Doomfist doesn't get much love these days, especially on Overwatch's biggest stage. The rocket-punching hero has never been a top-tier hero, and he's been all but nonexistent in Overwatch League so far. But that didn't stop the Dallas Fuel's Effect from pulling him out against the Philadelphia Fusion this afternoon.
Effect started the match on Doomfist while defending Eichenwalde in game one, securing a few key picks to lead the Fuel to a hold on Point B. Surprisingly, he stayed on Doomfist while attacking in Round 2, locking up a nice pick on Fusion tank Fragi, but often falling to the aerial superiority of ShaDowBurn's Pharah, leading to a hard Fusion hold on Point A.
Things got much more exciting by the end of the match. The Fusion had already secured a victory over the Fuel, winning the first three maps and looking dominant on the fourth. But after Philly missteped holding Dorado Point A, the Fuel made a last-ditch Overtime push.
As the payload pulled up to Point B, Effect knocked the Fuel's Zenyatta away, caught Neptuno's Mercy in a Meteor Strike, then secured the kill on Zenyatta.
The Fuel would take Point B, leaving Philly with a hard hold on the final stretch if they wanted a 4-0 map record. Effect then started the next fight with a devastating surprise kill knocking Neptuno's Mercy into a closet.
As the timer ticked into Overtime, it was up to Effect and his fellow DPS Taimou to hunt down the Fusion's support heroes, take them out of the battle, and make the fight theirs. But if Mercy and Zen stayed up, Philly would surely hold.
Effect struck first, finding Zenyatta in the backline just as Taimou trained his Widowmaker's scope on Neptuno's Mercy. The next few seconds would determine the rest of the match.
Taimou barely missed his shot as Neptuno zipped into a hallway, but Effect was hot on his trail. Philly's support was all but dead, had Effect's Rocket Punch not been on cooldown. Instead, Effect whiffed a few shots as Neptuno zoomed past. Effect soon found a kill on ShaDowBurn's Genji, but it was too late. Boombox's Zen was back from spawn with a Transcendence, helping the Fusion clean up their 4-0 victory.
It was frustrating as hell. The Dallas Fuel were one of the more hyped teams going into Overwatch League, and their unconventional strategies are fun to watch, but their now 1-6 record puts them near the bottom of the standings.
It's weird to call a once-hyped team an underdog, but now I can't help but root for them—especially when they pull out weird, exciting strategies like Effect's Doomfist. Had Taimou's shot connected or Rocket Punch been available to slam Mercy into a wall, that final fight would have likely gone in the Fuel's favor. Sure, it wouldn't help much in the standings, but 1-3 feels a lot better than getting shut out 0-4.
