May 10th was the big day. The day where Overwatch League finals tickets went on sale. As I sat at desk waiting for the tickets to open up, I was thinking who I was going to end up seeing. Like most, I was thinking NYXL are going to have a hometown advantage. Maybe I was going to have a good look at the newly improved LA Valiant. Whoever made it, I didn’t really care. I just wanted to see some more Overwatch live. In March, I flew down to Arizona to visit my parents, sister and my adorable niece. The day after I flew out, we drove to beautiful Burbank California to catch and Overwatch League game. It was amazing despite seeing my hometown Fusion take a 3-1 loss to the NYXL. This incredible experience was running through my mind as I got through right as the tickets went on sale and snatched up a pair.
Since then, I have been enjoying Overwatch League as usual through Twitch streams. Philly put up a showing like no other and defeated Boston then stunned the NYXL 2-0. Not only was I going to Overwatch League finals but I get to see my boys too!! London vs Philly and I was riding high on the Fusion taking home the big prize!
Like any other summer, this one is just flying by and July 27th snuck up me. I ended up getting my hotel the Monday before the event. Once that was booked, my body was 100% ready. Friday started by watching some Contenders matches of course then off to the train station. My girlfriend and I got tickets for our NJ Transit NYC bound train and that’s when the real hype started.
After about an hour and a half of travel, our train pulled into the bustling Penn Station in Manhattan New York. Everytime I make it to NYC, it blows me away at the amount of people in a single area. We check into our hotel room, I change into my Fusion jersey and put on my Fusion hat and we ran back to Penn Station to catch the 2 subway to Barclays Center.
I have never been to the Barclays Center before so I was not aware that at the top of the escalator leaving the subway station would lead to an Overwatch heaven. An hour before the doors opened, the place was mobbed. People sporting Fusion and Spitfire jerseys and tons of people with their NYXL and other teams jersey were all over as well. I was happy to see a lot of people with their Geguri jerseys. There was also some great cosplay too. Unfortunately I did not get any photos of the cosplayers but the one that stood out the most was this girl’s Brigette Outlaws cosplay.
View post on imgur.com
View post on imgur.com
View post on imgur.com
When we arrived, it was about 4:00 pm . The doors opened at 5 but boy did that feel like an eternity to get that one hour in. Once the doors opened up we were greeted with metal detectors then finally the concourse. Laid out was miscellaneous merchandise like jerseys, plushies, Funko Pops and some finals specific t-shirts. There was tables to pick up your thundersticks, a wall where you can write your name and some Overwatch League face painting. We pick up some thundersticks then off to find ourselves some good seats. We walk into the arena and BOOM! You are greeted with this big beautiful screen. It doesn’t wrap around like the screen in the Blizzard Arena but it was a sight to see.
View post on imgur.com
View post on imgur.com
The 20,000 seats that were sold quickly filled up and we were presented with a live hour of Watch Point with Monty, Doa and Malik. It was interesting as always. They broke down the playoffs and each team’s road to the finals. After Watch Point, the place started going nuts. A live DJ was there performing, the Brooklynettes which are the dance team for the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and Jeff Kaplin. The place went wild as he thanked the fans for making Overwatch League finals a surreal moment for him and the Overwatch team.
After all of the extreme Jeff Kapin hype died, game 1 started. Each game was super intense. (Stay tuned to the next episode of The Over League to hear the review of the games) Each kill no matter what side it was on, produced a thunderous roar from the crowd. From pick number one, you were drawn in.
The first night ended with London taking the first set 3-1. The Fusion fans were silent in the arena (along with myself) but we still had hope. We hopped on the subway, grabbed some Five Guys and headed back to our hotel for the night.
Rise and shine Maridon! Woke up at 7AM on a Saturday FML. We left our hotel around 11AM. We decided to pay a visit to the 9/11 memorial and Freedom Tower. I feel odd saying that the memorial was beautiful because of the events of 9/11 but it surely was. The Freedom Tower was ridiculously huge too.
View post on imgur.com
View post on imgur.com
View post on imgur.com
After that we grabbed some lunch, shot back to the hotel and got ready for day 2 of the finals.
Day 2’s stadium filled up super fast. We decided not to get there an hour early and we were lucky to get the seats that we did. Again, the festivities started with Watchpoint then it took an odd turn. They invited DJ Khalid to perform. I like DJ Khalid but not for his music, for the memes that are produced by his over the top personality he markets himself with. It was kind of cringy but I was able to send some goofy Snapchats out of the situation so I made the best of it. As time drew closer to game time, I started feeling more tense. The Fusion looked terrible on day 1 and I was nervous they would drop the ball since that performance was so poor. It really hurts when you see your team get stomped. The countdown to the match started and the stadium exploded with excitement.
View post on imgur.com
View post on imgur.com
Philly was outplayed again. (I will be discussing why in our next podcast episode) London swept the day and took home the hardware. The feeling of disappointment and excitement was an odd feeling. The games were super intense and the crowd really got you into the event.
Profit won the MVP trophy and it was well deserved. He put London on his back and ran through the Fusion. One thing that really bothered me and to some this will be very minor but the championship trophy ceremony. Nate Nanzer was on stage with the owner of the Spitfire and presented the trophy to him. He thanked everyone as expected then before the players even touched the trophy, they cut away. I understand that owners put out money to create the teams we know and love but that trophy should go to the players first. They are the individuals that battled in the trenches to win the trophy along with the million dollar prize.
That pretty much rounds out the trip. We hit the subway to go back to our hotel and hung out there until the next morning. It was pretty exhausting with all the walking and my girlfriend and I met our people quota 5 minutes into getting into NYC on Friday. I will be going back next year if they decided to host the finals in NYC. I would strongly recommend going to this event if you are a fan of Overwatch League or just a fan of Overwatch in general.