After missing out on the Stage Two playoffs, the Philadelphia Fusion came into Stage Three with the playoffs on their mind. With the GOATS meta still alive and kicking despite nerfs, the Fusion’s struggle with their execution of the team composition continues to be a huge issue. As the Fusion’s struggle with GOATS compositions continue to affect the team’s performance through Stage Three, where does the team go from here? Will they even make the playoffs at this point? Let’s recap Stage Three thus far and see where the Fusion can go from here.
Rough times ahead?
(Image credit: Stewart Volland for Blizzard Entertainment)
With a 2-2 start to the stage, the Fusion’s chances at making the playoffs are still quite good on paper. With only a big match against the Shanghai Dragons remaining, the Fusion’s schedule on paper should see them winning their other games with a rematch against the Boston Uprising, along with matches against the Shanghai Dragons, and finally the Washington Justice.
Despite what should be an easy road into the playoffs, the lingering issue of the Fusion’s inability to play GOATS compositions and overall performance thus far continues to frustrate fans and analysts alike. While other teams that have struggled like the Los Angeles Valiant have improved throughout the season thus far, the Fusion have been rather stagnant in growth. Along with questionable results like their close victory against the Uprising, the reality is that the Fusion making the playoffs is still questionable. At this point, even if the Fusion can make a push for a playoff spot, all signs point to a fairly early exit instead of a deep run unless they can fix their glaring issues in team cohesion and their general ability to play GOATS compositions.
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No improvement in sight?
(Image credit: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment)
For teams that struggle as the Fusion have been, now would be a good time to experiment and try out players on the bench or players that have been signed to two-way contracts. In the case of the Fusion, this would’ve likely meant giving their academy players on two-way contracts getting a shot on stage. Unfortunately for the Fusion, that’s no longer a simple option as DPS player Simon "snillo" Ekström and support player Elijah Hudson "Elk" Gallagher have moved over to Korea with the rest of the Fusion Academy team.
While this is a great opportunity for the academy team to prove themselves and cement their legacy as the best Contenders team, it’s ultimately unfortunate timing for the Fusion. Had snillo and Elk been available and still available on call, they likely could’ve seen some time on stage at this point. Especially Elk, who had already seen some limited time on stage in Stage 1 and 2. While a starting spot as Support is waiting for Elk in the future, losing the ability to sub him in as needed is still a huge hit for the Fusion as they look to turn things around.
In the end, unless the Fusion signs additional players to their roster for Stage 4 they’ll be working with their main starting roster and the lone substitute on their team.
The Fragi problem
(Image credit: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment)
Let’s move on to the one substitute on the Fusion roster, tank player Joona "Fragi" Laine. To say Fragi has been a controversial topic would be putting it somewhat lightly. Since the beginning of the second season of the Overwatch League, there have been fans and analysts who have questioned the Fusion’s decision to stick with tank player Su-min "SADO" Kim despite Reinhardt, Fragi’s signature hero, being a very important part of the GOATS meta. Along with that, the argument is that no matter what issues there may be with Fragi in the team, there isn’t a great reason to not give him a shot at this point as the same roster through the first half of the season has simply failed to bring home any great results.
So why hasn’t Fragi seen time on stage? The main reason that has mentioned before is that DPS player Jae-hyeok "Carpe" Lee prefers SADO and simply feels more comfortable with him. On top of that, Fragi’s playstyle with Reinhardt can be considered too aggressive and would require the team to put a lot of resources into keeping him alive. In general, there is the worry that giving Fragi the start just simply won’t be as impactful as fans would like as the lack of team coordination won’t be fixed and could get worse with Fragi in the roster.
Image credit: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment)
No matter where fans may stand on the issue of Fragi, it can’t be denied that at this point it wouldn’t hurt to give him one game on stage. Whether this happens or not, only time will tell.
What now?
As long as the GOATS meta continues to dominate the Overwatch League, the Fusion will likely continue to struggle. With the Fusion remaining silent on the team's issues and their performance both on social media and in their AMA on the Fusion subreddit, it’s still going to be a long season ahead. Even if they make the playoffs at the end of Stage Three the results likely won’t be great.
Going forward, if the Fusion don’t sign additional players ahead of Stage Four or adapt well to the reported upcoming 2-2-2 model, this season may be wasted away. However, in light of the potential meta shift, Fusion fans can look forward to a potential return of the likes of Eqo and Carpe to their signature DPS heroes and unlock the latent potential of a team that nearly took home the Overwatch League trophy in 2018.