Home » Overwatch: Shanghai Dragons Stage 2 Week 3 Preview

Overwatch: Shanghai Dragons Stage 2 Week 3 Preview

Jake Renie

Publish Date: April 18, 2019

With a match all but certain of an outcome, the Dragons prevailed in Week 2. The team overthrew the Hunters with style and now look to extend that streak in Week 3. Despite looking easier on the surface, Shanghai must not underestimate their opponents.

WEEK 2 MATCH

Chengdu Hunters: 2-1 (5-5 overall)

After the Hunters got off to a hot start in Week 1, Shanghai realized that this was a different team than their Stage 1 Week 3 matchup. Despite the new meta evolving, the Dragons were able to complete the series sweep. Shanghai took over the Hunters on a final score of 3-1.

The team’s cohesive play on offense was what drove this team’s success. In the three maps that the Dragons won, Chengdu also didn’t complete the map in any of them. Shanghai’s diversity was off the charts, playing 18 different heroes to continually throw the Hunters off guard. One of the most memorable moments belonged on the final map; Junkertown. Se-yeon “Geguri” Kim had subbed in the game for Shanghai and provided terrific gameplay as D. Va. Three instances on the map that included self-destruct eliminations to win fights. This includes a triple-kill in the final underpass, where the Frog Queen perfectly slid the bomb in after Young-jin “Gamsu” Noh performed a big-slam Earthshatter.

Player of the Game:

Although Jin-hyeok “DDing” Yang was known in Stage 1 for his Sombra, he provided much more in this match. His hero pool was so diverse, the DPS main even flexed to Zarya when Geguri was subbed into the lineup. Playing five different heroes throughout the match, his best was arguably on Lijiang Tower. Running strictly Pharah, DDing finished with 18 eliminations on only 3 deaths, even with Lo “Baconjack” Tzu-Heng playing Widowmaker.

Week 3 Matches:

Florida Mayhem: 0-4 (1-10 overall)

The Mayhem gathered a lot of flack on social media after announcing that they would move to an all-Korean roster. Although the Mayhem have struggled to find their footing in Stage 2, the team was able to steal at least one match from everyone not named New York. This team has good pieces that can fit a large puzzle, but they’re still trying to figure out what goes where.

Image Courtesy of @pidoodle on Twitter

Hyeon-woo “HaGoPeun” Jo proved that he can be a monster when playing Baptiste, spamming to accumulate 19,000 healing on Hanamura. In a map that the Mayhem won, he outclassed London’s Jong-seok “NUS” Kim by 7,824 healing. Despite the slow start, Florida has proven that protecting their healers can snowball matches. The Dragons may want to run a dive composition against the Mayhem, as their high DPS play can pick the Mayhem’s support line quickly to halt the momentum.

Shanghai’s team chemistry will simply outmatch the Mayhem, 3-1.

Fun Fact:

Min-seong “diem” Bae has continued to eliminate opponents and help his teammates well into Stage 2. The potential DPS All-Star is ranked third in final blows, as he’s also eclipsed over an hour of playtime on Widowmaker.

Houston Outlaws: 0-1 (3-5 overall)

Image Courtesy of the Shanghai Dragons on Twitter

The Outlaws haven’t had much time in Stage 2, having a bye Week 1 and only competing in one Week 2 match. Although getting obliterated against Vancouver, the Dragons can’t be ignorant of Houston’s dominant map win on Busan. Jiri “LiNkzr” Masalin was able to pump out damage left and right, as he garnered almost 12,000 damage and 21 eliminations in a 2-0 win.

The Dragons will need to gather a hot start and maintain that momentum throughout the series. Shanghai proved that they can counter teams with star DPS players, and they’ll have to contain those players once again. LiNkzr can play a wide variety of heroes depending on the map, and DDing, diem, and Yong-Jin “YOUNGJIN” Jin will have to react to those choices. Both needs will need this series ending in a win to keep their Stage Playoff hopes alive, proving to be a thrilling matchup.

The Dragons will click heads and arise with a win, 3-2.

Player to Watch:

YOUNGJIN is going to have to play an instrumental part in this lineup this week. When the flex settles with one hero and gets hot, the Dragons thrive off his energy. Excelling during his time with Roadhog on King’s Row and Junkertown versus Chengdu, YOUNGJIN continues to give Shanghai a variety of looks.