Written for Daily Hive by Rui Yang Xu of Akshon Esports
Despite an amazing run in the lower bracket, the hometown Toronto Defiant fell just short of winning an Overwatch stage title on home soil.
After climbing through the lower bracket to make it to the final day of the Summer Showdown, the Defiant was taken down 1-3 by the San Francisco Shock in the lower bracket finals.
Despite looking strong on map one and picking up a convincing win, the Shock took over from there and dominated the Defiant through the next three maps of the series to take the victory and punch their tickets for the grand finals.
They overcome the hometown advantage ✋
The @SFShock defeat the Defiant and move onto the Summer Showdown Finals against the Fuel!#WINNABLE | #OWL2022 pic.twitter.com/TGGKvqxsEp
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) September 11, 2022
While this has been the Defiant’s best showing throughout their time in the Overwatch League coach Sim “Mobydik” Seung-bo felt disappointed by the results.
“It is undeniable that in terms of the Toronto Defiant it is our best performance so far, but I am never satisfied with this achievement as I never won a championship before,” said Mobydik. “I was really desperate to win this tournament since we had a really fair chance this time and considering how everyone worked so hard, it’s just so sad that we couldn’t make it.”
Submitted/Stephen Kazumi
Ultimately, the grand finals ended up being an upper bracket final rematch between the top-seeded Dallas Fuel and the Shock. The finals would play out similarly to the two teams’ previous matchup in the tournament as the Fuel made quick work of the Shock with a 4-0 sweep to be crowned Summer Showdown champions.
THE STARS ARE BURNING BLUE AND BRIGHT 🔥
The @DallasFuel scorch their way through the competition to become your Summer Showdown champions in the West!#BurnBlue | #OWL2022 pic.twitter.com/JNBsnHXaYi
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) September 11, 2022
Now every team will have a chance to get some well-earned rest before the Countdown Cup qualifiers begin on September 22nd during which the Defiant will take on the Atlanta Reign to start off the Stage.
Once the next stage begins, teams will be faced with a very different game as huge balance changes to key characters like Junker Queen are expected to take place beforehand.
For more details on the upcoming Countdown Cup or to rewatch past matches, visit the official Overwatch League website.
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