position and the numbers advantage crumbles, forcing Seoul to give up Point A. From then out, Shock looks lost in the ways of how to approach and Seoul can run the clock entirely down to 0, taking their first map in the series.
Map 4 (Rialto): Super is once again subbed in for Smurf. On their attack, the Seoul DPS seem to have woken up and completely shut down Ans every chance they get. Just sprinting through the map, Dynasty can only be halted shortly before capping point C. Shock stall incredibly well and can drag the eventual cap into overtime.
On Seoul's attack, Ans once again has a quiet half with Profit finally coming into his own and finding huge picks both with primary fire arrows and ultimates repeatedly.
Seoul appears to be putting vastly more resources into Gesture who makes great use of repeatedly nanos and Mercy pockets while Ans has been a focal point for Shock but he currently can't deliver on his usual level.
Map 5 (Busan): Once again putting in Smurf but this time on Ball, Shock roam and take over first. Several times, tobi has trouble staying alive to find safe resurrections. In the deciding fight, Shock pressure health pools without being able to outright kill a Seoul player but take control off the point. As Marve1 tries to touch the point he dies just before he can, giving Shock the submap win.
Just like at the end of the last map, Bdosin gets picked off by Ans first and puts the Dynasty at a significant disadvantage. While Dynasty wins the first fight, it dragged out long enough for Shock to sneak an important 30% that later helps them out big time. Viol2t now on Baptiste to play around Profit's Pharah finds a lot of value in several clutch situations. Dynasty to once again forced to touch the point to trigger overtime has Marve1 once more attempt to touch the point but his down slam hits just barely too late and the Shock take the series.
Gems from the player interview with Ans:
"I'm pretty nervous when it comes to big matches"
"I feel like I could've done better"
"What we were really focused on was our tank line"
"I feel like Philadelphia Fusion does have the upper hand [against the Dragons]"
Image via Blizzard Entertainment
