Heading into the second season of the Overwatch League, expectations were pretty high for our boys over at the Philadelphia Fusion. Unlike the expansion teams and their competitors from the inaugural season, their roster was more or less unchanged, with the exception of the departure of Hotba, an aspect of the lineup that gave fans the impression of confidence and consistency in their performance.
The first week of the Overwatch League S2 started off strong with the Fusion taking a decisive victory over the London Spitfire, the reigning champs from Season 1. In the same week, they would be the first (and currently only) team to take a win off the infamous Atlanta Reign. Things were looking bright for the team, but in the second week, Fusion’s off-support player Isaac “Boombox” Charles fell ill.
Credit: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment
This put the Fusion’s new acquisition Elijah “Elk” Gallagher in the position of having to make his OWL debut playing outside of his role. Predictably this unexpected scenario led to the team's first defeat of the year at the hands of the Florida Mayhem. While understandable, this lack of consistency and a slower start to the beginning of the season is an all-too-familiar tune for fans of the franchise.
The Fusion seem to be coming back to form now that Boombox has hit the stage again, but these first two weeks may signify the start of a rocky season. I spoke with Fusion’s main support Alberto “NeptuNo” Gonzalez to get the team’s perspective on the highs and lows of the stage so far.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Adam: Can you take me back to week 1? What were your feelings going into the rematch with London?
NeptuNo: I didn't really feel anything, for me it was just a match. I was pretty hyped to play because it was the first match of the season, but I didn't care that it was London or anything. I just really wanted to win the first match and start the season with good results. I don't really care about last year's finals anymore, they happened, but I'm looking forward.
Adam: By halftime of that game you guys were up 2-0. What was the environment like in the team room during the break?
Credit: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment
NeptuNo: We were basically just talking about what we were going to do on the next map. We were confident that we were stronger in GOATS than they were, and that they wouldn't expect the Winston based comp that we used on them. Most people play Reinhardt in those situations, but we play a lot more Winston than other teams, and we knew that they wouldn't know what to do against it since they don't skrim us. We took advantage of that in Rialto, to the point that they couldn't even push the payload.
Adam: At what point did you know you had the victory in hand?
NeptuNo: Definitely when we full held Rialto, we knew we had it. In GOATS meta, if you defend first and you hold, then on attack you just need to control the ult economy and you will win. London tried to replicate the defense we used on them, but I know the weaknesses in that defense.
I just waited for Boombox to cross since he is the prime target for Winston. They were all waiting on the high ground, so I just went behind them with a wall ride and hid, once I got the signal I just booped them all down from the high ground. Because of that disruption, they didn't have time to protect the payload and we just got it easily.
Adam: After your victory, how were you feeling, having dethroned last season's champions?
Credit: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment
NeptuNo: It felt really good to beat them, but it wasn't in the same meta as finals. It's been like six months since then, so it doesn't really feel much like revenge, it feels like we beat them in a normal game. I don't really have anything against those guys, it’s not really like a rivalry or anything.
Adam: In the same week you also took down Atlanta, and you're still the only team to do so. What are your current thoughts on the team, and where do you see them landing among the other teams?
NeptuNo: I think they were undisciplined. They were really good, and they knew what they were doing, but it felt like their ult economy was all over the place. It seemed like they grav bombed every time it came up. They are really good players though, so I think they are the same level as us, wild cards. They can win against any team and lose against any team.
Adam: In week 2 you had a couple of losses, what was it about Florida and Dallas that caught you by surprise?
NeptuNo: Well, we didn't actually get surprised by anything they did, we actually had a pretty clear read on what they were going to do. When we saw their comp we knew how to play the matchup. Our problem was that we had to sub Elk in off of his preferred role the day before. Boombox woke up sick, so what could we do?
Elk has done a great job, but Zenyatta has a huge impact on this meta. The small things that Boombox does, and those small pieces of extra coordination we have with him, in regard to position, rotations and discords, we didn't have time to prepare with Elk. I think people underestimate how good Boombox actually is, but you can tell by our performance. Elk has been playing well, but without Boombox, we are much more sloppy in our execution.
Adam: Considering Elk is a main support as well, you guys are probably never in-game together, what was it like working with him in this capacity?
NeptuNo: It was great working with him as a player, but ultimately he is learning the role through mistakes. I've been trying to help him, and he has improved a lot in two days, which is insane. The sad thing is, I'm never going to be playing with him when he's actually comfortable on his role.
I feel really bad that he had to play his first match in the Overwatch League on an off role, with only one day of practice, it sucks. I think it would have been better if he could play his first match on Lucio, a character he knows in and out and is comfortable with. It's like if they asked me to start on Tracer or Winston tomorrow. I may have fun with it in solo queue, but that doesn't mean I know how to play it on a team. I would freak out, I wouldn't want to be in the situation Elk was in.