Is 2021 The Year The Dynasty Brings A Title To Seoul?
Entering the league equipped with some of the loftiest expectations on their shoulders, the Seoul Dynasty somehow remain titleless. Narrowly missing their first place this year, unfortunately for them, history does not remember the Dynasty all that kindly. However, if the Dynasty have the heart of a spitfire, then they’ll always have the weapons to go the distance.
They might come out of the gate slow, look uneasy at particular points in time, and be an inconsistent threat in the regular season, but time and time again, the core that Seoul has brought together has proven to be big-game players. We’re past dice rolls and dependencies now. This is a measurable pattern that is going to net them the ultimate prize sooner, rather than later. After narrowly missing the mark this year, is 2021 the year that the Dynasty brings a title home to Seoul?
Overdue for world-class success, the Dynasty has made valiant attempts in the past but never stuck the landing when it mattered most. Debuting alongside the Overwatch League clouded with massive expectations, the Seoul Dynasty acquired the core of legendary team Lunatic-Hai, the only defending OGN’s Overwatch APEX champions. Unfortunately, projections were not met. Plagued with DPS inconsistencies and roster turmoil, Seoul ended 2018 with an eighth-place finish out of twelve teams.
2019 saw them return to form with a significantly deeper roster but the result, while slightly improved, was more of the same. The Dynasty had moments of brilliance but flopped what looked to be an impressive playoff run, exiting with losses to the Vancouver Titans and the Hangzhou Spark. On the other hand, the 2020 Overwatch League season was their best to date, which stands opposed to the eye test and narrative depending on when in the timeline you begin to review. Starting out, Seoul still was trying to wrap their head around the new hero pool format, as was the league at large. However, by the end of the playoffs, they landed a metagame that played into their wheelhouse and took to the skies, falling short at the feet of the San Francisco Shock, but silver is nothing to be ashamed of.
Click to enlargeAs the Dynasty size up their prey heading into the 2021 season, many of this year’s top teams have some major risk factors that could spell disaster and better clear a path for Seoul to find their first title.
The reigning champions, the San Francisco Shock, are under massive amounts of pressure. Not only do they carry the expectations of the only Overwatch League champion to defend their title, but they are looked at as early favourites to go for three. That alongside massive changes, both in regards to their coaching staff and their roster, has the Shock under heavy scrutiny. San Francisco has its work cut out for them if they want to further their status as Overwatch League champions.
The Philadelphia Fusion have attacked this offseason with both hands. They’ve bolstered their coaching staff and signed both veteran and rookie talent alike for their fourth outing. On top of the normal acquisitions and trades, the Fusion are also moving regions and will be playing from South Korea for the 2021 season. With a litany of moving parts, can the Fusion improve on an already impressive record?
The offseason has seen many teams make sweeping changes, ones that begin to redefine the history of these frankly early franchises, however, the Shanghai Dragons have been frankly quiet, and that isn’t necessarily a good thing. That’s not to say the Dragons haven’t made any moves, but the majority of them have been letting very talented players, some that they relied heavily on in the past, transfer to other teams. As the league continues to churn out more and more competitive teams, does Shanghai have what it takes to keep up?
Click to enlargeHowever, as promising as that might seem, early estimations for the 2021 Overwatch League season have it being the most competitive yet. Franchises across the board have significantly upgraded their rosters, and many aim to step into the discussion of title contenders. This opens up the discussion for not only the Dynasty, but for many teams in the league to make a deep, potential title-winning run in the coming season.
That said, when you look at the track record of this team and the number of times they have crawled out of the guise of obscurity and improbability, you simply cannot count them out. No one expected them to perform as well as they did in 2020, many pundits assumed that continued success was a way of the past with the new hero pool format. However, Seoul persisted, placing well at the May Melee and then making the Cinderella run during the playoffs. This sentiment is echoed further when we narrow the scope in on the roster itself.
Park "Profit" Joon-yeong and Hong "Gesture" Jae-hee rarely miss championship matches. Looked down upon as rookies, they were the biggest weapons on the only royal roaders in OGN Overwatch APEX history, GC Busan. Crowned as the team that needed to move the stars and moon to come together, they were the core to the season one champions, the London Spitfire. And those are just the familiar faces from seasons past.
Now the Dynasty welcome veteran leadership from the former New York Excelsior players Park "Saebyeolbe" Jong-ryeol and Jung "Anamo" Taesung. Both of them, alongside the New York regime, looked indomitable in season one and impressed with a frequently forgotten third-place finish the following year. That on its face gives the Seoul Dynasty not only some of the best players in the league, some of the best captains in the league, but arguably the most championship experience in the league.
However, outside Saebyeolbe and Anamo, Seoul Dynasty have been frankly quiet this offseason which has drawn some concern. Questions throughout the 2020 season surrounded their flex tanks or lack thereof. No stranger to the majority of the heroes and a strong main tank in his own right, Hwang "Marve1" Min-seo, saw his fair share of playtime while assumed flex tank starter Choi "Michelle" Min-hyuk was sparsely seen. Then came Lim "Toyou" Hyeon-woo, a two-way flex tank from the Dynasty’s academy team, Gen.G Esports. To call Seoul’s relationship with the flex tank position in 2020 tumultuous would be an understatement—not that it affected their end of season performance, but it is easily a position they’re going to need to solidify if they aim to capture gold next year.
Following the mother-duck theory, eyes should be cast on veteran flex tank member and former member of GC Busan, Sung "WooHyaL" Seung-hyun due to his connection with head coach Park "changgoon" Chang-geun. However, seeing how Toyou was called up last year, perhaps there is more of an opportunity for him to become a fixture on the Dynasty’s starting lineup for 2021. Then comes the option for a second flex support, which could also draw eyes to Gen.G Esports roster, but outside of that, everything else added to this team is extra credit.
With the argument laid out in full on the table, it’s hard to say that the Seoul Dynasty should not be considered a contender in 2021. With the 2018 trophy standing in defiance, we as a community and the league as a whole cannot write them off for a potential run. If anything, that is when the Dynasty seems to be at their most dangerous. It’s when teams look past them; it’s when their backs are against the wall that Seoul comes alive. And with the roster they’ve put together thus far, with the coaching staff that is criminally underrated, with newfound leadership, and firepower, and a track record of leaving experts gobsmacked—the Seoul Dynasty should be considered apt contenders for the 2021 Overwatch League title.
Images via Blizzard Entertainment