Every time there is a new signing, a player release, or a trade in the Overwatch League, it causes a butterfly effect in my roster ratings, and sometimes, it can shift the dynamics of my reviews entirely. After considering every single roster change that has happened in the off-season thus far, I am finally reviewing one of my initially-favourite teams in the Overwatch League: the Philadelphia Fusion, whom I ranked 12th in my end-of-season power rankings for 2019. They didn't exceed the 13th-ranked Paris Eternal by a lot (in terms of skill level), whom I reviewed just a couple of days ago, but still had a fairly entertaining run despite their hardships.
In this off-season, they've made some very interesting roster moves, which is why I've been getting a ton of requests to review their team, but what I'm about to say might not please these anxious readers. Why is that? Let's go over the Fusion's roster to find out. Again, there is one underage player on this team right now, but just like I did with the Eternal, I will assume everyone on the roster is a full-time active player, for the sake of normalisation and a review on equal terms.
I know SADO's place and performance on this team has seen a lot of arguments both for and against this player, but I think I should finally share what I think of him. In my opinion, he's a very good Winston, and we also saw him play a lot more of him during Goats than most other main tank players. His Reinhardt just didn't work out, since he kept getting forced into playing passively, couldn't create a lot of space, and simply died a lot compared to most other Reinhardt players. His Orisa and Wrecking Ball were nothing to write home about either, so I think this puts him a little on the spot, and I must say that the Fusion need an upgrade over him in 2020. Yes, he helped them a lot in progressing through the latter part of Season 1, but 2019 just wasn't his year, and if not replace him, his team at least needs to recruit another main tank player to compete with him for the starting spot. That will help both of them strive harder to improve, and help them develop as players, which can only benefit the Fusion in the end. So, for now, I think the Fusion's main tank slot is in a rough shape.
On the off-tank side, Fusion has had Poko with them since the League's inaugural season, and we all know how good of a D.Va this champ is. I like to describe Poko's D.Va play as 'opportunistic', in the sense that he waits for the right time to go all in and make plays, whether it be via eating enemy ultimates, diving a vulnerable target, or landing those famous 'Poko Bombs'. He is also a fairly good Zarya, but his play on Hog and Sigma isn't all that noteworthy, and I don't think he's going to be very impressive until he ups his game on all of the off-tanks, since there are better names that come to mind for every single hero he's slotted in to play. Now let's move on to the sensational, Grav-eating ex-Spitfire off-tank, Fury. We all know how good this guy's D.Va play is, since he's incredibly good at eating enemy ultimates, and exploiting openings to secure kills. One of the most reactive off-tanks in the League, Fury has a pretty good hero pool, as he plays a decent Roadhog and Zarya in addition to his top-notch D.Va. We can assume his Sigma to be average, since we haven't seen him play that hero in a competition (Gesture played Sigma for the Spitfire in Season 2), so I think it's safe to say Fury is the best tank the Fusion have got at the moment, due to his fairly-wide hero pool, and comfort level on the tanks he's expected to play.
To round out my opinion on Philly's tank line, I'll say that their off-tank slot is in a pretty good place, but SADO is going to pull them back by a lot if he doesn't elevate his play on the other main tanks to at least the same level he plays Winston at. Having a steady main tank is key to any team's success, and I just don't know if SADO can be that guy for the Fusion, so I think this team could default to a bottom-5 tank line if they don't get their main tank problem sorted. Also, upgrading their Sigma play would help, but that's just a side note. Just imagine...Fusion's frontline could be around the same level as the Justice's or the (updated) Hunters'...yikes.
First up, the star Korean DPS of the Fusion since the very beginning, Carpe is well-known for his great hitscan and sniper play, as well as his clutch potential. He was one of the most formidable damage dealers out there in Season 1 of the Overwatch League, but I must say that a number of different names overtook him based off of pure merit in Season 2. What we got in 2019 was a mid-table hitscan player in Carpe, and even though you may argue he didn't get to play in hitscan-suited metas, we still saw other players work wonders on those same heroes in many different situations. I may be completely wrong here, but Carpe doesn't seem as much of a threat as he used to two years ago, since many more talented hitscan players have entered the fold and made their mark since. His partner-in-crime for over a year, Eqo, is still on this roster as well. This Israeli flex DPS player got famous for his top-notch projectile play in Season 1 of OWL, and although he's still talented on his signature heroes, there are others who have risen to a level comparable to his, because of which he may not seem all that formidable anymore. In the 2019 season, I only really noticed him playing well on Mei, who wasn't even part of his canon until Stage 4 hit, and I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. On one hand, he was finishing off a surprising amount of kills as Mei, but on the other, I didn't feel like praising him on his other DPS picks all that much, despite him getting a decent amount of playtime on them. I don't know if he lost motivation because he was stuck in Brig jail, but I think he'll have to up his game if he wants to be on top of the DPS leaderboard. Carpe-Eqo is as iconic as a DPS duo gets in the League, and I absolutely love watching both these players play, so let's hope they buck up a little and regain their lost glory, yeah?
