The culmination of a season-long storyline climaxes in Philadelphia, PA this Sunday. The San Francisco Shock, an all-around powerhouse of a team, is able to adapt to any meta from GOATS to Reaper/Doomfist comps with all-star caliber players. On the other hand, the Vancouver Titans have a storied history dating back to dominating Contenders Korea to now in the Overwatch League. At the end of the season, both teams fought their right to play in the grand finals.



▲ Photo by Robert Paul

New Season, New Rivalry

Their rivalry started in Stage 1 where the Titans displayed pure dominance. The Shock, however, clawed their way through the Stage 1 playoffs to meet the Titans in the Stage 1 finals. In one of the most memorable matches in OWL history, the Shock pushed the Titans to their limit. Through Sang-beom "Bumper" Park’s Reinhardt and Hyojong "Haksal" Kim’s Brigitte, the earth shattered as the Titans rallied together to limit the Shock to a spark. The confetti fell as the Titans held their arms high. In contrast, the look of defeat was all over the Shock's faces. This look did not damage the Shock's confidence, rather it was used as a motivation to improve moving forward.



▲ Photo by Robert Paul

High Voltage

Stage 2 displayed the potential energy of the San Francisco Shock. Their improvement in the GOATS meta and learning to adapt over time was a significant factor in their success. They unleashed that potential and turned it to kinetic energy. They met the Vancouver Titans again in the Stage 2 finals, where the results were different. The current MVP, Jay "sinatraa" Won, led his team through his leadership and fantastic Zarya play to gravitate towards the Shock’s first stage championship.



▲ Photo by Robert Paul

No Better Finale Than An Anime Finale

Both teams maintained the top of the standings throughout the season. Through sheer mechanical skill, teamwork, and the ability to adapt, the Shock and Titans stayed consistent. During the postseason playoffs, Haksal had relentless play with his Doomfist and the Titans to play around him. The Shock has a deep roster that swept every opponent to the grand finals after a shocking defeat to the Atlanta Reign in the first round. Both teams showed no mercy to their opponents in the postseason playoffs. They will clash one final time this season in the grand finals.



Sung-jun "SLIME" Kim stated in a previous interview with Inven Global about playing the Shock in the grand finals: “Against Shock, we are 2-2, so it'll be fun to go against them and beat them in the grand finals.”



Hyo-bin "ChoiHyoBin" Choi thinks it is right for the Shock and Titans to play each other in the grand finals: “I think it's a better story if it's us versus Vancouver in the grand finals.”



Both teams contain all-star lineups, MVP quality players, and a quality coaching staff.



You can say it is fate.

You can say it is destiny.

This is probably an anime.



▲ Photo by Robert Paul



When comparing the Titans/Shock rivalry to an anime, Shock’s tank Myeong-hwan "smurf" Yoo said:

“Attack on Titan.”