HANGZHOU SPARK vs SEOUL DYNASTY OWL BETTING & MATCH DETAILS
OWL Betting Odds:	Spark $1.61 at GG Bet | Dynasty $2.20 at GG Bet
OWL Betting Lines:	Spark -1.5 at $2.63 | Dynasty +1.5 at $1.49
When:	August 8, 2020 at 19:00 KST
Watch Live:	Twitch, Youtube

HANGZHOU SPARK vs SEOUL DYNASTY OVERWATCH LEAGUE COUNTDOWN CUP 2020 BETTING PREVIEW

Hangzhou Spark and Seoul Dynasty will clash for the fifth time this season on Saturday in the quarter-finals of the Overwatch League (OWL) 2020 Countdown Cup.

After finishing the OWL May Melee as runners-up, Seoul went only 1-3 in June but still claimed top-four finish in the Summer Showdown after a 0-3 loss to Shanghai Dragons in the semi-finals.

The Dynasty’s woes continued into July, where they dropped games against Hangzhou Spark (0-3), Chengdu Hunters (2-3), Shanghai Dragons (0-3) and Guangzhou Charge (1-3) to go bottom of the standings ahead of the Countdown Cup. While that form does not inspire much confidence, there are some positives to take from their showings.

Looking back at Seoul’s clash with Shanghai, Jinmo “tobi” Yang and his crew lost 0-2 on Ilios-Control but up a show on Numbani-Hybrid (4-5) and Hanamura-Assault (2-3). Against the Charge they began with a loss on Oasis-Control (1-2), struck back on Havana-Escort (2-1), fell short on Eichenwalde-Hybrid (1-2), forced a draw on Volskaya Industries-Assault (3-3), then fell flat on Nepal-Control (0-2).

Hangzhou Spark should be delighted to be seeded with Seoul Dynasty for their opening match of the Countdown Cup, since they have already beaten them twice this season.

Unlike the Dynasty, who limped their way through the previous month, the Spark managed a 2-1 record and +3 map differential in July, which sat them in third place behind Chengdu Hunters and Shanghai Dragons.

Hangzhou began that run with a clean 3-0 win against Seoul, but Chengdu Hunters swept them with 2-0 on Oasis-Control, 3-2 on King’s Row-Hybrid and 1-0 on Hanamura-Assault. The Spark bounced back against London Spitfire last Saturday, winning 2-0 on Ilios-Control, 5-4 on Route 66-Escort and 3-2 on Eichenwalde-Hybrid.

The Spark’s record looks much better on paper than it really is. While a 2-1 run for July seems solid enough, they only really defeated underperforming sides in the Dynasty and Spitfire. Both wins were very close, so the Chinese side could quite easily have come away with a 0-3 record for the month.

If we look a bit closer at the Spark’s clash with the Dynasty at the start of July, Qiulin “guxue” Xu and his team won with 2-0 on Busan-Control, 2-1 on Temple of Anubis-Assault and 4-3 on Route 66-Escort, which shows that Seoul came close to winning two out of the three maps.

It’s also worth noting that the Dynasty’s main DPS, Dongeon “FITS” Kim, had an off day, namely due to the coordination issues that have plagued the team this season. Seoul have improved in that aspect of late, so there is hope they will look much sharper this time out.

HANGZHOU SPARK vs SEOUL DYNASTY OVERWATCH LEAGUE COUNTDOWN CUP 2020 BETTING PREDICTIONS

Even though Seoul Dynasty are rightly priced as underdogs, there are a few factors that make us believe this match won’t be as straightforward for Hangzhou Spark as it may seem at first glance.

Besides the Dynasty’s aforementioned improvement since their narrow loss in the last meeting between these sides, we must also consider the Spark’s penchant for overextending and playing too aggressively. Tobi and his team can exploit that by collapsing onto their opponents, which is an element of the game in which they have been very effective.

Considering Seoul showed some improvement against Shanghai Dragons and Guangzhou Charge, whereas Hangzhou did not look at all dominant in their win against London Spitfire, we find a bet on the outsiders far more appealing. The +1.5 map handicap on the Dynasty is the safe bet, but we are going all out and placing our money on Seoul to win outright.