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Shanghai Dragons: Stage 3 Week 2 Preview

Publish Date: June 14, 2019

After a thrashing victory over the LA Valiant last week, the Shanghai Dragons have placed themselves in the conversation of one of the strongest teams in the league. Shanghai still has a long road ahead until they reach the top, and they’ll have a hurdle to go through this upcoming week.

WEEK 1 MATCH

Los Angeles Valiant: 1-1 (4-12 overall)

With another match against the Valiant on the horizon in Week 3, this was a preview of if the Dragons came to play in Stage 3. The match overall was heavily lopsided, as the Dragons shut out LAV in two maps. Shanghai’s cohesion has continued to grow with every match, and they’ve (almost) settled their compositions. The only reason that this match ended 3-1 was in Gilbraltar, where the Dragons once again ran the Yong-Jin “YOUNGJIN” Jin Doomfist composition that hasn’t worked for them all season. Although it didn’t affect this match’s result, the map differential could mean the difference between a 3-seed and a 6-seed.

Player of the Game:

At this point, are you surprised that it’s Jin-hyeok “DDing” Yang? Time in and time out, his Sombra play has set a standard in the OWL. The more impressive thing was that Sombra wasn’t his only hero, and even past Pharah. Rolling out the D. Va during this match and eating biogrenades was beyond impressive, as it showed his ability to flex into almost any role.

WEEK 2 MATCH

Atlanta Reign: 0-2 (7-9 overall)

Ever since the departure of Daniel “dafran” Francesca, the Reign have struggled to find their footing in the standings. Slowly trending downward, Atlanta opened up Stage 3 with some impressive plays that may be overshadowed. The Reign faced off against both San Francisco and Vancouver last week, taking three maps between the two teams, including a tight 3-2 loss against the Shock.

2019-05-04 – Overwatch League 2019 / Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

The recent improvements to the Atlanta Reign have largely come from Dusttin “Dogman” Bowerman, as his passionate play fuels his teammates around him. Combo Dogman with Dong-hyeong “DACO” Seo and Andrej “babybay” Francisty, this team has the ability to pop off at any moment. The Dragons are going to have to pop off fast and hold strong, as Young-jin “Gamsu” Noh’s play will be crucial in the front line pushes.

Shanghai will escape on a match that includes several overtime rounds, 3-2.

Player to Watch:

On Numbani against the LA Valiant, it was alarming to see how Min-seong “diem” Bae’s Widowmaker could make a team fall apart so quickly. Just the pure sense of pressure from his presence alone was enough to make Los Angeles move out of position, stay unfocused and fell apart in seconds. It will take more than that to scare confident Reign players like Dogman, so diem is just going to have to click some heads.