Ivy, formerly of the Toronto Defiant, is another flex DPS added to the Fusion's roster, and he mostly plays flankers and projectile heroes. His Genji, which we didn't get to see much of in 2019, is supposedly very good. He also seemingly plays a great Tracer, which I can't confirm, but his Pharah in Season 2 was pretty good. His positioning was a little on the risky side, as I didn't see him use natural cover as much as the average Pharah player, but he was still able to secure kills for his team. That said though, I don't know what X-factor he brings to the table, or how he's going to see playtime with Eqo on the squad, so maybe he's just there to motivate Eqo to push himself and be a better player. The 4th damage dealer on the Fusion's roster is ChipSa, a British streamer famous for his high-level Doomfist play. He has been signed just in case the team enters a Doomfist-centric meta, and if that doesn't happen, he will probably just ride the bench. Now, ChipSa's Doomfist is actually crazy good, and he also plays a great Genji, but other than that, he's not shown top-tier play on the rest of the DPS cast. Since his signing, he has been playing some Mei and Hanzo on his stream, and he's doing okay on those heroes, but not nearly to the extent at which he plays Doomfist. This leads me to believe he could have a tough time playing even in Doomfist-centric metas if the enemy team counterpicks well against him. If they don't, ChipSa will just pop off, but to be safe, he should elevate his play on Mei and Hanzo if he wants to stand a chance against a ton of other flex DPS players in the League, since if he doesn't, he will only be a liability to the Fusion. Also, let's not forget that ChipSa hasn't played professionally in ages, and has never competed at this level, so his playstyle needs to be adjusted for him to fit in with his new team, which could prove to be a challenge considering his solo carry approach on ladder. The final damage dealer added to this roster is Heesu, a hitscan/sniper player who was recently on RunAway. I think this guy is going to be the high-sustain meta specialist for Fusion, since he played an insanely good Reaper and Bastion during the Double Barrier Meta in Contenders. I was extremely impressed by his performance there, and have also watched him play traditional hitscan heroes to a high level. I think he's a pretty good addition to this roster, and could give Carpe some extra motivation to improve his play.
To round off the DPS discussion, I think the Fusion's damage line is quite good on an individual level, but here's a few doubts: Why is Ivy on this team if Eqo can play all the heroes he can play and more? Is he just a backup for a rainy day? Also, will ChipSa truly be able to outperform other more flexible players on Doomfist, or will he be shut-down by pure counterpicking/just get outplayed? Are Carpe and Eqo still at the God-tier of damage dealers, or will the new wave of DPS players steal that reputation from them? When one realises how many question marks there are when it comes to Fusion's damage dealers, it becomes harder and harder to confidently tout them as a top-notch DPS line, which a lot of people seem to be doing on online forums or in analyses like this one. Alright I'm just going to say it: I don't think Fusion's DPS line makes the Top 10 cut for 2020. I have greater clarity and confidence in many other damage lineups in the League, and although there are some talented DPS players on this roster, I don't think their average skill level and (in-game) adaptability matches up to a lot of other rosters out there. So yeah, it's an unpopular opinion, but I'm going to stick to it.
FunnyAstro was, until recently, on a two-way contract between the Atlanta Reign and their Contenders team, Atlanta Academy, and his signing is a pretty good move by the Fusion. We all know how talented FunnyAstro is on both Lúcio and Mercy, and with the amount of mechanical skill he has, he's almost like a pseudo-DPS on the field. As someone who has taken 4 of his accounts to ranks 1 through 4 on the competitive ladder, he has spent a lot of time grinding the game, and is hence, very adaptable.
