Shanghai Dragons

The Shanghai Dragons (Chinese: 上海龙之队; pinyin: Shànghǎi Lóngzhīduì) are a professional Overwatch esports team based in Shanghai, China. The Dragons compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's Pacific East Division.

Shanghai Dragons
上海龙之队
FoundedJuly 12, 2017
LeagueOverwatch League
ConferencePacific
DivisionEast
Team historyShanghai Dragons
(2017–present)
Based inShanghai, China
ArenaXinYeFang Studio[1]
Colors       
OwnerNetEase
Head coachMoon Byung-chul
General managerYang Van
Affiliation(s)Team CC
WebsiteOfficial website
Uniforms
Shanghai Dragons
Simplified Chinese上海龙之队
Traditional Chinese上海龍之隊

Founded in 2017, Shanghai Dragons are one of the league's twelve founding members and are one of four professional Overwatch teams based in China. The team is owned by Chinese internet technology company NetEase, who also own Team CC, an academy team for the Dragons that compete in Overwatch Contenders.

Shanghai Dragons did not win a single match in their first season in the OWL, going 0–40. The team holds the record for the longest losing streak in professional sports history at 42 losses. We "BlueHaS" Seong-hwan was appointed the team's head coach for the 2019 season and guided the team to their first OWL match victory on February 23, 2019; they went on to claim their first – and the league's final – stage playoffs title.

Franchise history

Beginnings

On July 12, 2017, Overwatch developer Activision Blizzard officially announced that NetEase, a Chinese technology company, would be the team owner of a Shanghai-based Overwatch League franchise.[2] "We're passionate about gaming at NetEase, and the Overwatch League is an opportunity we didn't want to miss," said William Ding, CEO of NetEase. "The commitment of Overwatch's players and fan community is an incredible foundation on which to build a successful global league, and we're looking forward to building a world-class team for Shanghai that inspires fans everywhere."[3] On September 27, NetEase revealed the franchise name as the Shanghai Dragons and was the first OWL team to release its branding.[4][5][6]

On October 31, the Dragons revealed their Overwatch League roster, consisting of eight members.[7] Three weeks later, on November 20, Shanghai Dragons announced their coaching staff, including head coach Chen "U4" Congshan.[8]

Inaugural season
Main article: 2018 Shanghai Dragons season

Shanghai Dragons' first regular season OWL match was a 1–3 loss to the San Francisco Shock.[9] Unfortunately, this result would become a trend for the Dragons throughout the season. The team did not win a match in Stage 1, obtaining a 0–10 record. On February 13, 2018, disappointed by their Stage 1 record, the Dragons signed 4 new players in hopes to improve their Stage 2 chances; most notably including the league's first female player, South Korean Kim "Geguri" Se-yeon.[10]

Amidst a disaster of a season, Shanghai went through three different head coaches.[11][12] The Dragons finished the season with a 0–40 record and a -120 map differential, having not won a single match. This marked the worst single-season record in professional sports history.[13]

Season two
Main article: 2019 Shanghai Dragons season

In hopes of not reliving the 2018 season, the Shangai Dragons released 8 of 11 members of their roster on September 3, 2018.[14] On September 21, The Shanghai Dragons hired We "BlueHaS" Seong-hwan as the team's new head coach.[15]

Shanghai opened the season with two consecutive losses, but on February 23, Shanghai snapped their 42-game losing streak – the longest losing streak in professional sports history – by defeating the Boston Uprising 3–1, marking the franchise's first ever win.[16] The team picked up two more wins in Stage 1 for a respectable 3–4 record for the stage. The Dragons found more success in Stage 2, as they finished with a 4–3 record and qualified for their first ever stage playoffs;[17] however, the fell 1–3 to the San Francisco Shock in the quarterfinals.[18] After the All-Star break, the Dragons hit their stride, amassing a 5–2 Stage 3 record, and qualified for the Stage 3 Playoffs.[19] The team put on an unprecedented playoff run, taking down the top-seeded New York Excelsior 3–1 and the second-seeded Vancouver Titans 4–1 in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.[20][21] The team then took down the third-seeded San Francisco Shock 4–3 in the finals to claim their first-ever stage championship.[22] Shanghai's success did not last, however; after the implementation of a 2-2-2 role lock by the league in Stage 4, the Dragons only won one match in their final seven to finish the season with a 13–15 record.[23]

