The San Fran Shock took on Toronto Defiant in the first match of the Spring Stage West Qualifier.
High ping is a thing of the past. On the back of high-IQ Hero picks and their MVP rookie of the year Kim "Proper" Dong-hyun, the San Francisco Shock toppled Team USA the Toronto Defiant in the first match of the OWL Spring Stage West Qualifier. As expected, the series went to the final map as both teams put up big numbers and tough challenges.
Ultimately, the duel between Proper and every DPS on the Defiant ended up going the Shock's way. No "shock" there. Get it? Electricity puns, ya'll.
Shock vs Toronto: Spring Stage showdown
Make no mistake, each map of this series went down to the wire. The Mei mirror match on the Antarctic Peninsula map showcased the Shock's ability to break out unique picks. San Francisco Tank Park "Junbin" Jun-bin gave multiple looks on this map, including a surprise Junker Queen as a potential Winston counter. However, it was Chae "HeeSang" Hee-sang and Isaiah "Hydron" Rodriguez fighting tooth and nail as Mei--with both players making matching Blizzard attempts as the round ended in the Shock's favor.
However, it would be Toronto's DPS line that would take center stage on the next two maps at Blizzard World and Shambali. Hydron and Samuel "s9mm" Santos took turns pumping out damage and big-brained eliminations as Hanzo against San Fran. The next two maps went the way of the Defiant.
It was here that the Shock shut the door on Toronto with big plays from Proper. New Queen Street and Oasis both went the way of San Francisco thanks in part to Junbin winning the tank matchup against future Overwatch World Cup Team USA tank Colin "Coluge" Arai. Is this a match we'll see in the OWC? Only time will tell.
Toronto will square off next against the Florida Mayhem on Sunday, May 7. Meanwhile, the Shock won't play again until Saturday, April 29 against the Atlanta Reign.
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