FunnyAstro isn't the first Britisher to be on the Fusion's roster though, as flex support Boombox is still part of this team's lineup. I like Boombox in the sense that he's decent at all the flex support picks, and that even though he's not one to make huge plays or clutch out fights, you can rely on him to be there and do his job. He didn't have an ultra good season in 2019, but he wasn't too bad either in my opinion, so let's see what 2020 bodes for him, and if at all he sees some playtime, considering that Alarm is now in the house. After having a fantastic track record with Fusion University, this South Korean flex support has now been brought up to the big leagues, and he will no doubt be a great asset to Philly's main roster. The only question that remains is whether he will be subbed in for Boombox (based on what I've seen online, he will), and I'm very keen on seeing what he can achieve in OWL this year.
In short, the Fusion don't need to worry on the support front. I can see FunnyAstro, Boombox and Alarm forming a Top-10, or maybe even a Top-8 support line in the League this year, so yeah, let's see what this trio can do!
In this off-season, they've made some very interesting roster moves, which is why I've been getting a ton of requests to review their team, but what I'm about to say might not please these anxious readers. Why is that? Let's go over the Fusion's roster to find out. Again, there is one underage player on this team right now, but just like I did with the Eternal, I will assume everyone on the roster is a full-time active player, for the sake of normalisation and a review on equal terms.
TANK
The Fusion's tank line currently consists of SADO on main tank, and Poko and Fury on off-tank.I know SADO's place and performance on this team has seen a lot of arguments both for and against this player, but I think I should finally share what I think of him. In my opinion, he's a very good Winston, and we also saw him play a lot more of him during Goats than most other main tank players. His Reinhardt just didn't work out, since he kept getting forced into playing passively, couldn't create a lot of space, and simply died a lot compared to most other Reinhardt players. His Orisa and Wrecking Ball were nothing to write home about either, so I think this puts him a little on the spot, and I must say that the Fusion need an upgrade over him in 2020. Yes, he helped them a lot in progressing through the latter part of Season 1, but 2019 just wasn't his year, and if not replace him, his team at least needs to recruit another main tank player to compete with him for the starting spot. That will help both of them strive harder to improve, and help them develop as players, which can only benefit the Fusion in the end. So, for now, I think the Fusion's main tank slot is in a rough shape.
On the off-tank side, Fusion has had Poko with them since the League's inaugural season, and we all know how good of a D.Va this champ is. I like to describe Poko's D.Va play as 'opportunistic', in the sense that he waits for the right time to go all in and make plays, whether it be via eating enemy ultimates, diving a vulnerable target, or landing those famous 'Poko Bombs'. He is also a fairly good Zarya, but his play on Hog and Sigma isn't all that noteworthy, and I don't think he's going to be very impressive until he ups his game on all of the off-tanks, since there are better names that come to mind for every single hero he's slotted in to play. Now let's move on to the sensational, Grav-eating ex-Spitfire off-tank, Fury. We all know how good this guy's D.Va play is, since he's incredibly good at eating enemy ultimates, and exploiting openings to secure kills. One of the most reactive off-tanks in the League, Fury has a pretty good hero pool, as he plays a decent Roadhog and Zarya in addition to his top-notch D.Va. We can assume his Sigma to be average, since we haven't seen him play that hero in a competition (Gesture played Sigma for the Spitfire in Season 2), so I think it's safe to say Fury is the best tank the Fusion have got at the moment, due to his fairly-wide hero pool, and comfort level on the tanks he's expected to play.
To round out my opinion on Philly's tank line, I'll say that their off-tank slot is in a pretty good place, but SADO is going to pull them back by a lot if he doesn't elevate his play on the other main tanks to at least the same level he plays Winston at. Having a steady main tank is key to any team's success, and I just don't know if SADO can be that guy for the Fusion, so I think this team could default to a bottom-5 tank line if they don't get their main tank problem sorted. Also, upgrading their Sigma play would help, but that's just a side note. Just imagine...Fusion's frontline could be around the same level as the Justice's or the (updated) Hunters'...yikes.
