It was another thrilling day for the Overwatch League as more teams competed in their first matches of the season. From a European battle between London and Paris to a crazy quick match-up from Washington and New York, here is what happened on Day 3 of the Overwatch League’s opening week.

London Spitfire vs. Paris Eternal

The battle between the two European teams took place to kick off the day, and fans had it predicted that the Season One champions would take the win over the new team from Paris. However, it was entirely the opposite. Though the match was close, the Paris Eternal were able to take the win over the London Spitfire with a 3-1 victory, making a grand opening statement for the team in their debut match.

The Paris Eternal surprised fans when they took this victory. Many people underestimated the team, having not much of an idea on what to expect. Priding themselves as an all European team, Paris made their fans proud with the incredible plays they accomplished during the game. One member who stood out was flex support Damien “HyP” Souville. HyP played an incredible Zenyatta throughout the entire match but especially shone during Route 66 as he single-handedly took down three members of the Spitfire, despite being hacked by London’s EMP that was set off by DPS player Hee-dong “Guard” Lee.

London lost the game but proved that their new players are scary. Main tank Jae-hee “Gesture” Hong showed that he is still very talented as he landed a three-man kill as Reinhardt on the third point of Route 66 after his DPS teammate, Guard, landed a four-man EMP hack onto the Paris Eternal to assist in the complete wipe of the enemy team. Guard was on fire throughout the whole of the match as Sombra, landing several EMP’s onto multiple players across every map he played in, ranging from around four to five players nearly every time.

Washington Justice vs. New York Excelsior

Perhaps the quickest match of the league so far, the New York Excelsior faced off against the recently formed Washington Justice, and while some fans were hopeful the new team could take on the Titans from the inaugural season, it wasn’t meant to be. The Excelsior dominated the Justice with a 3-1 victory and perhaps the quickest round of Kings Row in the league, with a grand total of 9 minutes 30 seconds including the map introduction and the pauses.

The New York Excelsior once again proved their dominance in the match, as they executed an abundance of impressive plays and a showcase of good communication across the board. The most impressive play came from the final map, as NYXL ran main tank Dong-gyu “Mano” Kim on Reinhardt and flex tank Tae-hong “MekO” Kim on D.va. As the payload moved for Washington, Mano knocked down almost every player with his Reinhardt shatter. MekO then launched his Self-Destruct into the air, and the blast of it killed four players on the side of Washington, halting the attack immediately as the remaining two members fell to the rest of NYXL.

The Washington Justice had a rough start to their season with this match. However, that isn’t to say they had a downright terrible game. They managed to take the win off the Excelsior on Horizon Lunar Colony, where they came out in full force. DPS player, Corey “Corey” Nigra, pulled off two back to back double kills as Zarya, whilst main tank Joon-hwa “Janus” Song landed three of his own to help close out the map win for the Justice. Not only this, but the map itself was also quick, with a finish time of roughly 11 minutes including the map introduction and the pauses. With several matches still to go in the season, the future for the Washington Justice seems bright, as they continue to make improvements to succeed.

Los Angeles Valiant vs. Hangzhou Spark

The match between the Los Angeles Valiant and the Hangzhou Spark was insane to watch. This match was most definitely the match of the evening, with D.va bombs flying everywhere and more Earthshatters than you can shake a fist at. In the end, after an insane and intense series, the Hangzhou Spark came out on top with a 3-2 victory.

And it is no surprise the Hangzhou Spark won either. Each player shone in this match, but it was flex tank Seong-Wook “Ria” Park that stole the show. Already making a name for himself on D.va, Ria landed many kills across the match, but his most impressive was when he managed to eat the enemy Zarya’s Graviton Surge on Busan Meka Base and then combined his Self-Destruct with DPS teammate Kyeong-bo “GodsB” Kim’s own Zarya ultimate to gain himself a four-man kill. This wasn’t the only time he landed kills like these with GodsB, as they repeated the act on Nepal Village.

The LA Valiant may have lost, but the series was close. The Valiant has recently changed their line up for the new season, and instead of playing Scott “Custa” Kennedy for main support, the Valiant ran main tank Dae-kuk “KuKi” Kim on Lucio. This worried some fans, but it paid off to an extent. KuKi managed to kill three players by himself as the support hero, allowing for his team to capture the point on Busan Meka Base and begin gaining control percentage. As well as this, flex support Min-chul “Izayaki” Kim had a strong showing as Zenyatta, landing several multi-kills on almost every map.

Shanghai Dragons vs. Vancouver Titans

The Vancouver Titans made their Overwatch League debut as they faced off against the new and improved Shanghai Dragons roster. Some fans were hoping for the Dragons to get their first win, but the Titans proved to be the better team. Vancouver claimed victory over the Dragons with a clean 4-0 sweep, making a strong start to their Overwatch League season.

It isn’t shocking to hear that the Vancouver Titans won. Formerly the roster for the Contenders Korea team known as Runaway, the players for the Vancouver Titans are seasoned professionals who have finally made it into the big leagues. They’ve been fan favorites for a long time and have now proven they have what it takes to compete in the Overwatch League. Flex tank for the Titans, Hyeon-woo “JJANU” Choi, made a grand statement as his D.va wowed fans eagerly watching. Taking down three members of the Dragons by himself with his Self-Destruct on Hollywood and two on Busan, JJANU is beginning to make his name even bigger as a skilled flex tank.

DPS player for the Titans, Hyo-jong “Haksal” Kim, also impressed the viewers with a strong showcasing of his Brigitte, taking down half of the Shanghai Dragons alone to help his team capture the point on Busan Downtown.

Shanghai has had a rough start to their second season of the Overwatch League, but the team has improved in leaps and bounds with their new additions to the team. New main tank, Youngjin “Gamsu” Noh, also debuted with the team during this match and gave the fans a strong showing of what he can do. Landing a double kill as Wrecking Ball on Busan Sanctuary, Gamsu enabled his team to take down other members of Vancouver, allowing the Dragons to capture the point and build percentage. But Gamsu wasn’t the only one with an impressive performance. Fan favorite flex tank for Shanghai, Se-yeon “Geguri” Kim, killed three members of Vancouver alone to help push the enemy off the second point of Temple of Anubis, taking hold of it to finish that round of the map.

Coming Up

Here are the upcoming matches for the final day in the opening week of the Overwatch League:

February 17th 3 pm EST - Houston Outlaws vs. Boston Uprising

February 17th 4:30 pm EST - Philadelphia Fusion vs. Atlanta Reign

February 17th 6 pm EST - San Francisco Shock vs. Los Angeles Gladiators

February 17th 7:30 pm EST - Seoul Dynasty vs. Dallas Fuel

Images via the Overwatch League