The Chengdu Hunters are definitely a wild card heading into the next season of OWL. The team has made several risky signings this off-season. The headliners of this hit or miss team building style are definitely Lo “Baconjack” Tzu-Heng and Zhang “YangXiaoLong” Zhihao, who haven’t played the game professionally in a year. The Hunters could conceivably be somewhat decent or hilariously terrible. We won’t know until the season actually starts up and the team starts to play. These are some matches that could give a look into how this team is going to fare in its inaugural season.
Guangzhou Charge: Week One
The first game that the Hunters will play in the regular season is against the Charge. Both of these teams are expansion teams, although they couldn’t be more different.
The Charge seemed to be built off of a lot of safe bets. Hong-joon “HOTBA” Choi is the only former OWL player on the team. The rest of the team is composed of a bevy of Contenders players who have had decent success. None of them seem to be primed to be super stars in the league. On the other hand, none of them look like particularly bad choices either. It’s an unspectacular roster, but one that has no obvious issues.
The Hunters are the complete opposite in almost every single way. The previously mentioned Baconjack and XangXiaoLong could be super stars if they can return to their former glory after their lengthy break, while Li “Yveltal” Xianyao and Ma “LateYoung” Tianbin were on the Chinese World Cup team. But if things go poorly, this team will have some serious issues. Seeing two opposite opinions on team-building go against each other will be an intriguing way to kick off the season.
Seoul Dynasty: Week Two
Dallas is definitely the default pick for the most disappointing team in Season One, but Seoul is definitely up there as well. Lunatic Hai was a powerhouse in the pre-OWL days, but this hasn’t really translated to success in the Overwatch League.
The Dynasty went through a pretty extensive makeover over the off season. Seoul decided to stick with its core players while adding some new faces to the bunch. Team veterans like Je-hong “Ryujehong” Ryu and Joon-hyuk “zunba” Kim were joined by some newcomers. Min-hyuk “Michelle” Choi, Min-hyuk “Michelle” Choi, Chan-hyung “Fissure” Baek, Seung-soo “Jecse” Lee, and Dong-eon “FITS” Kim were added in hopes of rectifying some of the inconsistency issues the team had in Season One.
The Hunters will have a good test on their hands here. Seoul may not have had the success that everyone expected last season, but they are still a formidable force with many of the most storied names in professional Overwatch on their roster. Even keeping up with the Dynasty would be very impressive for the new kids on the block.
Florida Mayhem: Week Two
It seems that the Florida tradition of “The Firesale” that the Marlins started is leaking into Overwatch as well. The Mayhem underwent a complete tear down after a somewhat underwhelming first season.
Only Kevyn “TviQ” Lindström, Jung-woo “Sayaplayer” Ha and Sung-hoon “SNT” Kim were the only survivors from the offseason massacre. The rest of the roster is brand new, although it doesn’t look like the complete roster restructure has yielded a top tier team. Former substitutes from other OWL teams and a few halfway decent contenders players round out a roster that is looking a tad weak compared to most of the other teams in the league.
This looks like a good opportunity for the Hunters to prove that they are not as bad as the skeptics are saying they are. Furthermore, crushing the Mayhem would be a good message to the rest of the league. This is a game that the Hunters should take especially seriously.
Vancouver Titans: Week Four
The Titans do not need any sort of introduction. Runaway is one of the most popular teams in the history of professional Overwatch. Finally, they have joined the Overwatch League.
This would be an excellent time to show the league what Chengdu is made out of. Even making things difficult for arguably the best expansion team would do wonders for the Hunters. Many will write this off from the get go because Runaway is such a proven team. However, the Overwatch League has seen its fair share of upsets. The Hunters would gain a lot of respect if they made this game close, or even if they could pull of the upset and take the match.
You can follow Sam on Twitter @GtSputnik or ping him on Discord (SputnikGT#2845) if you would like to talk Overwatch!
Follow The Game Haus for more sports and esports coverage.
Featured Image Courtesy of The Ovewatch League
Twitter: TGH Esports
Facebook: The Game Haus
“From our Haus to Yours”