Coming into these Grand Finals, London were probably considered favourites as they had a more star studded, experienced roster that played at the highest levels in Korea prior to the Overwatch League, but Philadelphia was definitely the fan favourite; being from the East Coast of the United States. Match 1 was played on Friday and started off on Dorado, where Philadelphia showed that they would not be a push over. With some strong play from their tanks and dps, Philadelphia were able to finish the map and secure 3 points. London tried to answer behind Birdring and Profit, but the 3rd point proved to too difficult as they were staled for almost 5 minutes, pushing the cart close to the final checkpoint but never were able to finish it off. Philadelphia took the 1st map 3-2. The 2nd map was Oasis and London took control off the point presence of Orisa/Roadhog and the aerial threat of Pharah. Their tank play was exemplifies once again as the Winston/D.Va combo took control of the 2nd point and secured the map victory, tying the series 1-1. After halftime, we went to Eichenwalde, where Philadelphia subbed in their flex player Hotba, and decided to attack with a triple dps comp of Hanzo, Pharah, and Tracer. They were staled out pretty easily in the 1st fight, but ran over London in the 2nd fight to secure the 1st point. London knew that they would have to be more aggressive to handle the triple dps comp, so they decided to defend very high up at the gate. This proved to be super effective as Philadelphia barely pushed the cart past the 1st corner. London also went with a triple dps comp on attack, but they ran into a triple tank comp on defense. They were constantly on the losing end of fights until at the 1 minute mark, they used the D.Va ultimate as a distraction to scatter Philadelphia's setup at the front gate and this was the chance they needed to pick off a few heroes and roll onto the 1st point. The triple dps comp proved to be too much as they were able to attack from all angles and London rolled the payload to victory. The series was now 2-1 for London and they were at match point. The 4th map was Volskaya, which saw Hotba stay in for Philadelphia, and they used him in the GOATS comp (triple tank triple support). It was a slow grind, but they secured the 1st point off a big combo from D.Va and Zarya. Philadelphia went more standard with the double sniper comp to attack the 2nd point, but Profit had the answer with his genji and sliced through them, only allowing about 60% completion. Things were looking grim on London's attack, but a last minute D.Va bomb proved to be the difference maker again as Fury was able to catch out Neptuno on the Mercy and captured the 1st point in Overtime. While Philadelphia put up a good defense, Profit pulled out his Tracer and picked off Neptuno again to start off the last fight. After picking off the enemy Tracer and Mercy, he went on a rampage, grabbing a 5K to finish off the map and the match. The series ended 3-1 in favour of the London Spitfire.
Both teams had 1 night to sleep and prepare for Match 2, which took place on Saturday. If Philadelphia won Match 2, then they would go to a final and deciding Match 3 right after. The excitement level in the Barclay Center went up a few notches on Saturday as it was the final day of the inaugural season of the Overwatch League and a champion would be crowned. The 1st map was Junkertown, where you always saw interesting strategies, and Philadelphia brought out the Bastion, whose ult proved to be a difference maker on the 1st point. They switched off to triple tank on the 2nd point and punished London's aggressive defense setup. London stabilized and held Philadelphia to minimal progress. On London's attack, they elected for the triple tank, double sniper comp, which has powerful pick potential that can roll the 1st point. The 2nd point seemed just as easy as the constant pressure pushed Philadelphia back into a corner and a well placed Dragonstrike helped them secure it. Profit's Hanzo was too much as another Dragonstrike turned a fight and allowed London to the series lead 1-0. Next up on control was Lijang Tower and it was Gesture's time to bring out his Winston and show everyone his prowess. He created so much havoc and space for his dps that they won the point 100-0. The 2nd point felt eerily similar as it was 99-0 before Philadelphia captures the point for the 1st time. Profit's Tracer landed a big stick onto Neptuno's Mercy and as we've seen all weekend long, killing off the Mercy leaves the team in a big position. London regained control and took the 2nd map to make the series 2-0. They were 1 map win away from being crowned Overwatch League Champions. Coming out of halftime, you expected Philadelphia to fight back and they did, securing the 1st point on King's Row with a slow and steady push. London looked like they had held on the 2nd point, but they slipped right at the end with less than 10 seconds left, they went overly aggressive and got wiped out off some coordinated dives. Philadelphia farmed up multiple ults and saved it for the final fight, where they were able to take control with timely ult usage and push the cart to the finish line in overtime. It was now London's time to bring out the GOATS comp, which allowed them to bully their way onto the 1st point. London stuck to this comp for the 2nd point as well and won multiple team fights off a big Graviton Surge and a big Earthshatter. London push their advantage and finish the map with 1:10 left in the time bank. Philadelphia now needed to full hold to force a map draw, but they couldn't handle London's aggressive tank play and gave up the 1st tick in under a minute. They secured the 4th point, winning the map 4-3 and were now Overwatch League Champions!
London started the season with a 12 man roster, combining the talents of GC Busan and KongDoo Panthera. They finally settled on a lineup of NUS, Bdosin, Birdring, Gesture, Profit, and Fury. They were strong early in Stage 1 and 2 and then struggled in Stage 3 and 4, but found their footing again in the playoffs when it mattered and off the carry potential of their main tank Gesture and dps Profit, they were too much for anyone to handle. This is another victory for the Cloud9 brand as earlier this year, their CS:GO team was the first North American team to ever win a major title.
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