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CommanderX On London’s LAN Aspirations, Sombra’s Role In Overwatch 2, And More!

Volamel 2022-06-28 03:54:50
The London Spitfire are the Cinderella story of the 2022 Overwatch League season--and assistant coach Xavier "CommanderX" Hardy knows that better than most.  After a disappointing 2021 season, the Spitfire was frankly written off by the community-at-large.  How wrong we all were.  Currently, the London Spitfire are placed 6th in North America with a 6-3 record with wins over teams like the Florida Mayhem, the Atlanta Reign, and the Toronto Defiant.  Leaning into their strengths and finding creative solutions to meta problems, the London Spitfire has turned what seemed to be another middling year and made it grand.  With Hawai’i in his sights, CommanderX spoke with Esports Heaven about where the metagame stands as we look towards the end of the Midseason Madness, how London has shattered their own expectations as well as ending the debate on Doomfist versus Reinhardt. 
We’ve heard ChrisTFer talk about if budget information was public, the public would see how hard-fought London’s success has been. With how well you guys have done thus far, does each win mean a little a bit more?  CommanderX: At the moment not really, it’s not something we’re actively thinking about or talking about day to day.  It’s useful to frame what we’ve achieved so far but more from an outside perspective than internally within the team. As one of the teams that has felt the pain of the Kickoff Clash playoff points snowball, has that driven you guys to really prove a point with the Midseason Madness or are you guys trying not to fixate on it? CommanderX: We don’t agree with the system but it is what it is.  We’ve worked out what we need to do match to match to achieve Hawaii and that’s what we’re focusing on We saw a small clip of the coaches during your incredible win over the Florida Mayhem. Could to talk a little bit about what was going through your mind throughout that match?  CommanderX: Not a lot really, just focused on the game and hoping the guys come through.  [I] remember us saying at the time “ok 99-0 just need 1 good retake, really doable”. Then Hadi hits the shatter and its gg. With how much he is being played, help us set the record straight; does Reinhardt play well into Doomfist compositions at the moment?  CommanderX: Yeah, the Reinhardt plays really fine into Doomfist.  It can be a bit harder depending on the rest of the comp but the pure Doomfist versus Reinhardt matchup is more even than it maybe first appears.  A large skill element in the pin versus punch, counter-charge mechanics which obviously Hadi is better at than most Reinhardts. Speaking of the meta, was there anything about the patch or the compositions that you saw from week one that surprised you guys? The amount of Wrecking Ball? Some of the DPS picks? CommanderX: I think these last couple of weeks we basically saw everything in scrims. The Zenyatta plus Ana backline becoming a lot more prominent but it makes sense for a lot of teams with multiple flex supports on the roster so no surprises there. Staying with that for a moment, could you dive into and explain why you think Sombra is seeing an increase in play rate? Is it tied to the Doomfist? Does she do more than people give her credit for? CommanderX: I think with the increase of double flex support backline, Sombra-type comps in theory should make the dives more dangerous and be able to punish what in Overwatch 1 would be a greedy backline to try and keep alive.  However, with all the quality of life changes and buffs to support in Overwatch 2 I’m not sure it actually works out that way but I think that’s the theory at least. Going all the way back to your upset win on Atlanta in Kickoff Clash, you guys seem to really feel comfortable with Overwatch 2’s newest game mode. Is that fair to say and what do you think separates you from your peers on Push? CommanderX: I think we adapted really quickly and understood a lot of the game theory behind the new mode earlier than a lot of other teams.  Though it’s fair to say I think most if not all teams have caught up on that side of things now. Outside of that the two maps available suit the compositions we’re good at so that always helps. With New York Excelsior and Paris Eternal as your next two games, the road to Hawaii is looking very possible. What would it mean to you and the team to go from the bottom of the power rankings in the preseason to being one step closer to playoffs? CommanderX: It’ll be great for the whole team. We’ve already surpassed pretty much everyone—including our own—expectations and now we’re in a position to grow as a team.  Where we are no longer the underdogs in every game and can shift our mentality to be as robust from that position too.  A trip to Hawaii and the LAN experience will be another great learning experience for all of us and can only improve us as players.  
If you enjoyed this interview, follow the author on Twitter at @Volamel. Images via Blizzard Entertainment
 

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