This week is the last week of the May Melee qualifier matches before the tournament proper starts next week. Since the meta has solidified, I am only going to be talking about a few of the games I think are worth watching. So without further ado, let’s get started!
The Games
This week has delivered some of the best games of the season so far, its a week filled with wild 6 map series and 3-0 sweeps from teams I didn’t expect to be so dominant coming into this tournament.
Shanghai Dragons vs Hangzhou Spark [East]
This match is a much much better performance for the Hangzhou Spark after their debut last week. On the back of the DPS prowess of hitscan player Shy, the Spark were able to bring this series to a tiebreaker map 5 which they ultimately lost. Despite this loss, this is definitely a sign of improvement from the Hangzhou squad and I’m excited to see what else Shy can do for them going forward.
Boston Uprising vs London Spitfire [West]
Another entry in the category of ‘most improved’. The Boston Uprising showing significant signs of improvement from their performance last week in this map 5 affair. The London Spitfire on the other hand are still looking for the first win this season and are now 0-3. I’m glad that Boston got their first win and I hope this is a sign of more good things to come. For London, I hope they take these losses in the May Melee and make improvements for the June Joust.
Shanghai Dragons vs Philadelphia Fusion [East]
This one is a clash of titans, this six map affair is one of the best series of the season. Both teams are equally matched with excellent DPS matchups with the likes of Lip and Fleta vs the likes of Carpe and Rascal. While the Shanghai Dragons were ultimately able to win this series, it was a hard fought victory for them and I don’t think anyone can be too disappointed in the Fusion’s performance in this series. Here’s hoping Philadelphia Fusion can make it into the next tournament, I would love to see a rematch between these two in a first to four series.
Dallas Fuel vs San Francisco Shock [West]
It happened folks. The upset is real. The Dallas Fuel with no hitscan specialist on their roster after Xzi’s retirement were unable to play Mei/McCree meta and instead relied on Sp9rk1e’s flexibility and cleverness with the Symmetra and Reaper to demolish the San Francisco Shock in a clean 3-0 sweep. Absolutely fantastic performance from everyone on the Dallas Fuel and especially Fearless whose Winston play was crucial for the Dallas Fuel’s dominance.
The Fuel constantly kept the Shock on their toes and forced the Shock to switch away from their usual hero picks. We even saw Viol2t play the Echo which was….not a good time. In general, the San Francisco Shock looked confused in this series, I hope they learn from this loss and start integrating their newer DPS players like Glister and Ta1yo instead of putting a support player on the DPS role.
Dallas Fuel vs Houston Outlaws
After the Dallas Fuel won against the San Francisco Shock, the question remained, would they be able to best one of the best teams in the West region? Facing off against a revitalized and confident Houston Outlaws, this looked to be a match that I was predicting was going to go the distance. Five or even six maps if we got a draw. Instead, the Dallas Fuel surprised and shocked the Outlaws with their high tempo play and this one was another 3-0 clean sweep for the Dallas Fuel. I am extremely excited to see what the tournament holds for this team, it feels like they could go all the way and win it if they keep performing like this.
The May Melee Tournament
The May Melee tournament starts in week 4! It is a double elimination bracket with four teams, two from the West region and two from the East region.
The following teams will be participating:
- Dallas Fuel
- Florida Mayhem
- Chengdu Hunters
- Shanghai Dragons
I know I did not talk about the Florida or Chengdu matches this week but trust me both of those teams are looking extremely strong and I’m very much looking forward to what happens in this tournament. I love me a double elimination bracket, we could see a team lose in the first round and then make a run through the losers bracket to face off in the finals.
The finals will be a first to four series so we have the potential of a seven map series on our hands. I cannot wait.
See y’all next week!