The season is finally starting. As the off-season seemed to stretch on for ages, the Seoul Dynasty’s social media countdown is giving Tiger Nation that buzz of anticipation. The season, of course, can’t have a slow easing into the season. Seoul faces off against the Philadelphia Fusion and then the next day goes up against the Guangzhou Charge for the opening weekend.
Philadelphia Fusion (4/17):
How can this not be one of the best opening matches for the Seoul Dynasty. Not only is it the friendly grudge match between the organizations of Gen.G and T1, but with the announcement and addition of Jinmo ‘Tobi’ Yang, this game brings a whole other layer. The Fusion going up against the 2nd place team as their first match in APAC is a big ask, but with the team that they assembled, they are more than ready to take the challenge head-on.
Prediction: 3:2 Seoul
This match could go either way. The edge is being given to the Seoul Dynasty as the Fusion has had some visa and player issues. With the late addition of Hongjoon ‘Hotba’ Choi and Tobi, the synergy and strategies might not be as solid as the Fusion would like. The pure talent alone with titan names such as Donggyu ‘Mano’ Kim, Dongjun ‘Rascal’ Kim, and of course Jaehyeok ‘Carpe’ Lee can alone pull the team to success.
To win this match it is going to rely on the Dynasty being able to finish the kills off and not let players escape and get healed up as well as shutting down the DPS. The Fusion’s DPS line looks killer, and if they are given space as well as allowed to control the tempo of the match the Dynasty is going to struggle. That is going to be on the supports adding in that extra DPS as well as utilizing their abilities for the right moments and managing their cooldowns.
Player to Watch: Jinmo ‘Tobi’ Yang
How can the answer not be Tobi? Whether it is a Fusion fan or a Dynasty die-hard, Tobi is the connecting link between the two. It seems obvious that most will be cheering on the main support. Though with Tobi having been a part of the Dynasty for three seasons, being coached by the Seoul coaches as well as playing alongside most of the Dynasty at least once, Seoul has his number. How effective is he going to be against a team who knows his every move may be better than himself?
Guangzhou Charge (4/18):
The Charge and the Dynasty faced up previously in the pre-season. In the NeXT Tournament, the Dynasty beat the Charge 3:1, losing only Anubius to Guangzhou. That was early in the pre-season, and no doubt the Charge will want to come back and put a win on the board for their first match-up. The Charge has quite a few new pieces for their team. Certainly, they will have improved since then. Zijie ‘MyKaylee’ Zou had some incredible moments in the pre-season making it look like this will be a DPS duel for the win. To win this match the Dynasty is going to need to not let Youngseo ‘Kariv’ Park have the space to support the DPS. Seoul should focus on taking out the backline before they can do too much damage.
Prediction: 3:1 Seoul
With all of that, Seoul will take the match 3-1. The synergy that the Dynasty will have with the tanks and DPS having worked together will, early game, be quite an advantage. Seoul always seemingly has a strong Early game in each season, and there is no reason to think that will change. Hopefully, the Seoul Dynasty will not put all their energy into the Fusion match, which would then leave them unprepared for this match.
Player to watch: Youngwan ‘Creative’ Kim
Though the DPS is going to be key in this match-up, the more interesting battle is going to be between Creative and Kariv. The story of the new generation versus the older generation. Kariv has been around the scene since before the Overwatch League and is known for his use of snipers.
In the pre-season both flex supports have been hitting some insane sleep darts. Those are the moments that can give the DPS just enough time or space to hit a shot to change the trajectory of the fight. Behind any amazing DPS display, there is the unsung tank and support players backing them up. Creative can have an explosive first couple of matches it will solidify him even more as high-ranking flex support in not only APAC but the Overwatch League.
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