Despite going into this match as the underdogs, the Chengdu Hunters secured a victory in the fifth map against the Guangzhou Charge. lateyoung, Baconjack, Elsa and the rest of the team gave fans a glimpse of the level of talent to expect from this team.
Kyo takes the stage!
photo courtesy of the Chengdu Hunters
The Chengdu Hunters struggled to find their feet in Busan. Unfortunately, lateyoung’s hero choice proved to be a major liability. Eileen’s Sombra and Shu’s Ana both prevented his Roadhog from making the space his team needed. Despite winning a significant amount of teamfights, the Hunters failed to adapt to the Charge’s composition, resulting in a loss.
In the second map, the Hunters began to find their stride. They made the necessary comp changes to deal with the Charge’s Sombra plays. With a blazing fast capture of points A and B, the Hunters finished their attack phase with time to spare.
The Charge seemed to respond in kind, taking the first two points with a very similar time bank. The Hunters responded to this aggression with a very effective last point defense. With very coordinated ultimate usage, they managed to stall Guangzhou long enough to gain the respawn advantage and push back the onslaught.
The Hunters seemed to fall apart in map three. Despite repeatedly dying to Happy’s dominant Widowmaker plays, they managed to pull themselves together and complete their attack phase in overtime. The Charge responded with devastating plays from HOTBA and Eileen, finishing their attack with a much better time bank.
Rounds three and four of this map continued the pattern of Chengdu failing to compensate for the DPS from Guangzhou. They failed to take point A, and finally fell to Guangzhou in round four.
photo courtesy of @xGoomiho
After struggling to work together for most of their first match, the Chengdu Hunters finally started to coordinate. The difference seemed to be night and day, as Guangzhou struggled to keep up with them. Despite being stopped just short on attack, the Hunters held the Charge at point B, bringing a fifth map into the match.
After finally finding their groove in map four, the Hunters entered map five with a newfound aggression and polish. They overwhelmed the Charge with their tight, coordinated pushes. Lateyoung’s Zarya was extremely dominant in this map, which seemed to make up for his performance on Roadhog in map one. With one last amazing Graviton Surge, the Hunters secured the victory in their first match of the Overwatch League.
The Chengdu Hunters looked much more powerful than expected in this match. While they struggled to gather steam in the first half, they showed that they can dominate the game when they coordinate. They played a variety of different team comps and subbed in multiple players. Elsa in particular looked very competent on both D.Va and Sombra in this match. If this team can improve their consistency, they could be a serious contender for the playoffs.
Featured image courtesy of the Chengdu Hunters.
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