Home » Overwatch: Recap: Shanghai Dragons vs Chengdu Hunters

Overwatch: Recap: Shanghai Dragons vs Chengdu Hunters

Publish Date: March 2, 2019

Shanghai (1-2) vs Chengdu (2-1)

Dragons (2-2) 4 – 0 Hunters (2-2)

The historic win in Week 2 behind them, the Shanghai Dragons looked to build their momentum in Week 3 with a tough challenge. The Chengdu Hunters struggled against Seoul and Florida and looked to bounce back. With Stage 1 Playoff hopes still alive for both teams, this match could tell which Chinese team will slide in, and which will watch from the bench.

Busan: Shanghai 2 – 1 Chengdu

Seong-hyeon “Luffy” Yang started strong against the Hunters, swiftly taking out Ding “Ameng” Menghan’s hamster ball right out of the gate. The Dragons overall were able to keep Ameng at bay in round one, eliminating him in the first four team fights. Having an excellent Week 2, Jin-hyeok “DDing” Yang looked to follow that up again, laying down a clutch two-elimination D.Va bomb to cap the point.

Round two was closer, as Luo “Elsa” Wenjie really started to gain traction. Elsa led the Hunters to push back the Dragons starting in fight one, taking down Young-jin “Gamsu” Noh right away. Min-seong “diem” Bae wasn’t going to the let the Hunters take the point easily, as the Dragons took the next two fights to move the point 70-51% in their favor. Elsa made moves once again, laying down a two-elimination D.Va bomb as well, taking round two.

Round three was just as thrilling, as Chengdu took the point first on a Ma “LateYoung” Tianbin and Ameng combo move. The fight was long enough for Shanghai to build ultimates, and they poured them into the second team fight. Graviton surge, shatter, EMP, self-destruct and rally all gave the Dragons the edge. Shanghai still had a transcendence and sound barrier left under their sleeve, and it worked to their advantage. DDing continued All-Star caliber Sombra play as he combined Gamsu’s shatter with an EMP to sneak some eliminations and take Busan on a score of 2-1, Shanghai.

Numbani: Shanghai 3 – 2 Chengdu

Photo Courtesy of the Shanghai Dragons

Chengdu came out with a vengeance, and performed a throwback Pharmercy strategy on the attack. Moving easily, Yi “JinMu” Hu laid down rocket after rocket on the Dragons. After three successful rocket barrages on the Chengdu attack, the Hunters even nano-boosted JinMu after he was hacked by DDing. Fortunately, a graviton and hack combo from Shanghai kept the Hunters off the point, just before the final cap.

Shanghai came out on offense and once again struggled out of the gate against Chengdu’s nontraditional lineup. Running a Genji from JinMu, the Hunters placed their focus on Luffy, slashing him in the first two team fights. Capping point A with the help of Gamsu and diem, the Dragons moved the payload smoothly. Diem became the star of the map, even spawn camping the Hunters. Shanghai won the map on a final score of 3-2.

Volskaya: Shanghai 5 – 4 Chengdu

The defense was certainly not in the gameplan for either team on this map. The Hunters were so quick on offense to cap both points that they set a record. With 6:33 left after Chengdu’s attack, it went down as the fastest double-cap in Overwatch League history. JinMu continued to cause havoc on Shanghai with his rockets, as his barrage wiped the team completely.

Shanghai’s attack was quick (but not quite as quick as Chengdu), and their overtime push proved to be just as effective. Every Dragon played a big part, laying down their heroic moments. Luffy and DDing combined to take Ameng, diem laid down a graviton surge to wipe the Hunters, and Son “CoMa” Kyung Woo’s sound barrier kept the Dragons alive with 2:13 left in the bank for a second overtime.

As Volskaya continued on, the Dragons were able to keep Chengdu’s coordination off balance. Shanghai kept it cool, and Gamsu took part in three eliminations in a double-overtime defense to keep the Hunters off point A. In a fantastic coordinated play, Yong-Jin “YOUNGJIN” Jin whipped a hacked Ameng off of the edge to put a 5v6 fight in the Dragons’ favor. The Dragons were able to cap the point and won the map on a score of 5-4.

Dorado: Shanghai 2 – 1 Chengdu

Photo Courtesy of @kyleenim on Twitter

Although Dorado didn’t decide the end result, it was essential for Shanghai to win in order to keep their map differential at a positive number. Shanghai continued to bring their GOATs composition, and Chengdu decided to have some fun. Placing JinMu on Hanzo, Lo “Baconjack” Tzu-Heng on Widowmaker and Elsa on Tracer, the Dragons struggled against the excessive damage. JinMu caught fire early, slicing three Dragon eliminations with his bow and arrow. Soon though, diem once again had enough of the Hunters. Switching to Widowmaker, diem began his reign of clicking heads. The Dragons followed suit, switching over to a more dive-centered composition on their tanks. Shanghai took the hold easily, stopping the payload before it could reach point B.

Shanghai was slow out of the gates once again against an awkward Chengdu lineup, and Kong “Kyo” Chunting gave his all to avoid a sweep. Kyo placed his shots well as Hanzo, having five final blows within the first two team fights. It was short and sweet, however, as Shanghai rolled through with DDing gaining three eliminations off two D.Va self-destructs. Shanghai took Dorado to complete the sweep on a score of 2-1.

CONCLUSION:

Shanghai is starting to find their footing now that they have integrated Gamsu into the lineup. Their GOATs composition has looked nothing less than stellar. Zarya play is praised in this meta, and diem put himself in that conversation quietly. Over 50,000 hero damage, 81 high-energy kills and 36 final blows, the Dragons’ momentum will be hard to stop if this high level continues. Their next test will be even tougher, as the Dallas Fuel have proven that they can hang with the best teams.