#1 Vancouver Titans vs #6 San Francisco Shock
Winner: Vancouver Titans
Now we’re into the semifinals. If this matchup happens, it would be another rematch from early in the stage. However, unlike Atlanta over Philadelphia, we don’t think San Francisco can make it happen.
Vancouver won the first meeting 3-1, handling the Shock pretty easily whenever the three tank, three healer G.O.A.T.S. comp was in play. If the Shock can win some clutch teamfights and Sinatraa can get some great picks, they might have a chance.
While it might be a good game, we still believe in the Titan’s ability to stay together, and play their aggressive version of G.O.A.T.S. straight into the Overwatch League Stage 1 Finals.
#2 New York Excelsior vs #5 Atlanta Reign
Winner: New York Excelsior
Sadly for the Reign, we’re pretty sure if their playoff run takes them face to face with New York, it won’t end pretty.
The Reign are a good team, certainly one that have exceeded expectations for an expansion team. Dafran has proved himself to be an elite player. That being said, New York is New York.
We see the Excelsior taking advantage of the communication problems that Atlanta has suffered from this year and catch Reign players out of position.
While some of Atlanta’s weird Torbjörn comps might be good for a teamfight here and there, we are confident New York will adapt and clean up.
#1 Vancouver Titans vs #2 New York Excelsior
Winner: New York Excelsior
Here it is, the match we’ve all been waiting for. It might not be exciting to have the top two seeds in the finals, but, if it happens, these two squads are almost certainly going to put on quite a show. Both New York and Vancouver have been dominant in the G.O.A.T.S. meta, though their styles do vary.
Vancouver’s style of play is certainly more aggressive, and you can see this by the fact that they are involved in more teamfights per 10 minutes than New York, as well as the fact that they are overall doing more damage and getting more overall kills on average than New York.
However, this aggression might work against them. While New York participates in fewer teamfights, their win rate is significantly higher than Vancouver’s and they are also dying less.
We believe that New York’s more passive approach will do them more good than harm in the end and will give them a slight edge.
Of course, it’s the finals. We are sure to see both teams pull out all the stops and force each other into unfamiliar situations.
Fortunately for New York, if things get hairy, JJoNaK is usually good for some mind-bending Zenyatta snipes that light up the kill feed. If this match happens, it is sure to be peak Overwatch play.
What do you think about our predictions? Who do you think is going to win the Stage 1 Playoffs? Let us know in the comments!
