The London Spitfire scored a 3-0 victory over the Philadelphia Fusion on Saturday, clinching the first ever Overwatch League championship with the win.
London won the Grand Finals series 2-0 overall, having previously defeated Philadelphia 3-1 on Friday.
The Overwatch League championships were held in front of a sellout crowd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The victory earned the Spitfire a $1 million prize, while the Fusion took $400,000 for the runner-up finish.
‘Profit’ Earns MVP Honors
The finals MVP award went to Park “Profit” Joon-yeong, who was able to dominate while using multiple characters during the Grand Finals, including Hanzo and Brigitte. But after Saturday’s victory, Profit was inclined to give credit to his two teammates playing tank positions: Hong “Gesture” Jae-hee and Kim “Fury” Jun-ho.
“The main thing is that they create a lot of space for us to deal damage freely, and that’s where our power comes from,” Profit said after the win.
According to a report on OverwatchLeague.com, even the Fusion admitted that playing against the duo was “uncomfortable.” After the victory, Gesture reflected on how the two tanks were able to control the flow of the match.
“Fury and I have a really good understanding of this meta and how we need to play mechanically in each situation,” he said. “If we’re using ultimates and chaining them together as a team in order to create favorable situations in team fights, we know exactly when to use them and how we need to coordinate.”
London Mashup Precedes League Expansion
London came into the first Overwatch League season as one of the favorites to walk away with the title.
The team was a mashup of the two leading South Korean teams from the pre-Overwatch League days, GC Busan and C9 Kongdoo Panthera, which meant they had world class talent at every position.
While that helped the Spitfire win the Stage 1 title early in the season, the squad started to tumble down towards the middle of the pack as the year wore on. London eventually shipped off some of its players to other squads in order to play with a more consistent lineup, ultimately settling on the 10-man squad that entered the playoffs.
Even the playoff run got off to a shaky start, as London was swept in their first quarterfinal match against the Los Angeles Gladiators. But after that, the team rallied, posting an 18-2-1 map record for the rest of the playoffs to cap off the year in dominating fashion.
For the Fusion, the defeat ends an up-and-down season in which Philadelphia never seemed to find consistency, but was capable of beating any opponent at any time. Never was that clearer than in the semifinals, when they beat the No. 1 seeded New York Excelsior, another team with a lineup of Korean stars.
The biggest winners this weekend may have been Blizzard, however. Drawing a huge crowd for the final was a key step towards building a wider cultural awareness for Overwatch League, and there are plans to continue raising the profile of the competition in the years to come.
Expansion plans are already underway for next season. According to ESPN, teams from Paris and Guangzhou, China, are expected to be among six expansion squads joining the league, while Cox Enterprises is reportedly purchasing a team in Atlanta. While all teams played at Burbank Studios in California this year, the eventual goal is to have each team play in its home city, mirroring other professional sports leagues.