The matchup for the first ever Overwatch League Grand Finals has officially been set, and it’s not the face-off that many fans expected.
The number six seed Philadelphia Fusion will be facing off against the number five seed London Spitfire after both teams pulled off massive upsets in their semifinals series. The Fusion managed to usurp the New York Excelsior, while the Spitfire defeated the Stage 4 champion L.A. Valiant. At the end of the final match, Overwatch lead designer Jeff Kaplan joined the Fusion and Spitfire on stage and showed off the Overwatch League Grand Finals trophy that the two teams will be playing for next week.
As for the actual matches, the Fusion faced off against the NYXL in a best of three series, with most analysts expecting the top-seeded NYXL to come out on top. However, the Fusion came out of the gate swinging and managed to sweep the first game by a score of 3 to 0. Game number two was a far closer affair with the two teams trading wins back and forth and forcing a fifth and deciding map.
After stopping the Fusion just short of the last checkpoint, the NYXL needed to push the payload to the end of Dorado in order to keep their Grand Final dreams alive. Unfortunately for New York, the Fusion defence was too strong as they managed to hold the NYXL short and win the series as a result.
The other semifinals had a similar storyline heading in with the hometown L.A. Valiant expected to take the series and claim a spot in the Grand Finals. However, the Stage 1 champion, London Spitfire managed to focus down the Valiant supports and overpower them, as they won both matches to book their spot in the finals.
The Grand Finals kick off next week on Friday, July 27th at the Barclays Center in New York City with a match at 8:00 PM EST. Similarly to the semifinals, it will be a best of three series, with the final two games taking place on Saturday, beginning at 4:00 PM EST.
