Overwatch League semifinals Preview and Predictions: Can London Spitfire continue their miracle run?
After a monumental comeback series against Los Angeles Gladiators, London Spitfire looked like their vintage selves in a resounding two match sweep that saw London take six maps uncontested. In their wins, it was Profit once again making the plays and dealing out the damage as he made his case yet again as one of the most fearsome DPS threats in the entire Overwatch League.
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Setting the stage
Los Angeles Valiant have been on the up and up for a few months now as their steady progression to the top saw them overtake London, Boston and Philadelphia as the consensus second best team in the Overwatch League.
Heading into this matchup, it would seem like LA Valiant have their final berth all but wrapped up, but after the heroics of Profit and co. last week as they battled back from adversity against a Los Angeles Gladiators team in disarray, the question marks still linger on which star will shine brighter for the semifinals.
London Spitfire achieved their peak at the first Stage of the Overwatch League and have steadily declined since that point. Losing Fissure in a untimely move to the Gladiators was a tough pill to swallow, and the resulting injuries to Birdring throughout the season made London Spitfire a shadow of their former selves as the season progressed.
Even still, their playoff placement was no fluke as they proved their worth in a dominant comeback against the Gladiators, overcoming the deficit of defeats they racked up across the season, and making it clear that London Spitfire will not go down without a fight.
Don’t sleep on Profit
The strengths of the Los Angeles Valiant are much more varied to the strengths of London as an Overwatch powerhouse. Los Angeles Valiant have benefitted off crisp communication and clear shotcalling from their mid season trades of Custa into their starting lineup. Once the heartbeat of a dismal Dallas Fuel, Custa has slotted himself in as a prevalent voice on the LA Valiant roster and his teams play style has blossomed with the move.
LA Valiant also work off their strength in numbers as they regularly use substitutions for different matchups that work for their players. This variance in player usage and overall function of the roster has been the constant guessing game for enemy teams as they try to decipher the puzzle of LA Valiant before each map, with little respite.
But the one downside to all the teamwork and communication that makes LA Valiant tick is the lack of star player prowess needed in big time, crunch playoff situations that make or break your teams performance, and that is where London Spitfire excel. Simply put, there is no player in the league that can rival the sheer output of Profit on stage once he gets going. The level of play that he possesses on a variety of heroes: from Tracer, Junkrat, Pharah, Widowmaker and beyond make him a complete DPS player and threat on virtually every map of the series.
Making it count
Snubbed from the All-Star team, and pushed out of the spotlight due to his team’s overall performance, many fans forget just how dominant Profit can be once he has his winning conditions to shine. The margin for error against a player like Profit is razor thin, and tonight’s games will be an interesting determinant factor as to what weighs more for a team to succeed in the Overwatch League; strength in numbers, or all-star caliber players?
The first match of the three match series between Los Angeles Valiant and London Spitfire will take place tonight, as the rest of the series will conclude on Friday, June 20th.
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