Atlanta Reign suffer another 0-3 loss; Chengdu Hunters book Grand Finals slot

After falling 0-3 to the Los Angeles Gladiators, the Atlanta Reign faced off against the Chengdu Hunters in the losers’ finals. The winner of this match would face the Gladiators in the Grand Finals. The first team to reach three map wins wins the series and lays claim to bragging rights.

The first map, Ilios, saw both teams mirror team compositions. With a Pharah, Mercy, Hanzo and Orisa composition for either team, it was going to be a matter of positioning and using the environment to mitigate damage.

The first point on Ilios was extremely close with both teams capturing 99% of the point. It was a battle between which team could eliminate the opponent’s backlines and secure sustainability. Blake "Gator" Scott’s three-person shatter was a beauty to watch and it helped the Atlanta Reign prevent the Hunters from flipping the point. Ultimately, the Atlanteans won the first point and were one point-win away from the map win.

After Atlanta Reign captured the second point, the Chengdu Hunters farmed their ultimates and played an efficient retake. After controlling the point, however, Chengdu Hunters did not provide any leeway to the Atlanta Reign. There was a Pharah Battle going on and another battle between the two Hanzos. In most of these situations, Chengdu Hunter came out stronger. It was a clinical finish for the Hunters and they seemed to have put the first point loss behind them. 

Huang "leave" Xin was constantly able to generate more ultimate charge, which showcased the amount of damage he was able to output. He was nearly 30% ahead of his Atlanta Reign counterpart, Kai. Chengdu Hunters captured the point. Atlanta Reign brought it back and almost equaled Chengdu’s capture percentage.

As the two teams were locked in a stalemate, Li "Yveltal" Xianyao pulled out the glock on his Mercy and took down Petja "Masaa" Kantanen, who was playing the Mercy on the opposite side.

Chengdu Hunters won Ilios 2-1 and took a 1-0 lead in the series.

Atlanta Reign started Hanamura on the offense. They took the first point with over a minute to spare, thanks largely to a clutch play by Massa. But Chengdu Hunters played an aggressive game, getting picks even before the Atlanta Reign could enter the second point. It erased valuable time off the Reign countdown timer. Qiu "GA9A" Jiaxin’s Primal rage got three kills in the last fight and it was all over for the Atlanta Reign. They could not complete a single percentage on the second point, a disappointment considering the huge time-bank the team had.

Chengdu started their offense with a Pharah-Mercy composition. The team went up against Torbjorn on the opposite side. Pharah was able to get multiple kills with ease, and Hunters actually got an even better time than the Atlanta Reign. The Hunters pushed the Atlanta Reigns into a corner, clumping them together. And then Pharah unleashed her Barrage, dealing a crushing blow to Atlanta fans who had hoped for a fight.

Chengdu continued its momentum on Blizzardworld taking the first point with more than two minutes to spare. The cart continued almost uninterrupted till the very end of the second point. But Chengdu Hunters regrouped and managed to see the cart till the end of the second point. Blizzardworld was much more competitive compared to the previous two maps. Atlanta Reign put up a strong performance on the defense and stopped the Chengdu from completing the map.

But Atlanta did not have the same tenacity on the offense. A big reason for this was Chengdu’s aggression on the defense. Always looking to inch ahead, Chengdu Hunters were taking the fight to the Atlanta Reign regularly. Atlanta got the first point relatively quickly, but the second point proved to be a big obstacle. There was just too much pressure from the Chengdu Hunters who had perched themselves on the high ground.

With this win, Chengdu Hunters have secured a Grand Finals berth. The team will face LA Gladiators in the finals to earn valuable League points. The League points will determine the postseason standings. The Grand Finals will stream live on YouTube.

Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest Overwatch news and updates.