How Pharah helped lead the Chengdu Hunters to a reverse sweep

Pharah play was crucial in the Hunter's recent big win

Michael Czar

Published: Jul 10, 2021 11:01 am

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Over in the Eastern region, the Chengdu Hunters managed to reverse sweep the Philadelphia Fusion playing primarily Pharah compositions. Along with other specific team choices, the Hunters kept their top-tier team status in the East with this win. With the Fusion struggling to break out of mediocrity in the East, the start of this game was a bright sign suggesting that they were about to hit top form. Then, the Hunters did what they always do, play hard heroes well and win games.

A live reverse sweep sets the standards

Not only was this reverse sweep big news for the Eastern standings, but it also was played live. The Shanghai Dragons-hosted homestand saw all the ups and downs of both teams in-person. With Chengdu winning in the end, their highs were higher, and a lot of it was due to a coaching tactic that they have stuck to since their existence. The best example of this are two players who have been on the roster from the beginning: Ding “Ameng” Menghan and Yi “JinMu” Hu. Ameng’s comfort in Wrecking Ball made him an instant fan favorite, while Jinmu was a monster on heroes like Hanzo and Pharah. Both these players started in the Chengdu roster as the Fusion ran players they were comfortable with. The big difference between them was that the Fusion were playing from their facility as Chengdu played live.

After the first two maps went to the Fusion, the crumble started as soon as Jinmu picked Pharah. A quick attack on King’s Row led to a Fusion C9 with just over 2:30 left. From that moment onwards, the game shifted heavily towards Chengdu.

Jinmu’s Pharah rains death from above

To start, let’s focus on Jinmu’s play against the capable DPS of the Fusion. As mentioned in our Pharah guide earlier this month, there are some key tips for Pharah that can help players win games. Jinmu was using all those tips and tricks to his advantage at the start of the Hunters’ attack on King’s Row. With Mercy, the first two points of King’s Row are good to play Pharah on due to the map design. A lot of tall buildings and easy-to-spam choke areas helped Jinmu start the attack strong. One of the most interesting things he did was use the statue on the first corner for cover, shooting through the small holes in its arms and legs. One of the first important notes in the Pharah guide was how map-dependent she is, and King’s Row isn’t a bad map for Pharah if you can plan around it.

Chengdu Pharah Philadelphia — Jinmu uses the map to his advantage. | Provided by the Overwatch League

Along with that, as the double shield of the Fusion is forced to rotate, Jinmu strikes. He rotates over the point, hitting any stragglers that don’t get shielded. That leads to the first pick and the eventual fight win. This continued on the second point, but the third point doesn’t suit Pharah, so Chengdu swapped to Tracer. Then, he proceeded to capture point in a fight the Hunters were losing to finish the attack.

Jinmu Pharah Chengdu Philadelphia — The Pharah and Mercy rotate over point and establish dominance. | Provided by the Overwatch League

Precision attacks start a team snowball

Punishing rotations is something simple that Pharah excels at, especially with Mercy. The burst damage she can dish out with a boost from Mercy is wild, as Jinmu used to his advantage. Simple things like this are key to playing Pharah right, and the Fusion couldn’t counter it on King’s Row. Jinmu also played Pharah on the attack on Junkertown, where Pharah has no cover to hide behind for the first point. The lack of counters from the Fusion and skill on display led Hunters to a good push.

Those two maps put the Hunters in a position to succeed. Jinmu’s Pharah was key on both of those maps, which led to the eventual Chengdu Hunters win over the Philadelphia Fusion.