Overwatch League June Joust Recap

Two of the strongest teams in their respective regions, the Shanghai Dragons and Dallas Fuel, made incredible runs in the Overwatch League June Joust this year. They last faced off in the grand finals of the May Melee, which the Dallas Fuel eventually brought home the win.

The tournament underdogs, New York Excelsior and the Atlanta Reign, took down the top seeds in their region and rolled their way toward the June Joust. Despite their resilience and determination, they could not get past the two top dogs of the league.

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Overwatch League June Joust
imaged credit: Overwatch League

The Winners

After an exciting seven-match thriller, with both teams going back and forth, the Shanghai Dragons win the June Joust 2021 Tournament 4-3. Despite the majority of analysts and fans having Dallas Fuel winning the tournament comfortably.

Shanghai came out with a meta-defying composition. One of which they had not shown before. It proved to be the deciding factor in the end.

It was an emotional win for the Dragons, who silenced doubters and pulled back from a 3-1 deficit. They did what no one thought they could do against the perceived best OWL team in the world.

Second and Third Place

The Dallas Fuel cruised to the final in the June Joust tournament. They swept every team they came across, including the eventual winner, Shanghai Dragons, 3-0 on the first day. Everything was pointing for them to win it all. Until the final came around.

Dallas had a 3-1 lead going into the fifth round, which should have sealed the deal. Shanghai turned it on and countered everything Dallas had for them. Dallas stuck to their game plan while Shanghai changed it up. It wasn’t until the final match when Dallas showed why they were the top team.

For the third-place team, Atlanta Reign, being in the June Joust finals in the first place was an unexpected but pleasant surprise. The Reign swept the former champions, San Fransisco Shock, with a 3-0 scoreline in an unlikely upset.

They showed that mastery of the meta is more important than past domination. Atlanta relied on tank cohesion and aerial dominance from Oh “Pelican” Se-hyun’s Echo. San Francisco looked uncharacteristically sloppy, and Atlanta capitalized on every single mistake.

Unfortunately for them, they could not knock down any more giants this last weekend. After sweeping New York Excelsior on day one, they would go down to the eventual finalists 1-3 and 0-3, respectively. They put up a valiant effort, but it was not enough to make it through.

Top Players of the Weekend

For Dallas Fuel, Fearless and Sp9rk1e were the standouts all tournament. Fearless, who is one of the best players in the world right now, led his team to the finals with his tank play. He almost managed to counter Fate’s Wrecking Ball with his own, but Shanghai was just a bit sharper on the attack.

Sp9rk1e has been playing incredibly well all season long. His play is key for this Dallas Fuel team, but the main thing that makes him stand out is his personality. He just exudes positivity no matter the situation. Some have mentioned that he helps keep everyone level-headed in matches.

For the winners, Fate and Void were key deciders in Shanghai’s victory. Fate had cracked the code on disrupting Dallas’ game with Wrecking Ball. His and Void’s link-up play was truly a joy to watch. Fate really took Shanghai’s destiny into his own hands, helping lead his team to victory.

Upcoming OWL Events

We are about to hit the halfway stage of the 2021 Overwatch League Season. With the June Joust ending, the next event to look forward to is the Summer Showdown. The teams all get a week off to enjoy themselves and get some well-deserved rest.

After this week, the teams all head to China for qualifiers for the Summer Showdown finals. Qualifiers start June 25th and go until July 10th.

Written by Michael Martinez