The Shanghai Dragons came into this match up on a bit of a hot streak, winners of two straight. In Week 2 they beat the Chengdu Hunters 3-1 and during Week 3 they topped the Florida Mayhem by the same score. Conversely the Houston Outlaws have struggled in Stage 2. After taking the first map against Vancouver in Week 2, they dropped three straight maps before losing 4-0 to the Philadelphia Fusion. With these teams trending opposite one another it seemed the Dragons would have a good shot at picking up the win.
Oasis began on City Center with the Dragons able to win the initial team fight and capture the point first. Well timed ultimates by Jin “Youngjin” Yong-Jin on Soldier: 76, Yang “DDing” Jin-hyeok on Pharah and Bae “Diem” Min-seong on Tracer allowed the dragons to keep the point and secure a 100-0 win.
Moving to University, DDing kept the Outlaws at bay allowing Shanghai to secure the first capture. Shane “Rawkus” Flaherty attempted to keep Houston alive with Moira but the healing did not come through fast enough to counteract the damage being leveled their way from the Dragons and once again Shanghai won 100-0.
Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
Lu “Diya” Weida made his season debut subbing in for Diem on Temple of Anubis as the Dragons attacked first with a classic GOATs team composition. The Dragons were beaten back time after time as Dante “Danteh” Cruz kept Shanghai from capturing the first point with clutch EMPs. The Dragons weren’t even able to touch and force an Overtime.
While on defense the deck was stacked against Shanghai due to their inability to register a tick on offense. Things started off shaky when Jeong “Arhan” Wonhyeop picked off Diya with Genji, but Son “Coma” Kyung Woo resurrected his teammate and the Dragons forced the Outlaws back to spawn. An extremely well played Riptire from DDing shut the door on Houston’s final push and secured a draw.
Diem subbed back in for Diya on Blizzard world but the Dragons had a similar lack of success in their attack. The clock nearly ran out on Shangahi until DDing was able to get some picks and start the cart moving. Their push for Point B was was equally lackluster and ended as they lost Gamsu, Youngjin and Yang “Luffy” Seong-hyeon in quick succession in overtime.
The Dragons defended the first point in aggressive fashion picking off Rawkus and forcing the Outlaws to retreat. Poor ultimate use on the part of the Outlaws coupled with backbreaking EMPs from DDing stifled the Houston attack. Once again the Dragons managed to frustrate their opponents pulling off their another full hold, securing the win.
Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
The Dragons came out in a pirate ship composition while recently subbed in Jiri “Linkzr” Masalin tried to get picks for the Outlaws with Widow. It turned out to not be a winning strategy for Houston at first as Shanghai captured the first point quickly. Linkzr flipped the script during the ensuing team fights as the outlaws managed to hold off the Dragons and forced a swap to a GOATs composition. Shanghai was able to recover and capture the point with a little over a minute left. After trading team kills with the Outlaws the Dragons were able to finish the map.
The Dragons came out on defense with Sombra GOATs while the Outlaws ran their own bunker composition. Linkzr again on Widowmaker was able to open up the map for the Outlaws and they quickly captured Point A. Linkzr continued to terrorize the Dragons while pushing for Point B. The teams played very evenly on the homestretch but a huge Earth Shatter from Gamsu eliminated Linkzr now on Zarya, allowing the Dragons to close out a 3-0 match win.
Courtesy of Overwatch League
This was a huge win for the Dragons as they kept their stage and season playoff hopes alive. DDing is the player of the match, he was nearly unstoppable on Pharah and a thorn in the Outlaws’ side with his clutch EMPs stopping Houston on several occasions. This weekend really confirmed that the Dragons are a legitimate force to be reckoned with as the season moves on to it’s second half.
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