After suffering a loss at the hands of the LA Gladiators, this was a chance for something new. Unfortunately, the Shanghai Dragons vs NYXL played out as most predicted. However, it should be noted how hard the Dragons have worked to pull themselves into a team that fights back. Multiple improvements were shown, and the Dragons are going to continue to grow with every series they play.
Oasis Shanghai 1-2 New York
The game started at Oasis, and at the University, the Dragons were quick to take control. Young-jin “Gamsu” Noh led the fight with an amazing triple kill on Reinhardt, earning them the point. From there, Shanghai held consistently. Min-seong “diem” Bae especially pushed back against the NYXL, with back to back double and triple kills on Zarya. New York were unable to break through, and Shanghai took the first round.
At the City Center, things were a little reversed. With Yeon-kwan “Nenne” Jeong and Yong-Jin “YOUNGJIN” Jin both on Solider: 76, Nenne found more success with his shots and his ultimate usage. The New York main tank, Dong-gyu “Mano” Kim, provided a strong defense against the Dragons as well. In the end, the overtime clock ticked away as Mano bumped Shanghai away from the point. New York ended up taking the round.
It all came down to the Gardens. The Dragons led the charge, with Jin-hyeok “DDing” Yang earning himself a triple kill on the Pharah. With that, Shanghai took the point. Each fight swung in their favor until Nenne came back with a vengeance. A well-timed Deadeye earned him the picks he needed, and New York took the point back. Combined with a double bomb kill from Kim “MekO” Tae-hong, a Tactical Visor from Hae-seong “Libero” Kim wiped the Dragons in their pushes. In the end, the Dragons lost the map, 1-2.
Hanamura Shanghai 1-1 New York
With Se-yeon “Geguri” Kim subbing in for diem, the Dragons shifted towards a more GOATs centric meta. With DDing still on the Pharah, their initial push was tentative. Gamsu on Hammond allowed them to scatter New York, and gain a tick on the first point quickly. From there, Gamsu pushed in once more with Proximity Mines. Two kills were all they needed, and Shanghai were free to take the first point.
Their attacks on the second point were, unfortunately, stalled out. New York regrouped, and with spawn advantage, were able to keep the Dragons at bay. Despite a last-minute Primal Rage from Gamsu that kept them in the fight, Shanghai were unable to gain any point control.
On defense, Shanghai pulled out a new favorite—the bunker composition. With YOUNGJIN on Bastion, their hold seemed promising. However, Mano snuck around, back capping and pulling focus away from the team fight. Nenne was quick to clean them up, and the first point was theirs.
The second point swayed more in favor of the Dragons, however. DDing ensured that NYXL did not get a steamrolled, and fended off their attacks. Multiple plays from Geguri steadied them as well, with two back to back double kills with Self Destruct. With Gamsu knocking them away, the Dragons held. The map ended in a draw.
Eichenwalde Shanghai 2-3 New York
Diem returned once more, subbing in for Geguri as the Dragons’ defense started up. Unfortunately, it was quick to crumble. Nenne’s Widowmaker was formidable, and New York gained the first point with ease. DDing chose this time to switch off of Pharah and onto Sombra, hoping to get into their back lines. His EMP, however, was stalled out. Mano followed up with a massive Earthshatter, and the NYXL wiped the Dragons away again.
The third point told more of the same. With NYXL spawn camping the Dragons, they couldn’t find the push they needed to break through. Meko made a feat of diem’s graviton, and from there, New York was free to finish the map.
Shanghai’s attack was slow to get started. NYXL took their chance to shine on DPS, with Libero fighting back on Pharah over and over again. A last minute push from diem earned the team some kills, and together, they clutched it in overtime. With the first point gained, the Dragons made sure to stick by the payload at all costs. At the castle gates, a huge EMP from DDing wiped New York, giving them the second point.
The end of the map was where things got tense. With Shanghai just meters away from completion, New York threw everything they had to stop them. With spawn advantage and quick switch onto Baptiste, NYXL managed to succeed in wiping the team. Sadly, the Dragons lost the map, 2-3.
Watchpoint Gibraltar Shanghai 0-1 New York
Once more Geguri returned, subbing in for diem as they started their last game. Though the series was already lost, the Dragons still put everything they could into their last attack. While they tried, Shanghai just couldn’t find their footing. Because playing traditional GOATs didn’t seem to play into their favor, the payload made it just under the bridge when overtime started to tick down. Nenne used his graviton to keep them away from the point, and unfortunately, the Dragons were unable to get their first point.
Their defense showed promise when Geguri and Gamsu were quick to hold back the NYXL at the front gates. However, the attacks soon switched in favor of New York. In addition to lost team fights, Shanghai chose to fight off the point. This allowed offtank Meko to back cap, causing the Dragons to be a little scattered. Some wasted resources cost Shanghai a real team fight. Mano worked to keep them away from the payload, and New York was poised to earn the point and win the series. The Dragons lost the map, 0-1.
Conclusion
This was a game that not many people thought the Dragons could win. They did their best and showed massive improvements from the beginning. Pushing NYXL to a draw on Hanamura speaks in and of itself, and some could argue that Eichenwalde was rightfully theirs to win. In the end, they didn’t get a map win. Shanghai is still a team that’s working their way towards the top and doing everything they can to prove that they’re here to stay. Hopefully, another win comes sooner rather than later.