Philadelphia Fusion start season strong in Overwatch League's May Melee

Even with their last-minute pick-ups, the Philadelphia Fusion are coming out of the gate as one of the strongest teams during May Melee, the first stage in the Overwatch League’s 2021 season.

This past weekend, teams competed in regional knockouts to lock in spots for May Melee Tournament Weekend, which takes place May 6-8.

The Fusion were 4-0 and the No. 1 seed in the East heading into regional knockouts, but they lost to the Shanghai Dragons on Sunday and will miss out on Tournament Weekend.

Before encountering the Dragons, the Chengdu Hunters were the Fusion's toughest opponent during May Melee qualifiers. The Hunters kept the Fusion on their toes in their matchup, especially with a surprise sneak attack on Volskaya from Qiu “GA9A” Jiaxin, a map which the Hunters took. The Fusion recovered in King’s Row and ultimately handed the Hunters their first loss of the season, but each map was close.

DPS duo Jaehyeok “Carpe” Lee and Dongjun “Rascal” Kim seem to have built a synergy even though the duo haven’t played together since the last Overwatch World Cup. Because they have such a deep hero pool, they are always able to flex a situation into their favor, and fans enjoy watching them pop off against their opponents.

Historically, the Fusion have been a team with heavy momentum going into tournaments, only to lose steam before the finals. Fans are hoping that the Fusion can finally figure out the last piece to the puzzle and bring home the first-place prize in future tournaments.

Considering how well the Fusion have been doing against competition in the East, fans will be eager to see how they stack up against teams from the West at future tournament weekends.

In addition to prize money ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 for teams competing in tournament weekends, the top three teams will receive additional League Points, which factor into the standings and seeding for the end-of-season playoffs.

Lead image credit: Nerd Street Gamers