DPS
The Philadelphia Fusion are boasting a set of 5 damage dealers in the 2020 season, and they are Carpe, Eqo, Ivy, ChipSa and Heesu. A lot of people have been hyping up this damage line, so let's go over each of these players and see what they're all about.First up, the star Korean DPS of the Fusion since the very beginning, Carpe is well-known for his great hitscan and sniper play, as well as his clutch potential. He was one of the most formidable damage dealers out there in Season 1 of the Overwatch League, but I must say that a number of different names overtook him based off of pure merit in Season 2. What we got in 2019 was a mid-table hitscan player in Carpe, and even though you may argue he didn't get to play in hitscan-suited metas, we still saw other players work wonders on those same heroes in many different situations. I may be completely wrong here, but Carpe doesn't seem as much of a threat as he used to two years ago, since many more talented hitscan players have entered the fold and made their mark since. His partner-in-crime for over a year, Eqo, is still on this roster as well. This Israeli flex DPS player got famous for his top-notch projectile play in Season 1 of OWL, and although he's still talented on his signature heroes, there are others who have risen to a level comparable to his, because of which he may not seem all that formidable anymore. In the 2019 season, I only really noticed him playing well on Mei, who wasn't even part of his canon until Stage 4 hit, and I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. On one hand, he was finishing off a surprising amount of kills as Mei, but on the other, I didn't feel like praising him on his other DPS picks all that much, despite him getting a decent amount of playtime on them. I don't know if he lost motivation because he was stuck in Brig jail, but I think he'll have to up his game if he wants to be on top of the DPS leaderboard. Carpe-Eqo is as iconic as a DPS duo gets in the League, and I absolutely love watching both these players play, so let's hope they buck up a little and regain their lost glory, yeah?
Ivy, formerly of the Toronto Defiant, is another flex DPS added to the Fusion's roster, and he mostly plays flankers and projectile heroes. His Genji, which we didn't get to see much of in 2019, is supposedly very good. He also seemingly plays a great Tracer, which I can't confirm, but his Pharah in Season 2 was pretty good. His positioning was a little on the risky side, as I didn't see him use natural cover as much as the average Pharah player, but he was still able to secure kills for his team. That said though, I don't know what X-factor he brings to the table, or how he's going to see playtime with Eqo on the squad, so maybe he's just there to motivate Eqo to push himself and be a better player. The 4th damage dealer on the Fusion's roster is ChipSa, a British streamer famous for his high-level Doomfist play. He has been signed just in case the team enters a Doomfist-centric meta, and if that doesn't happen, he will probably just ride the bench. Now, ChipSa's Doomfist is actually crazy good, and he also plays a great Genji, but other than that, he's not shown top-tier play on the rest of the DPS cast. Since his signing, he has been playing some Mei and Hanzo on his stream, and he's doing okay on those heroes, but not nearly to the extent at which he plays Doomfist. This leads me to believe he could have a tough time playing even in Doomfist-centric metas if the enemy team counterpicks well against him. If they don't, ChipSa will just pop off, but to be safe, he should elevate his play on Mei and Hanzo if he wants to stand a chance against a ton of other flex DPS players in the League, since if he doesn't, he will only be a liability to the Fusion. Also, let's not forget that ChipSa hasn't played professionally in ages, and has never competed at this level, so his playstyle needs to be adjusted for him to fit in with his new team, which could prove to be a challenge considering his solo carry approach on ladder. The final damage dealer added to this roster is Heesu, a hitscan/sniper player who was recently on RunAway. I think this guy is going to be the high-sustain meta specialist for Fusion, since he played an insanely good Reaper and Bastion during the Double Barrier Meta in Contenders. I was extremely impressed by his performance there, and have also watched him play traditional hitscan heroes to a high level. I think he's a pretty good addition to this roster, and could give Carpe some extra motivation to improve his play.
To round off the DPS discussion, I think the Fusion's damage line is quite good on an individual level, but here's a few doubts: Why is Ivy on this team if Eqo can play all the heroes he can play and more? Is he just a backup for a rainy day? Also, will ChipSa truly be able to outperform other more flexible players on Doomfist, or will he be shut-down by pure counterpicking/just get outplayed? Are Carpe and Eqo still at the God-tier of damage dealers, or will the new wave of DPS players steal that reputation from them? When one realises how many question marks there are when it comes to Fusion's damage dealers, it becomes harder and harder to confidently tout them as a top-notch DPS line, which a lot of people seem to be doing on online forums or in analyses like this one. Alright I'm just going to say it: I don't think Fusion's DPS line makes the Top 10 cut for 2020. I have greater clarity and confidence in many other damage lineups in the League, and although there are some talented DPS players on this roster, I don't think their average skill level and (in-game) adaptability matches up to a lot of other rosters out there. So yeah, it's an unpopular opinion, but I'm going to stick to it.