In eleventh place in the regular season standings, Shanghai had to compete in the Play-In Tournament in order to qualify for the season playoffs. A 4–2 win over the Philadelphia Fusion sent the Dragons to the second round, where they faced the London Spitfire.[24] The match against London went to an OWL record eight maps, but the Dragons fell 3–4 to end their playoff hopes.[25]

Team identity

On September 27, 2017, the Shanghai Dragons brand was officially unveiled. The name "dragons" was chosen as the dragon is a symbol of a sacred, powerful, and supreme spirit. The logo for the Shanghai Dragons features a stylized dragon in the shape of the letter 'S' in the team's official colors of red, yellow, white, and black. Specifically, red is a theme color for the logo, as it emphasizes the team's Chinese connection.[4]

Personnel

Current roster
Shanghai Dragons roster
PlayersCoaches
RoleNo.HandleNameNationality
Damage 70 LIP  Lee Jae-won  South Korea 
Damage 21 diem  Bae Min-seong  South Korea 
Damage 1 Fleta  Kim Byung-sun  South Korea 
Damage 64 Erster  Joon Jeong  South Korea 
Tank 7 Fate  Koo Pan-seung  South Korea 
Tank 57 Void  Kang Jun-woo  South Korea 
Support 2 LeeJaeGon  Lee Jae-gon  South Korea 
Support 22 Izayaki  Kim Min-chul  South Korea 
Support 66 Molly  He Chengzhi  China 
Head coach
  • Moon "Moon" Byung-chul
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (2W) Two-way player
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injury/Illness

Latest roster transaction: December 2, 2020.

Head coaches
Shanghai Dragons head coaches
Handle Name From To Span Ref.
U4 Congshan Chen (陈丛山) November 20, 2017 March 6, 2018 106 days [8][11]
Kong[lower-alpha 1] Junyoung Son (손준영) March 6, 2018 March 29, 2018 23 days [11][26]
RUI Xingrui Wang (王星睿) March 29, 2018 May 9, 2018 41 days [27][12]
Kong[lower-alpha 1] Junyoung Son (손준영) May 9, 2018 September 9, 2018 123 days [12][26]
BlueHaS We Seong-hwan September 20, 2018 September 23, 2019 1 year, 3 days [15][28]
Moon Moon Byung-chul September 24, 2019 1 year, 127 days [29]
  1. Interim head coach

Awards and records

Seasons overview
Season P W L W% MW ML MT MD Pos. (league) Pos. (conf.) Playoffs Earnings
2018 40040.000211412-12012th12thNot eligible$25,000
2019 281315.46451613-1011th7thNot eligible$225,000
2020 21192.90559151+441st1stGF Lower Round 2$595,000

Individual accomplishments

Season MVP

  • Fleta (Byungsun Kim) – 2020

Role Stars selections

  • DDing (Yang Jin-hyeok) – 2019
  • Fleta (Byungsun Kim) – 2020
  • LIP (Lee Jae-won) – 2020
  • Fearless (Euiseok Lee) – 2020
  • Void (Kang Jun-woo) – 2020
  • LeeJaeGon (Lee Jae-Gon) – 2020

All-Star Game selections

  • Geguri (Kim Se-yeon) – 2018
  • Diem (Bae Min-Sung) – 2019
  • Fearless (Euiseok Lee) – 2020
  • Void (Kang Jun-woo) – 2020
  • Fleta (Byungsun Kim) – 2020
  • LeeJaeGon (Lee Jae-Gon) – 2020
  • Izayaki (Minchul Kim) – 2020

All-Star Game head coaches

  • Moon (Moon Byung-chul) – 2020

Academy team
Main article: Team CC

On January 10, 2018, the Dragons revealed "Team CC", their academy team for Overwatch Contenders China.[30] In Season One, the team reached the playoff semi-finals before losing to eventual runners-up LGD Gaming 1–3.[31]

