Guangzhou Charge vs Hangzhou Spark

This is where things get a whole lot more interesting, although not for reasons you might expect. Guangzhou vs. Hangzhou is definitely not the most premier APAC match-up out there, but it's incredibly important nonetheless.

We're starting to grasp the bigger picture, but we're still missing a couple of key details, and most of them pertain to these two teams and their overall power level. It's no secret that they haven't impressed much thus far, so it's hard to truly get excited for any of their upcoming outings. Still, we know for a fact that they're better than they've shown, and it's only a matter of time before they can get on the same page and actually start putting a bit of pressure on the upper echelon of the APAC region.

Hangzhou, for one, have been fairly competitive, although they've yet to get a win on the board. Still, given their strength of schedule (Philadelphia Fusion, New York Excelsior, Shanghai Dragons) it's not like anyone should be all too surprised. They've pretty much faced the very best teams the Overwatch League has to offer, and the fact that they're currently winless should in no way diminish their valiant efforts. They're still not good enough to rub shoulders with the all-time greats, but they're a feisty challenger nonetheless and are worthy of respect.

The Charge, on the other hand, haven't been nearly as impressive. Whenever they faced top-tier opposition, they failed to leave much of a mark. In fact, they were barely competitive. And sure, there *were* a couple of flashes of brilliance, but they were too few and far between to actually warrant our benefit of the doubt. Their sole win came at the expense of the Los Angeles Valiant, and while it *was* a dominant showing, it's still not enough to win us over. Then again, in all fairness, even if they *are* worse than Hangzhou, it is only by the slimmest of margins. It's not a mismatch in any way, shape, or form, and it'll all boils down to preparation and execution — something both of these two line-ups still aren't all that proficient at.

Coming into 2021, most folks expected quite a lot from the Charge and, in all fairness, there was a good reason why. They have the right players and should, by all means, be able to ascend to that level in due time, but right now — at the very start of the season — they're still struggling to find their footing and lock down an identity to call their own. They're still meandering, making egregious mistakes left, right, and center. Will they improve? Undoubtedly, but until that happens we should definitely reserve judgement and readjust expectations. Otherwise we'll just get disappointed on a weekly basis. Hangzhou are arguably better, but barely so.

In any case, we should definitely be entertaining, regardless of the way things ultimately unfold.