Defiant- 3 Hunters- 1
Toronto entered this match with a 3-2 record after a decisive win against the Boston Uprising in Week 3 to propel them into the playoff picture. Week 4 opened up with an unpredictable matchup against the meta defying Chengdu Hunters and their Wrecking Ball expert Ding “Ameng” Menghan. In a match full of excitement, the Hunters aggression was put on full display against as they relentlessly redefined the Meta of Stage 1.
Ilios: Defiant- 2 Hunters- 1
Toronto entered Well on Illios with a Winston 3-3 composition against Chengdu’s Wrecking Ball 3-3. Without much of a fight from the Hunters, Toronto quickly accumulated 99%. Chengdu then suddenly came alive and capitalized on a Graviton Surge from Ma “LateYoung” Tianbin to clear the point. Before the Defiant could even reengage, an aggressive minefield from Ameng singled out Gyeong-mu “Yakpung” Jo and forced the Defiant back to their spawn. Despite the aggression, Toronto quickly responded and claimed Well for themselves.
On Ruins, Se-hyeon “Neko” Park swapped from his usual Zenyatta pick for Ana. The choice was useful early, but the lack of Discord damage was too much of an advantage for Ameng’s crafty wrecking ball strategies. Key Minefield usage combined with LateYoung’s Graviton Surge cleared the point and blocked any contest from Toronto. The team’s would head to lighthouse with the map now tied 1-1.
On lighthouse, the Hunters continued their crafty compositions with Yi “JinMu” Hu entering on Pharah. With Kang-jae “envy” Lee’s Mech dispatched early from rocket damage, JinMu had a clear opening for a powerful Barrage on the entrenched Defiant. He simply waited too long. Envy returned to his mech and the Barrage was virtually ineffective. Toronto did not surrender a single tick to Chengdu as they claimed map 1.
King’s Row: Defiant- 1 Hunters- 0
Toronto began on Defense to start King’s Row. Neko returned to his Ana pick and quickly won the first engagement for Toronto. A precise Sleep Dart onto JinMu’s Pharah exposed the attacking Hunters and the rest were forced to retreat. Without Neko’s Sleep Dart available, a quick Rez from Li “Yveltal” Xianyao revived his teammate and justice reigned from above. The triple kill from JinMu’s Barrage was nearly enough for a point A capture, but after Toronto’s reengage, the Defiant finished out their defense behind a powerful EMP from envy.
After their full hold, Toronto quickly singled out the Chengdu tanks to claim point A and a 2-0 lead.
Volskaya Industries: Defiant- 2 Hunters- 3
After a dominant first half, Toronto opened up against a defending double sniper composition from Chengdu. Interestingly enough, the Widowmaker from Lo “Baconjack” Tzu-Heng separated the Defiant supports from their tanks. With the supports isolated, time drained off the clock with no progress being made for Toronto. Eventually, they regrouped, evaded the incoming sniper fire, claimed point A.
As Toronto moved to point B, they were surprised by an Orisa, Bastion and Torbjorn defending for the Hunters on high ground. Despite Baconjack’s best efforts on Bastion, it was simply not enough to keep Toronto off of point B. It did however win over the hearts of the crowd in Blizzard Arena.
Chengdu quickly began their aggressive attack highlighted by JinMu’s Pharah once again. What looked like a quick capture for the Hunters would be stifled by Neko’s Transcendence and the Defiant would turn the fight. On Chengdu’s next engage, another key minefield from Ameng trapped Yakpung, dispatched the Defiant and carried the Hunters momentum onto point B. Toronto’s impressive stall was simply not enough to respond to the relentless attack from Ameng’s Wrecking Ball and Baconjack’s Sombra.
Toronto’s next attack was dismantled by Chengdu’s double sniper defense yet again. Baconjack’s Widowmaker and JinMu’s Hanzo each delivered some impressive eliminations. Joo-seong “RoKy” Park and Se-hyeon “Neko” Park were both eliminated early by Baconjack and the Defiant never really recovered with what little time remained. With only a tick needed to take Map 3, Toronto hunkered down to whether the storm of incoming rockets on defense. With a draw swinging the series in Toronto’s favor Chengdu eventually took Volskaya to remain alive in the series.
Route 66: Defiant- 3 Hunters- 2
Again, Toronto was met with incredible aggression from the Hunters. Luo “Elsa” Wenjie’s Sombra usage simply overwhelmed Toronto as they innocently pushed the cart through Route 66. Toronto’s ultimates relied on combos and coordination to find their mark. Baconjack ‘s Pulse Bomb simply needed to find one elimination to crumble Toronto’s comp. When push came to shove, an Earthshatter from Yakpung exposed the Hunters to Kang-jae “envy” Lee’s Self Destruct to clear the way for Toronto’s overtime finish.
On the Hunter’s attack, they engaged with a quad DPS composition including JinMu’s Pharah much to Toronto’s Dismay. In an effort to remove JinMu, envy launched his Self Destruct to no effect. Without his Defense Matrix, JinMu’s Barrage and follow up rockets cleared the streets and pushed the Hunters further to their goal. As Toronto defended the final checkpoint, a misused EMP would give the Defiant major Ultimate Advantage. Without an EMP, the Hunters crumbled behind Toronto’s tank ultimates. The Defiant claimed Route 66 and the series against an impressive and entertaining Chengdu Hunters squad.
Conclusion
The disruption created from Ameng’s Wrecking Ball combined with the Damage focus from the rest of the Hunters seemed nearly unstoppable.Toronto clearly struggled dealing with the aggression presented from Chengdu, but the their ultimate management and combo effectiveness outmatched the deadly solo ultimates available for the Hunters. Now sitting at 4-2, Toronto closes out Week 4 against the Hangzhou Spark on Saturday.
Featured/ Player Images Courtesy of the Overwatch League
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