New York Excelsior have been totally dominating the Overwatch League, even earning a $300,000 bonus for having the league’s best regular season record, but have yet to have an undefeated OWL stage. And thanks to the Los Angeles Valiant, the fourth and final stage won’t be any different.
The Valiant emerged victorious Saturday in a back-and-forth five-game series against the Excelsior. Though New York was in full-on beast mode most of the time, Los Angeles got the clutch wins when they counted and ended up on top.
STYLE POINTS to @tf2pine!
Don't try this at home kids. #OWL2018
Live: https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/ao0AGGpRxB
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) June 2, 2018
The win pushed Valiant to the top spot in stage four of the Overwatch League, with a 6-0 record over Excelsior’s 5-1. More importantly and impressively, though, it also puts Los Angeles at 24-12 on the season, second in the OWL overall, and first in the Pacific Division with a three-game lead over Seoul Dynasty and Los Angeles Gladiators.
If Valiant can win the division, they will earn a playoff bye worth an extra $50,000 in prize money.
Saturday’s victory didn’t come easily, though. Excelsior has proven themselves worthy of top dog in the Overwatch League with their nearly mistake-free gameplay throughout stages three and four.
In Saturday’s match-up, Excelsior utilized double-sniper compositions on most maps, heavily featuring Widowmaker and Hanzo, which has been the competitive ladder’s answer to Brigitte. New York looked unstoppable through large parts of the series, but Los Angeles capitalized on Excelsior’s reliance on old meta strategies on Horizon and then pulled off a gutsy win on Watchpoint: Gibraltar.
On Gibraltar, Excelsior breezed through all three sections of the map and nearly pushed the payload to the end, but Valiant refused to give up those last few meters for over five minutes. Los Angeles then took their attack into overtime, but were able to push the payload to the end and tied the series.
Woah, THIS widow duel ?! @SoOn99 #OWL2018
Live: https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/NqzlFyqy7M
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) June 2, 2018
Then came the tiebreaker: Nepal. It was a close map that went all three rounds with both teams scoring big on the control meter. Valiant stuck it out, though, with big plays from Terence “SoOn” Tarlier and Indy “SPACE” Halpern to get that sweet W.
Valiant has been on a roll in stage four. They haven’t lost a game since losing to the Excelsior back in the stage three playoffs. The team is also making big moves off the Overwatch stage, becoming the first esports organization to be involved with the You Can Play movement.
On Friday, Valiant introduced a new partnership with LGBTQ advocacy group You Can Play, which has traditionally been established with sports teams from the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer. The goal of the partnership is to create an inclusive environment for all players, coaches, and fans of Overwatch and in all of esports.
“For too long, the esports industry has been unfairly characterized as a toxic, unwelcoming environment,” said L.A. Valiant CEO Noah Whinston. “This assumption runs counter to the core values of the Los Angeles Valiant organization and our partnership with the You Can Play Project further cements our dedication to making the L.A. Valiant an inclusive community. The message is simple: no matter who you are, who you love, or what gender you identify as – if you can play, you can play.”
Pride patches are on sale now at the Valiant store, with a portion of the proceeds going to the You Can Play non-profit project. The project aims to expand educational and awareness resources to sports communities of all ages to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion.