Los Angeles Valiant vs Hangzhou Spark

The Hangzhou Spark have, by the looks of it, finally bounced back, and they've done so in fairly tremendous fashion, too. We're still wary of saying it out loud though, and that's probably not going to change any time soon. They just haven't been all that consistent lately and we simply fail to understand why.

They're still considered as the biggest dark horse of the Eastern region but their volatility has foiled their ambition many a time in the (recent) past and that is precisely what brings us to the million dollar question: have they finally fixed their biggest and most egregious issues? Or is this, perhaps, just another surge that'll gradually wither away, much like it did a few weeks back?

A couple of stellar wins are by no means enough for us to board any kind of hype train -- they cannot erase the bitterness of past failures. And, well, Hangzhou sure did have their fair share of those, most of which happened to be quite crushing.

To their credit, they *did* dismantle Chengdu a few hours ago and if they can do the same against the Valiant (a task, by the way, they're more than well-equipped for), they'll not only generate a bit of momentum but also correct course and once again have enough confidence to, hopefully, mount an offensive against the Seouls and Shanghais of the world.

A surgning Hangzhou can beat anyone in the world. They don't always bring their "A game" though, so the best we can do is give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that they'll deliver against an opponent much less capable and threatening than they are.