There have been many false starts for the Seoul Dynasty. The Tiger Nation has had multiple fake-outs of when the Dynasty would play their first official match. Last Sunday’s show matches gave a taste of what it will be like seeing the players in the server. Here is a look at Week 8 in which the Dynasty is matched up against the Dallas Fuel and the LA Gladiators. Hopefully, there are no more false starts for the Dynasty and that they get to start collecting the wins this weekend.
Dallas Fuel (3/28) : 0-2-0
Many might see this match as a big rivalry. The Seoul Dynasty is usually put in a rivalry against the London Spitfire, San Fransisco Shock, or NYXL. There is a long history between the two teams, even though the only remaining remember that participated in it at the beginning is Jonathan ‘Harryhook’ Tejedor Rua and Jinmo ‘Tobi’ Yang.
Seoul needs to not be too confident when they are a player up. Seen in the LA Valiant vs Dallas Fuel match, the Fuel are not deterred when they are 5 to 6. They are very good at turning those fights into their favor. If Lijiang is in the map pool or Horizon, it is key to note that those are the two maps that the Fuel has won in their two matches that they have played.
Fuel DPS:
Just as it was Hyeon ‘Effect’ Hwang and Timo ‘Taimou’ Kettunen that defined the Fuel in the past, this tradition continues. Gulun ‘Decay’ Jang and Dongha ‘Doha’ Kim are a powerhouse DPS duo that Junyoung ‘Profit’ Park, Dongeon ‘FITS’ Kim or Jemin ‘Illicit’ Park will have to match.
When Decay is on McCree Doha can be seen on Mei. If Doha jumps onto Doomfist then it is Decay that switches to Mei. The hero ban of Sombra hits Dallas hard, but at the same time doesn’t. Doha made his name in the Overwatch community on Element Mystic alongside Yeonghan ‘Sp9rk1e’ Kim (who is now on the Paris Eternal). He did so by being one of the best, if not the best, Sombra in Korea. It is a great hit that Sombra is banned, but Dallas Fuel has not been playing him on Sombra that often. Therefore, it also isn’t a big issue.
What is Needed to Win?
Seoul can’t rely on the possibility that team synergy or communication is still being working on like the first two matches for the Dallas Fuel. They have had more than enough time to work things out with this break. That means that focusing on taking down Doha and Decay is their first priority. Seoul should bring out Widow to focus down Decay’s McCree that he favors. Profit, FITS and Illicit are all passable widows in their own right. The shut down on Decay especially, in the past, has thrown the Fuel crumbling down; that is the player that the DPS for Seoul needs to focus on taking down this match.
Prediction: 3:2 Seoul
This is the first match for the Seoul Dynasty. The Fuel has only played two matches prior so there is no big advantage either way. Neither team has played since the implementation of the hero bans. The show match will not be much help to the Fuel as it was on the PTR with Echo. The mental of the Dynasty might be the biggest hurdle. With so many false starts and such a long break since they played an official match, there may be some nerves coming into this match.
Another issue is that Lucio is out of the rotation for the week. If Harryhook were also in the starting line up it would equal the two teams out, but seeing William ‘Crimzo’ Hernandez and Wonsik ‘Closer’ Jung have been starting that more puts Seoul as a disadvantage. Lucio was the bane of the Fuel’s existence on Einchenwald on the bridge. There will be no opportunities for Tobi to grab any key plays with his signature hero this time around. This is going to be a close game, and honestly depending on the condition of the players of both teams could swing either way.
Player to Watch: Profit
In the show match with the San Fransisco Shock Profit looked a little underwhelming. That could be because he was playing on the newest hero Echo. The Tiger Nation will be looking for a resurgence from Season 1 and 2 Profit to fit into this line up. Profit who replaced a fan favorite Byungsun ‘Fleta’ Kim needs to show the fans that the team made the right choice in picking him up. Everyone is waiting to see Profit back on his signature hero of Tracer, though against the enemy McCree it might not be the best match up. This match is going to set the narrative for Profit, either as his downwards spiral or as the consistent flexible pro players that the Seoul Dynasty was able to snag.
LA Gladiators (3/29): 0-1-0
To read about the preview for the LA Gladiators and the Seoul Dynasty, hop over to our Week 7 preview. The Dynasty and the Gladiators were supposed to have this matchup last weekend but weren’t able to. Nothing has changed since the writing for Week 7. If Echo was available, that would lean heavily to favor the Gladiators as Jason ‘Jaru’ White seemed to be a natural. Echo is not yet available. Therefore, both teams will be playing under the same circumstances.
No More False Starts
Both of these teams are ranked at the bottom. They have only played a few matches so it is not a fair representation of the teams yet. This is a big milestone for Seoul. If they lose any of the matches their power ranking in the top 10 (of most rankings) is put in danger. Depending on how well they show up, they could hold their position or dropdown. Fingers are cross that this is not another false start and the Dynasty gets to play!
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