References
  1. Shanghai Dragons [@ShanghaiDragons] (August 30, 2019). "Venue Reveal" (Tweet). Retrieved October 11, 2019 – via Twitter.
  2. "Overwatch: Bigger than the Premier League?". BBC News. BBC. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  3. "NetEase Becomes the Overwatch League(TM)'s First China-based Team Owner". PR Newswire. July 17, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  4. NetEase Esports (September 27, 2017). "The Overwatch League's Shanghai Franchise Unveils Official Name, Logo, and Colors" (PDF). Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  5. Webster, Andrew (29 September 2017). "The Overwatch League continues to emulate traditional sports with reveal of first team logo". The Verge. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  6. Carpenter, Nicole (29 September 2017). "Introducing the Shanghai Dragons, the Overwatch League's first officially named team". Dot Esports. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  7. Carpenter, Nicole (October 31, 2017). "Shanghai Dragons reveals Overwatch League roster". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  8. "The Overwatch League Shanghai Dragons Official Coaching Team Announced". PR Newswire. November 20, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  9. Fuller, Garrett (January 13, 2018). "Overwatch League – San Francisco Shock vs Shanghai Dragons". IGN. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  10. Webster, Andrew (14 February 2018). "The Overwatch League signs its first female player". The Verge. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  11. Carpenter, Nicole (March 6, 2018). "Controversial Shanghai Dragons coach steps down". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  12. Carpenter, Nicole (May 10, 2018). "Shanghai Dragons lose another head coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  13. Erzberger, Tyler (June 20, 2018). "No silver lining in Shanghai's 0-40 Overwatch League season". ESPN.
  14. Chiu, Karen (September 3, 2018). "Lovable losers Shanghai Dragons purge most of team after epic Overwatch League losing streak". Abacus News. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  15. "We are excited to announce BlueHaS is joining Shanghaidragons as the Head Coach!". Shanghai Dragons. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018 – via Twitter.
  16. "Gamsu leads Shanghai to first Overwatch League win". ESPN. Reuters. February 23, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  17. Renie, Jake (May 9, 2019). "Shanghai Dragons Stage 2 Playoffs Preview". The Game Haus. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  18. Amos, Andrew (May 9, 2019). "San Francisco Shock and Hangzhou Spark advance to Overwatch League stage 2 semifinals". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  19. Geracie, Nick (July 7, 2019). "Shanghai Dragons qualifies for Overwatch League Stage 3 Playoffs". InvenGlobal. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  20. Rand, Emily (July 12, 2019). "Shanghai Dragons exorcise ghosts of Season 1 against NYXL". ESPN. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  21. Richardson, Liz (July 14, 2019). "Shanghai Dragons, San Francisco Shock make Overwatch League stage 3 grand finals". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  22. Linscott, Gillian (July 15, 2019). "Shanghai Dragons Complete Cinderella Story, Win Stage 3". Hotspawn. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  23. R, Olivia (September 15, 2019). "Overwatch League standings at the end of the regular season". win.gg. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  24. "Charge, Dragons advance in OWL play-in tourney". ESPN. Reuters. August 31, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  25. Richardson, Liz (August 31, 2019). "London Spitfire and Seoul Dynasty advance to Overwatch League 2019 season playoffs". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  26. Carpenter, Nicole (September 9, 2018). "Shanghai Dragons cuts the majority of its Overwatch League team". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  27. Wan, Zhiqing (March 30, 2018). "Shanghai Dragons Permanently Drop DPS Player Undead From Their Roster". Twinfinite. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  28. Richardson, Liz (September 24, 2019). "Shanghai Dragons, Philadelphia Fusion drop staff". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  29. Castelot, Ophelie (September 24, 2019). "Overwatch: Shanghai Dragons Announce Drastic Coaching Changes". ESTNN. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  30. "2018 Overwatch Contenders China Teams" (in Chinese). 守望先锋 电竞. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018 – via Sina Weibo.
  31. "Overwatch Contenders China Playoff | Semifinal". Overwatch Contenders. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018 – via Twitch.
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