Tiger Nation is on a high from defeating the Shanghai Dragons in Week 14. It was a close match, but there were visible improvements in how the Dynasty were playing. In Week 15 the team only plays once on Saturday against the Chengdu Hunters. This is a hard match to call. The Chengdu Hunters can drag teams down to their level, and if the Dynasty get caught up in that it will be hard to win.
This week’s hero pools do not help the situation. So far the Dynasty have shown the Sombra Tracer D.Va and the double shield Mei McCree. Next week one DPS from each comp is banned (Mei and Tracer) both the heroes that Junyoung ‘Profit’ Park has been playing. Orisa is out which hinders the double shield composition meaning it will probably have D.Va as the off-tank, a weakness that Seoul have shown. Echo is also still in the rotation, which has given the Dynasty issues since she was added into the hero rotation.
Chengdu Hunter (5/16): 3-9-0
The Hunters since their addition into the league have never played by the meta-rules. It seems as if matches with the Hunters teams either sweep or get swept by them. Chengdu seem to enjoy the glass cannon approach to Overwatch. It is an all or nothing approach to playing the game. In Week 14 fans saw the Hunter bring out the Pharah Echo which could definitely give the Dynasty some issues, especially on control.
How to win?
In Week 14 the Hunters favored a dive defense, and with Brig back into the hero rotation, Jinmo ‘Tobi’ Yang will probably be in Brig jail this coming week to help stun up some of the dive. The Dynasty needs to stay humble after the win against the Dragons and be in the mindset that they still have a lot to prove. Though their coordination looked better there were still times when Jaehui ‘Gesture’ Hong would jump in and die to the enemy team. The DPS hard carried with help from the supports last week.
Chengdu are going to be aggressive and set a fast-paced tempo that the Dynasty will need to react to in the moment. This is going to test their communication skills. If they do get overwhelmed will the Seoul Dynasty players be able to regroup rather than fall into individuals trying to make the savior plays? The Hunters win more fights when Menghan ‘Ameng’ Ding is allowed to roam freely in the back lines. It is going to be essential that the Dynasty are ready to shut that down and peel for their supports.
Prediction: 3:1 Seoul Dynasty
If the hero pool were different, then this would be much more in favor of the Seoul Dynasty, but that is how hero pools work. The meta changes, and sometimes it is in the favor of one team more than another. Double Sniper could be a great possibility for Seoul. Profit is a well-known Widow and Tiger Nation got a hint of Dongeon ‘FITS’ Kim’s Hanzo in past weeks. The Hunters also ran this against London on Junkertown. The could also be a comfort pick for them. KOTH is much more in favor of the chaotic style of Chengdu, which means that Seoul are going to have to win Hybrid, 2CP, and payload so that it doesn’t end in a KOTH map.
It seems as if the Dynasty don’t want to run Marve1 and Michelle together, but with Orisa out that could be a good option if double shield isn’t going to be played.
Player to watch: Jaehui ‘Gesture’ Park
Gesture is the most worrying component of the Dynasty. He feeds into the enemy team, and once he is burned down it leaves the rest of the Dynasty vulnerable. Profit will not be able to pop onto Tracer to get a 4k this week. Orisa has been his strongest looking hero by far in the season. Having Orisa out means he will be on Reinhardt or Winston, which he is passable on, but combined with Marve1 who isn’t as comfortable on D.Va weakens the tank line.
If Gesture feeds during this matchup against Ameng that could spell disaster. On the flip side, if Gesture plays smart with the team, it will create space for the DPS to initiate picks and get better poke in. Gesture is a legendary main tank and it is time to see that again. Profit and Seungtae ‘Bdosin’ Choi have both proven themselves last week and previous matches. Now it is time to see Gesture step up.
Week 15:
There are still many people who doubt the Dynasty. This is almost a lose-lose situation. If the Dynasty win it will be because ‘they played Chengdu’ but if they lose then that will go back to ‘they aren’t good/overrated.’ Praise is hard to come by even when the Dynasty win, so going up against such an unpredictable team will not get them many Kudo points if they win this coming week. It will help with their standings. The cushion of map differential has gone down and needs to be built back up again. Stop by the Seoul Dynasty Discord to leave some positivity for the players and coaches!
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