Guangzhou Charge: Stage 2 Week 3 Review

This was an important week for the Charge. They needed a win desperately, not only to garner motivation moving forward but to also save their overall record. Luckily, the Charge finally came alive in Week 3 and put on a much better showing than they had in weeks. They only secured one win, still sitting near the bottom of the league, but both games were competitive. With a bye week for Week 4 and no playoff chances, they can use the coming weeks to truly work on strategy and finding unique playstyles that can dominate the competition.

Week 3 Recap

Hangzhou Spark (2-2) [League 5-6]

The game against the Hangzhou Spark was a series of one-sided maps. Guangzhou looked dominant on control and hybrid with Yiliang “Eileen” Ou’s pocket Doomfist pick. Yet the Spark decimated them on maps two and four. The Charge were unable to clutch the tiebreaker map and thus lost the series. What’s worth noting, however, is that it was the closest Guangzhou had gotten to a win in quite some time. Taking two maps may seem a small victory, yet after five back-to-back sweeps it was a sign of good things to come.

Player of the Match

It would be a lie to say any player besides Eileen is deserving of recognition for this match. While his Doomfist may not have been perfect, it shook up the match and the Charge dominated two out of the three maps on which Doomfist was fielded. Plus, who doesn’t love seeing a good Doomfist in the Overwatch League?

. @Eileenzhi1 charging in STRONG! #OWL2019

The @GZCharge win the map and halt their losing map streak. Can they keep this momentum going & take the next map too?

Join us & watch: https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/7Q7Zb9FZ11

— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) April 20, 2019

Atlanta Reign (2-4) [League 6-7]

It’s hard to say where Atlanta falls in the pack right now, as they’re a very emotionally driven and chaotic team. Yet the Charge’s 3-1 victory was by no means discounted by this fact. In one of the longest and most entertaining regular season matches this season, the Charge won out several grueling battles and looked better than they have ever before. It was a close match to be sure, but Guangzhou played strongly as a team and appeared to adapt and improve as the game went on.

Player of the Match

A case could certainly be made for Eileen yet again due to his stellar Doomfist play. However, Seungpyo “Rio” Oh is deserving of immense praise for this match. At the beginning of the series, Atlanta caught him out and focused him down first quite a bit. Most of their weak defenses on Hanamura were a result of him dying first. However, as the series continued onto King’s Row his positioning improved and the Charge were able to set up stronger defenses. On Rialto especially he dominated the battlefield and on defense was nigh unkillable. Jinseo “Shu” Kim helped keep him alive, but Rio was the true playmaker in the second half.

When confronted by a Nano boosted Reinhardt, just run. Trust us on this one. @osp0418 #OWL2019https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/Vc7iKJ1otY

— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) April 22, 2019

Fun Fact

The Charge’s match against Atlanta broke several Overwatch League records. It was the highest scoring Hanamura and King’s Row in OWL history, and the highest scoring series as well. Between Atlanta and Guangzhou, the two teams took 33 map points over the course of the game. However, a lesser known fact is that this was the first time the Charge won on Rialto. Additionally, it was the first time Guangzhou even finished the map, before setting up a full hold afterwards.

Week 4 Preview

The Charge have a bye week during the upcoming Dallas Homestead Weekend, so it should give them some time to relax and prepare. Their only remaining match this stage is against a currently 0-3 Houston Outlaws; Houston plays twice this weekend, and that should give everyone a better idea of how they actually stack up in this stage. It’s also worth noting that the players who went to play for Guangzhou Academy in China will be returning to LA very soon. While unlikely this quickly, this could give backup supports Lizhen “OnlyWish” Chen and Wonjae “Rise” Lee (the latter having just turned 18 by Week 5) chances to show up on the stage.

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