The Overwatch League’s final tournament cycle of the year was a fast-paced showdown between two teams chasing their first league championship title. After a seven-map series, the Los Angeles Gladiators took down the Chengdu Hunters with a 4-3 scoreline.
The Countdown Cup began on Oasis, the natural habitat of Yi “Jinmu” Hu’s devastating Pharah. On behalf of the Hunters, he tore through the Gladiators’ supports and shields, carrying his team to a quick point lead. Los Angeles flipped the script on next map Anubis, however, relying on expert Sombra play from DPS Kim “birdring” Ji-hyuk to prevent Chengdu from taking first point.
Chengdu then took the Gladiators to Numbani, a normally chaotic map that lends itself well to the Hunters’ playstyle. While Jinmu still rained terror from above, birdring’s immaculate Sombra hacks immobilized the Hunters’ quick-paced composition.
Despite the addition of a few talented substitutes, Chengdu did not roll through Route 66 as the team intended. MVP candidate Huang “Leave” Xin showed fans why he’s up for the award with his clutch and terrifying Hanzo play, but superior coordination from the Gladiators led to a last-minute hold on the Hunters mere meters from the finish line.
Not to be outdone, the Hunters once again enacted the “Control buff” as they brought Los Angeles to sunny Ilios for map five. Leave fueled his own MVP campaign by tearing through the Gladiators on both Hanzo and Tracer, helping the Hunters pull off a convincing 2-0 round score. Map six, King’s Row, was a similar scene despite it being the Gladiators’ pick. Thanks to absolute destruction from Leave, the Hunters tied up the score at 3-3.
On final map Havana, the Hunters kicked off with chaos, running Leave and Jinmu on snipers to take out the Gladiators. Unfortunately for them, birdring clicked into full gear and put on a champion-level performance on Hanzo. A last-minute multi-kill by Los Angeles’ MVP candidate, flex support Kim “Shu” Jin-seo, saved both the map and the series for the Gladiators.
As the winners of the Countdown Cup, the Los Angeles Gladiators will earn $100,000 to be split among the team. More importantly, the team has earned three “league points,” bumping them up in the postseason standings. The Gladiators are now ranked second in the West Region, giving them a bye straight to the playoff rounds.
The runners-up take home $70,000 and two league points, which is still significant. Thanks to this win, the Chengdu Hunters have locked in the second seed in postseason standings. They’ll also skip the play-ins, which begin on Sept. 4. During play-ins, teams will compete in regional matches to secure a limited amount of remaining slots for the official playoffs, which begin on Sept. 16.
Published: Aug 21, 2021 11:09 pm