Shanghai Dragons vs New York Excelsior

Talk about an absolute barnburner! Shanghai Dragons facing off against the New York Excelsior is what dreams are made of. And, of course, there's a lot on the line here as well, seeing how both teams have their sights set on the APAC throne.

To make things even more interesting, neither of the two have been all that consistent lately. Heck, we're putting it mildly here! New York's sole win came at the expense of Hangzhou Spark (a solid 3-1 showing), with their two losses coming at the hands of Chengdu Hunters and Seoul Dynasty (a fairly thorough 0-3 shellacking). Fairly predicting and evaluating their overall power level feels nigh impossible right now. They do so many things right, but they're still not good (or cohesive) enough to compete with the "big dogs." Still, they're stacked with talent and should, by all means, be able to eventually climb the ranks. That's the hope, at least, but there are no guarantees whatsoever, especially given the current state of the Overwatch League and the APAC region, specifically.

Shanghai, on the other hand, are also somewhat of a mixed bag. We all thought they'd be a lot more commanding but that hasn't been the case thus far. Now, make no mistake, they're still a top-tier team and a shoo-in for the playoffs, but they still need a bit of time to fully ramp up and start playing their best Overwatch. Will the Excelsior be able to challenge, though? That's the biggest and most interesting question coming into this match, and there's no definitive answer in sight -- we'll have to wait and see.

New York don't have a whole lot of hype coming into this match given the fact that they were outclassed by Seoul mere hours ago. To lose is one thing -- it's a natural part of any competition, be it virtual or traditional. But to lose in such one-sided fashion is a completely different ordeal. And sure, it wasn't their best showing (we know for a fact that they're better) but such defeats invariably affect one's confidence. Will they be able to bounce back in time? Will it be enough against a team as stacked and dangerous as Shanghai? No one's all too sure, but they definitely have a puncher's chance.

Either way, we'll side with the Dragons on this one. They've done enough to warrant our benefit of the doubt and should, by all means, be able to emerge victorious. Still, it won't come easy — not in the slightest!