Day 4 of Week 3 of the Overwatch League 2023 Season got underway today at the WDG Esports Studio in Chungmuro, Seoul. In the first match, the Seoul Infernal continued their momentum with a 3:0 sweep against the Hangzhou Spark. The Infernal gained ground in the battle at the top of the standings by defeating first-place Guangzhou yesterday, followed by Hangzhou. Guangzhou held onto the top spot on their own. They did so by beating the Shanghai Dragons 3:1 on goal difference.
In the first match, Seoul and Hangzhou met. Seoul came out strong from the start of the first set, led by Reinhardt "Mag" Reinhardt, with McCree "MN3" McCree as well as Luciu "Pixar" Luciu scoring kills on their way to victory. With momentum in their favor, Seoul pulled out the Zarya-Ripper card to win the power battle. Reaper on 'Zest' caught up and got a kill, followed by another kill from Lucio, and Seoul took the first set.
In game two, it was the other Seoul teammates who stood out. 'Squid' Ana kept Hangzhou at bay with a well-timed heel van on her opponent Shai 'Sombra' Sombra's EMP. With their speed, Seoul was able to defend the first point and immediately secure the second. The rest of the team showed great teamwork and focus, picking off Hangzhou individually to take a 2-0 lead.
The third set was more of the same, with Seoul winning. Hangzhou did a good job of dealing with 'Mag' Diva, but when he switched back to Winston, they couldn't stop him. Each EMP timing from their opponent, Shai 'Sombra' Sombra, saw the backline survive to the end. Seoul's 'Squid' was often able to hit Sombra's EMP timing with his heel van or put his opponent to sleep.
Game 2 saw Guangzhou face off against Shanghai. In game one, Guangzhou continued to apply strong pressure. Guangzhou consistently put pressure on their key dealer, Hui Xu. While Guangzhou was able to control Hee-su, Shanghai was unable to score and the game ended with a score of 2:0. Guangzhou looked to avenge their loss to Seoul Infernal in their previous match.
In the second set, Shanghai fought back. This time, Shanghai focused on Guangzhou's key dealer, Han "Jimmy" Jo, and were able to push the cargo to three points. Guangzhou's tracer Choi "Se-hwan" Choi and Piggy "Piggy" Winston split up, but they couldn't prevent the three points. On defense, Shanghai completed a clean sweep, with Ana 'iris' showing off her near-deadly stability to snipe the tracer. The win tied the game at 1-1.
In game three, Guangzhou found their way again, especially with dealer 'Jimmy' finding his groove as a pair. 'Jimmy' gained confidence as he disrupted Shanghai's dealer lineup. From there, Guangzhou was able to take the lead in the power struggle, pushing from the front lane one after another.
Guangzhou had clinched the top spot in the East in their own hands. Every time Shanghai tried to go out with a bang, Guangzhou was able to play from behind by targeting the healers. From there, they made the best play for the situation. Choi "Se-hwan" Choi's tracer alternated between dealer "Hee-soo" and healer "Iris" to lead his team to victory.
Overwatch League 2023 Season East Week 3 Day 3 Results
Game 1 Seoul Infernal 3 vs Hangzhou Spark 0
Set 1: Seoul Infernal 2 vs 0 Hangzhou Spark - Lijiang Tower
Set 2 Seoul Infernal 2 vs 1 Hangzhou Spark - Hollywood
Set 3 Seoul Infernal 3 vs 2 Hangzhou Spark - Rialto
Game 2 Guangzhou Charge 3 vs 1 Shanghai Dragons
Set 1 Guangzhou Charge 2 vs 0 Shanghai Dragons - Antarctica Peninsula
Set 2 Guangzhou Charge 0 vs 3 Shanghai Dragons - King's Road
Set 3 Guangzhou Charge 3 vs 2 Shanghai Dragons - Garbage Village
Set 4 Guangzhou Charge 1 vs 0 Shanghai Dragons - Colosseum