The Seoul Dynasty is in an interesting position. Though they get a bye to the second round, that means that they do not know who they will play. The team will need to split their focus and practice between two very different teams. Both the Hangzhou Spark and the Philadelphia Fusion, though they need to play more matches, know exactly who they will play. With no more hero bans as well as not having a major patch right before the playoffs this seems to have less potential for a major shake-up than other years. Here is a look at the Seoul Dynasty’s possible two matchups this coming weekend for the play-ins.
Possible Match Ups
Hangzhou Spark:
The Hangzhou Spark must be said are the underdog in the Fusion vs Spark match-up. Not only have there been roster shake-ups right before this match, but the Spark have not looked the best during the Countdown Cup. If Seoul faces up against the Spark it will bring flashes of the Season 2 play in tournaments, though Tiger Nation can only hope for a different result. The Spark has a scary dive with Xu ‘Guxue’ Qiulin at the head of the team. During the Countdown Cup there was not much Minsoo ‘Seominsoo’ Seo in the matches. That being said, they may be going to a solid 6 without subs so that the team can focus on details rather than integrating players into the lineup
Hu ‘Jinmu’ Yi’s Pharah gave the Spark a lot of trouble. The backline was unable to stay alive off of the damage Jinmu was producing. Junyoung ‘Profit’ Park is not Jinmu but is an excellent Pharah. The only issue is that Ashe is back in rotation, which Yangjie ‘Shy’ Zheng is great at. If it is the Spark that Seoul faces on Sunday, the predicted scoreline would be 3-1 Seoul. Keep an eye out on Profit of whether he is able to help give enough burst damage to quickly eliminate the Spark during their dive.
Philadelphia Fusion
The Fusion now seems like an old rival. It isn’t just that Jinmo ‘Tobi’ Yang is on the opposing team. It now stems from all the close matches that these teams have had this season. These matches have been built on what seems like Fusion’s mistakes. This is not to say that the Dynasty did not earn the wins, because they did. But it was the Fusion opening the door to give Seoul those opportunities. This means that Seoul needs to be prepared to overpower and out strategize the Fusion instead of playing what they have in the past. Sometimes it seems as if the Dynasty are overcomplicating it when they just need to play what they are good at. Now that the Fusion and Seoul have had time to review the VODs of their past matches both teams will surely have patched mistakes.
This match will come down to who makes the most mistakes as both teams will take advantage of anything that might give them an edge. Kyungbo ‘Alarm’ Kim needs to be watched to see how impactful he will be. His Ana, Bap, and Zen plays have saved the Fusion many times. Just like Alarm, Youngwan ‘Creative’ Kim’s pick-offs, as well as sleeps, have created many opportunities for Seoul. Both flex supports are crucial for their team to succeed. It could come down to which flex support is shut down harder or who pops off the most. The scoreline will be 3-2 and who will be on that winning side of the 3-2 is a flip of a coin.
Player to Watch: DPS Duo ProFITS
Playoff Profit will definitely be mentioned during the Dynasty’s run in the playoffs. Profit and Dongeon ‘FITS’ Kim when they both show up have the potential for being the best DPS duo. The issue is the inconsistency that comes from them as well as not have enough space created for them to do the damage. The best part of ProFITS is their flexibility to cover almost every hero. That means sometimes indecisiveness can be seen in matches of going back and forth on different heroes when respawning. Not only does that lose ult charge, but can have some wacky compositions. Whatever gets ProFITS the confidence to pop off needs to happen this weekend so they can help the team get into the playoffs.
Play-ins
The play-ins are here. Seoul has that one shot to get that win. There is no more second chance unless they get into the playoffs. The pressure is mounting, but most of the players have been in this situation before and they know what they need to do. Tiger Nation will be cheering them on and waiting to see which of the two, the Hangzhou Spark or the Philadelphia Fusion, Seoul will be playing for their life to continue for Season 4 of the Overwatch League.
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