Chengdu Hunters vs Hangzhou Spark

This is the very definition of a spectacle — doubly so if you're a fan of the APAC region (and, let's be real, who isn't?). Still, from a betting perspective, the outcome is nigh impossible to predict. Nowadays, with the June Joust meta, there's quite a lot of uncertainty in the air — teams are still struggling to get on the same page and figure out what's the best and most optimal way of playing the game. Some have found more success than others, but there's still a "feeling out" process of sorts.

That's generally pretty fun to watch, but when it comes to betting, it is anything *but* fun. Simply put: we want consistency and a fairly stable status quo. That way we can easily predict who'll win and in which fashion. Nowadays, though, that's not as easy as it might seem.

Take Hangzhou, for example. No one can fully assess whether they're really as good as they seem, or if they've just been able to string a couple of solid upsets before eventually reverting back to their "gatekeeper" status. Their 1-3 losses to the Philadelphia Fusion and NYXL way back when made them look like a solid albeit inherently flawed contender — one that simply lacked the tools which are necessary to leave a mark in the grand scheme of things. But lo and behold: they're riding a three-game winstreak with one of their wins being a clean sweep of the Shanghai Dragons. That, in short, came as quite a surprise.

Have they done enough to be considered a contender? It's still too early to tell, but if they get the "W" today against the Hunters it'll no longer be possible to doubt their potential.

Then again, Chengdu have definitely done a lot more throughout the last couple of months and have earned our benefit of the doubt. They were noticeably more dangerous in both the May Melee and the June Joust metas although, to be fair, they're not the epitome of consistency either. The same sentiment rings true for the vast majority of APAC — teams are taking games off each other in the most random of ways, and there's often very little rhyme or reason behind what's happening.

In any case, we'll side with Chengdu on this one and hope for the best. They have all the right tools to emerge victorious, but whether or not they'll execute as well as they can still remains to be seen. In any case, top-tier Overwatch will not be absent!