Fans got to see an admirable performance from the Chengdu Hunters last week, as they faced two of the toughest teams in the league. Despite losing both matches, the team showed lots of potential that should lead to success in future matches. While they may be out of the race for the stage playoffs, they still have a part to play as they face the Atlanta Reign this Saturday.
The Chengdu Hunters fell to the Toronto Defiant in an unfortunate 3-1 loss last week. Despite losing the match, however, the Hunters looked better than ever. Menghan “ameng” Ding continued to defy expectations with his Wrecking Ball. Hu “JinMu” Yi wowed the audience with his spectacular display of mechanical skill and flexibility. This team played an under-powered team composition and still took a map off of the third best team in the league.
A huge part of this team’s success stems from their flexibility. Elsa, like the rest of his team, knows how to play multiple heroes at a high level. His ability to play both support and DPS heroes well enough to compete with the world’s greatest players is simply amazing. His consistently strong performance is what keeps the Hunters afloat when they’re struggling and allows his teammates to make great plays.
Image courtesy of the Chengdu Hunters
Almost everybody watching this match was prepared for a massacre. One of the lowest-rated teams in the league against the second best team in the league. Despite the overwhelming odds, the Hunters entered the match guns blazing. The Vancouver Titans weren’t expecting such a strong and strange fight, and the Hunters slowly began winning fights. Then they started winning maps. By map 3 Chengdu were actually leading 2-1. It was only then that the Titans barely started pulling ahead. In the end, the Titans barely won the match 3-2. Despite losing the match, the Chengdu Hunters left Blizzard Arena with a new sense of pride and respect from the fans and the other teams.
In this match, ameng proved to the world that he could compete with some of the best main tanks. His Wrecking Ball kept taking the Titans by surprise. When Wrecking Ball was countered, he was able to switch to Reinhardt and continue the fight. His flexibility and strong focus kept his team fighting all the way to map 5.
While the Chengdu Hunters are out of the race for playoffs, they still have a part to play. This week they face the Atlanta Reign, who are trying to secure their spot in the stage playoffs. Although this team is currently ranked sixth in the league, their performance was significantly flawed. If the Chengdu Hunters continue playing at the top of their game, they might just have what it takes to end Atlanta’s Reign of terror.
What sets Atlanta apart from many of the other opponents Chengdu has fought is their ability to play beyond the standard 3-3 composition. While they don’t quite reach Chengdu levels of weird, the Reign hasn’t shied away from playing some off-meta heroes and making them work. The Hunters will need to be flexible to come out ahead in this matchup.
While ameng offers lots of fun Wrecking Ball gameplay to watch, JinMu can make a top-of-the-league play on several different heroes. Last week JinMu was featured in the Overwatch League’s “Top 5 Plays of the Week” for his Hanzo play. He is one of the most fun players to spectate in the entire Overwatch League.
Featured Image courtesy of the Chengdu Hunters
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