SUPPORT
Main support FunnyAstro and flex supports Boombox and Alarm make up the support line of the Philly Fusion.FunnyAstro was, until recently, on a two-way contract between the Atlanta Reign and their Contenders team, Atlanta Academy, and his signing is a pretty good move by the Fusion. We all know how talented FunnyAstro is on both Lúcio and Mercy, and with the amount of mechanical skill he has, he's almost like a pseudo-DPS on the field. As someone who has taken 4 of his accounts to ranks 1 through 4 on the competitive ladder, he has spent a lot of time grinding the game, and is hence, very adaptable.
FunnyAstro isn't the first Britisher to be on the Fusion's roster though, as flex support Boombox is still part of this team's lineup. I like Boombox in the sense that he's decent at all the flex support picks, and that even though he's not one to make huge plays or clutch out fights, you can rely on him to be there and do his job. He didn't have an ultra good season in 2019, but he wasn't too bad either in my opinion, so let's see what 2020 bodes for him, and if at all he sees some playtime, considering that Alarm is now in the house. After having a fantastic track record with Fusion University, this South Korean flex support has now been brought up to the big leagues, and he will no doubt be a great asset to Philly's main roster. The only question that remains is whether he will be subbed in for Boombox (based on what I've seen online, he will), and I'm very keen on seeing what he can achieve in OWL this year.
In short, the Fusion don't need to worry on the support front. I can see FunnyAstro, Boombox and Alarm forming a Top-10, or maybe even a Top-8 support line in the League this year, so yeah, let's see what this trio can do!
THE RAW LOOK VS. REALITY
The Philly Fusion were, as it's being said, trying to form a 'Super Team' for 2020, but I don't think they quite have that with this roster. What this team has gathered on paper, is 11 players who are individually good at what they play, but may not be the right pieces to complete the puzzle i.e. win it all in Season 3. Their first problem is that their only main tank, SADO, is only really competitive on Winston, and mediocre on pretty much every other main tank pick. Another problem is that not all their DPS players are adaptable enough to be viable in multiple metas or even handle being hard-countered in-game. I think the only two players who can possibly be fielded in every meta with little worry are Eqo and Heesu, since they're both good at the traditional aim-based projectile and hitscan heroes respectively, and are also accustomed to playing some of the high-sustain picks like Mei and Reaper. I know these seem like weak arguments on the face of things, but you've got to remember, I've liked this team since I first started following the League in Stage 4 of Season 1, and I want them to succeed, so I'm not making up points to make them seem like a bottom-tier team or anything. I'm just saying that there are a lot of variables that need to be adjusted for this team to even attempt a run for the championship. When you simply look at this team, and this happened to me too, you think "Wow. These are some of the most potent players I've ever seen. They're gonna kick butt in 2020", but upon further examination, you may realise there are a few caveats involved, and no matter how small the proposed obstacles or problems may be, they can add up to really cause the Fusion inconvenience. Therefore, even though they seem insanely good on paper, I think they may even struggle to make the Play-Ins if they don't solve the issues I mentioned before. If they do get past these problems though, who knows how far they can go? Unfortunately, I'm skeptical about the likelihood of that.
In short, the Fusion do have the players to form a 'Super Team', but the process to actually meld them into exactly what they require is a long, arduous and possibly frustrating one, and it will involve a lot of trial and error to figure out exactly what works for this team, and what doesn't. I don't think Philly will be a bottom-tier team struggling to get wins, but I don't see them being a dominant one that gets those Ws easily either.
I get that this review is not what many of you were expecting, or goes completely against your beliefs and ideas, so I'm certain there's going to be some harsh feedback provided to me in the comments section. I only ask that you provide this feedback in a polite and respectful fashion to keep the conversation productive. If at all you liked or agreed with my review, please do share it with other followers of the Overwatch League, and also subscribe to my blog, because we've got 11 more reviews to go! Next up will be the London Spitfire, and if you don't want to miss me reviewing that team, hit that Subscribe button on the top right part of the page and register your email ID for notifications! That's all from me for now, so thanks a lot for reading, and I will hopefully see you in my next post. Cheers!
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