Believe it or not, this is the last leg of the Summer Showdown for the regular matches for the Dynasty. The team has an early schedule with all four matches on the first two weekends. This week is their raid boss challenge with their match against the Dragons. This will be the most challenging match that they face this regular Summer Showdown season. The Charge can always provide difficulties with surprise strategies or the under-preparedness of the Dynasty if they allocate their time more towards the Dragons than the Charge.
Shanghai Dragons:
The Shanghai Dragons are the peak of the APAC region. The win in the July Joust just further solidifies their position as the top. So far in the Summer Showdown, the Shanghai Dragons have not played yet. Therefore it is hard to gauge how exactly strong they are. It is a good guess that with no hero pools there will be nothing to stop their power.
Prediction: 3-2 Dragons
Could this be a strategic loss? As no 4-0 teams seemingly have gone far at the end of tournament playoffs. A point of danger is last week on Kings Row, where the Dynasty allowed the Spark to finish the map. Though it seemed that they were more about burning time off the clock for point B, but they then failed to stop them on point C. Those kinds of snowball and errors will be magnified against the Dragons. This match is essential, and even if they win all their other matches the narrative will still be spun that they lost to the Dragons and therefore aren’t that strong.
If the Seoul Dynasty want to win they need to not count on the other team making small mistakes like the previous teams. No one will give them a point for free or be drastically out of position. The Seoul Dynasty will need to be on their A-game as well as bix of their strategies. One of the biggest strengths of the Shanghai Dragons is to adapt mid-match to the style of play and counter it. The longer the match goes on the lower the odds for the Dynasty will have to pull out a win.
Player to Watch: Minseo ‘Marve1’ Hwang
Marve1 has been one of the bigger changes in the Seoul Dynasty lineup. Previously it was Jaehui ‘Gesture’ Hong who was the main tank for the majority of the time. Now with Marve1 in the lineup, it brings a new dynamic to the squad. Marve1 can sometimes be out of position, which could be attributed to less playtime with the team so far. To play against a team like the Dragons, they will not let that mispositioning go unpunished. It is going to be important for Marve1 to be cognizant of where he is located so that their shield won’t go down.
Guangzhou Charge:
The Guangzhou Charge has been struggling this year. Their only two wins have been from the NXYL, who is a team of rookies that are themselves, just starting to figure out their style. This match on paper is seemingly an easy win. There is always a possibility that the Dynasty underestimates them or doesn’t prepare enough that could cause an upset.
Prediction: 3-0 Seoul
That being said, it is unlikely that Seoul would completely go down to the Charge. The Dynasty knows the importance of having fewer games means that each match really matters for the final playoffs. Hopefully this is will a quick game that can help the Dynasty raise their map differentials as the Fusion is close on their tails.
The Charge seemingly likes to try and hold ultimates when they think they have won. Seoul needs to be aggressive in their pushes to force those losing number fights in their favor. Sehwan ‘Choisehwan’ Choi has been a massive threat to push pressure on the backlines of teams as well as point pressure. Dongeon ‘FITS’ Kim has been taking up the Tracer duties and will really need to show that he can match up against a Tracer like Choisehwan.
When the Hunter’s ran Pharah it was effective in getting the damage out and forcing positioning. This is something that the Dynasty could try, especially on control, where Junyoung ‘Profit’ Park could pull out one of his favorite heroes.
Player to watch: Youngseo ‘Kariv’ Park
Kariv has been greatly bullied in matches lately. He is an impactful player and having teams shutting him down stops from him helping facilitate huge plays. As Hyeonwoo ‘Toyou’ Lim and FITS shut down Yangjie ‘Shy’ Zheng in the Hangzhou Spark match, this needs to be the same for Kariv. His Ana is always dangerous and if Marve1 is on Ball he is going to need to be extra careful not to be slept by Kariv when he dives in. It is never smart to underestimate Kariv, and to shut him down will be the safest way to ensure that he doesn’t have the opportunity to make those massive plays that the community has seen in the past from him.
Week 12
This weekend is going to determine whether the fate of the Summer Showdown playoffs is in the hands of the Seoul Dynasty or whether they are going to need assistance from other teams. The Shanghai Dragons and Guangzhou Charge are the last hurdles until the Seoul Dynasty will get a slower-paced week before the playoffs. Tiger Nation wishes the team all the best of luck in this week’s games!
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