by JR Cook - 6 years ago     show comments

The Philadelphia Fusion sit in fifth place in the Overwatch League going into the final week of Stage 2. I got the chance to talk to Fragi, the Fusion’s main tank, on Monday about how the team hopes to finish out Stage 2, his views on the ever-changing meta and more.

The Fusion had a good St. Patrick’s day weekend, sweeping both of their matches against the Fuel and the Dragons to go 2-0. Credit: Philadelphia Fusion on Instagram.

RedRhino: The Fusion are coming off a 2-0 weekend, how does that affect your preparation for this week?

Fragi: I mean we definitely had two 4-0 wins so we’re feeling pretty good, pretty confident. It helps with practice because people seem to be a little bit more motivated, it’s nice.

R: How does the team usually prepare for a week of matches?

F: It’s mostly playing our own game good. We’ll plan out tactics on the map pool we have, maybe experiment a bit against different comps, stuff like that.

R: Personally, how do you get ready for matches?

F: I’m an old man, so there’s a lot of physical stuff I do to get myself ready. I stretch a bit, flex a bit. It’s all about being ready physically, mentally and staying calm.

R: How do you feel about the Fusion making it to the Stage 2 playoffs?

F: I think Seoul needs to lose one of their games, that’s the easiest road for us. If Seoul loses a match and we beat both L.A. teams then we’ll make it, I think.

R: Did the Fusion have any main goals going into Stage 2?

F: Just to play better individually and as a team. I think we expected to do a little bit better then we have been doing. I thought we would maybe even beat some of the Korean teams, but we weren’t really on top of our games on those weeks. Hopefully we get some good wins over the L.A. teams this week and close out the stage well.

Fragi overlooks the Fusion’s war room preparations earlier in the season. Credit: Fusion on Instagram.

R: How have the Mercy-driven changes to the meta in Stage 2 affected your tank play for the Fusion?

F: There’s been more Reinhardt play, which is good for me. But even the Winston play has been a lot different with no Mercy. Having Lucio helping more in the support duo I think makes Winston play feel more natural for me and more like what I was used to before Overwatch League, so it’s a good change for me, I think.

R: Going into stage 3, how do you see tank play continuing to change?

F: I think it has to do with whether Sombra is nerfed or not. If she’s going to be in the meta a lot, it makes the tank play a lot different. If you get hacked, you have to be careful about that because you lose your escape abilities and so on. So I think the meta depends a lot on Sombra coming up.

R: Any  team goals going into stage 3?

F: I think we’ll just keep improving. We still have a chance at the Stage 2 playoffs, but for Stage 3 I think we’ll just keep on improving as a team. I don’t think we have any stage specific goals, just to keep steady improvement throughout the season and into the season playoffs.

R: Do the Fusion try and prepare in some sort of way to face the league’s Korean-heavy rosters?

F: Not too much, I think it’s mostly about working on our own game. Some teams will do really specific strats, so we’ll prepare for that. Of course, the tougher the team, the more meticulous we are with preparation. So, I guess the Korean teams get the most serious preparation, of course we take every competitor seriously. You really just need to play your own game well.

R: Who would you consider to be the Fusion’s ‘rival’?

F: We don’t really have a serious rivalry with any team right now. I mean, we always love to beat the Koreans, but as for the Western teams the Gladiators are probably our biggest rivals this stage.

R: Overall, how’s the Overwatch League experience been for you so far?

F: It’s been really good for us. I feel like the Fusion, from what I’ve seen, are probably the most well-taken care of team. It’s really nice to live in a great house and have everything taken care of. L.A. has been good to us.

R: Found any good Finnish food out there yet?

F: There’s not a lot of Finnish food, but I’m not too picky about what I eat, so I’m doing alright here in L.A.

R: Anything else?

F: I think we’ll keep doing well in Stage 2 and hopefully we’ll get some wins this week.

The Philadelphia Fusion. Credit: Fusion on Instagram.

Header image credit: Fusion on Instagram.