Philadelphia Fusion defeat Chengdu Hunters to stay undefeated

For the second weekend of the Overwatch League, on April 25, the Philadelphia Fusion defeated the Chengdu Hunters 3-1 to stay undefeated. The Chengdu Hunters put up a strong effort, but the Philadelphia Fusion proved that even with their last-minute pickups, they still are an amazing team. For this reason, this is the second Upcomer “match of the week” and is a must-see match if fans haven’t seen the Eastern division games yet.

Match recap

The first map of the series was Ilios, and these two rosters ended up being much stronger than most anticipated. Starting with Chengdu, the pickup of Qiu “GA9A” Jiaxin and the improvement of Huang “leave” Xin have been two key parts to their success. It is no surprise they continue to start and made a good impression on Ilios. Leave played Sombra and Ashe while GA9A stuck with Wrecking Ball.

For the Fusion, however, their damage duo has arguably been the best in the league so far. Lee “Carpe” Jae-hyeok and Kim “Rascal” Dong-jun have clicked despite only playing together on the South Korean national team. Their hero pools and immense skill fit each other well. The control map went to the final fight on the third point, but the Fusion clutched it out. A close start to a big game.

The second map was Havana, which was more dominant for the Fusion. They held the Hunters close on first, and Chengdu didn’t get around the second corner. After a clean start, the Fusion won the map easily. One of the more questionable choices for the Hunters was swapping Yi “JinMu” Hu for Lei “Jimmy” Yujia, which didn’t pay off.

Hey, uh… is @carpe_ow allowed to DO all of that? For free? 🤠#PhillyPower #OWL2021

📺 https://t.co/tbTGBsbQac pic.twitter.com/1i1mI5rR0b

— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) April 25, 2021

The third map was a sudden swing for the Hunters, capping both points of Volskaya.  Afterwards, the Fusion’s attack also picked up both points, but the Hunters defended much better than the Fusion did. This defense included the hidden GA9A trick, which raised tensions tenfold. The Fusion finished with no time in the timebank, meaning the Hunters had to get the first point to win. They did just that, showing their skills on assault maps.

There is an impostor among us. pic.twitter.com/C00YBiQgRi

— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) April 25, 2021

The fourth map was an entertaining duel on Kings Row. The Fusion rolled through the first two sections of the map, just barely getting held on the last section. With both teams running Wrecking Ball, it was going to be tough for the Fusion to beat the team that specialized in the hero. However, the coordination on the Fusion was too much to handle. Carpe on McCree and Rascal on Tracer were both winning a lot of close fights for the Fusion. They held the Hunters just before their push distance. The Fusion won, finishing the May Melee qualifiers undefeated.

What this game means for the Philadelphia Fusion’s future

Much like the Outlaws defeating the Shock in last weeks “match of the week”, this game means a lot for this division. The Chengdu Hunters were building themselves as a team to fear in the Eastern Division, but so were the Fusion. Even with their last-minute signings, they still looked like the same team that constantly contended for first place. Plus, one of these later pickups might be one of the best they’ve ever had.

Despite fans thinking he wouldn’t play in the league this season, Rascal joining the Fusion made their damage lineup more impressive. Players knew Rascal was one of the best flex players in the game from his time on Shock. Now, with the Shock in the Western division, he can rip teams to shreds alongside veteran star Carpe. It’s fair to say with this result, the Fusion is now the team to beat in the East.