The Philadelphia Fusion had a good week in Overwatch League, winning both of their matches and moving up in the season standings as the playoffs quickly approach. The Fusion have been on a bit of a downward spiral for the past few weeks, as they lost out on the chance to go to Stage 3 Playoffs and started Stage 4 with a record of 0-2.
The rough start for the Fusion in Stage 4 came as a shock since many thought they would be able to shine with the 2-2-2 role lock. After this weekend, it's beginning to look a little bit brighter for the Fusion as they race towards the end of the season.
Philadelphia was able to have a deep run in the season playoffs last year, (all the way to the Grand Finals) mostly on the back of their insanely good DPS duo of Carpe and EQO. When they are on top of their game, few teams are able to match the level of play from the duo. With the newly implemented 2-2-2 role lock, it was safe to assume that the Fusion would be able to begin to dominate once again.
However, this wasn't the case. Philadelphia got off to a rough start, losing matches to a scary Chengdu Hunters team and a Guangzhou Charge team on the upward swing. Thankfully, Philadelphia was able to bounce back going 2-0 for the week against the Houston Outlaws and the Toronto Defiant.
The Fusion have a tendency to play down to their opponent's level, and while they did get both victories this week, they definitely played down to their second opponent's level in the Toronto Defiant. They were down 2-1 but came back to win in map 5. The Fusion are no strangers to map 5's with both their week one matches going the distance.
EQO has been playing solid so far this stage, with Carpe being the surprising hit or miss play maker. That is unusual for him as he is one of the best DPS players in the world and a season one MVP candidate. Carpe finally started to connect on his shots in the second half of the Toronto Defiant match and helped lead his team to a victory. Neptuno and Boombox have been steady all season on the support roles and Poko's Roadhog is improving every week.
The Fusion are a frustrating team. When they play to their potential they are one of the best teams in the world. The good news is that they moved up to seventh overall in the season standings. That place puts them comfortably in the driver's seat to make at least the season play-ins, with a good chance to make it into the overall playoffs. And like last season, if Philly ignites at the right time, well, they just might make another run at that championship trophy. Don't count out the underdog.
