Shanghai Dragons


The Shanghai Dragons are a professional Overwatch esports team based in Shanghai, China. The Dragons compete in the Overwatch League as a member of the league's Pacific East Division.
Founded in 2017, Shanghai Dragons are one of the league's twelve founding members and are one of four professional Overwatch teams based in China. The team is owned by Chinese internet technology company NetEase, who also own Team CC, an academy team for the Dragons that compete in Overwatch Contenders.
Shanghai Dragons did not win a single match in their first season in the OWL, going 0–40. The team holds the record for the longest losing streak in professional sports history at 42 losses. We "BlueHaS" Seong-hwan was appointed the team's head coach for the 2019 season and guided the team to their first OWL match victory on February 23, 2019; they went on to claim their first – and the league's final – stage playoffs title.

Franchise history

Beginnings

On July 12, 2017, Overwatch developer Activision Blizzard officially announced that NetEase, a Chinese technology company, would be the team owner of a Shanghai-based Overwatch League franchise. "We're passionate about gaming at NetEase, and the Overwatch League is an opportunity we didn't want to miss," said William Ding, CEO of NetEase. "The commitment of Overwatch's players and fan community is an incredible foundation on which to build a successful global league, and we're looking forward to building a world-class team for Shanghai that inspires fans everywhere." On September 27, NetEase revealed the franchise name as the Shanghai Dragons and was the first OWL team to release its branding.
On October 31, the Dragons revealed their Overwatch League roster, consisting of eight members. Three weeks later, on November 20, Shanghai Dragons announced their coaching staff, including head coach Chen "U4" Congshan.

Inaugural season

Shanghai Dragons' first regular season OWL match was a 1–3 loss to the San Francisco Shock. Unfortunately, this result would become a trend for the Dragons throughout the season. The team did not win a match in Stage 1, obtaining a record. On February 13, 2018, disappointed by their Stage 1 record, the Dragons signed 4 new players in hopes to improve their Stage 2 chances; most notably including the league's first female player, South Korean Kim "Geguri" Se-yeon.
Amidst a disaster of a season, Shanghai went through three different head coaches. The Dragons finished the season with a 0–40 record and a -120 map differential, having not won a single match. This marked the worst single-season record in professional sports history.

Season two

In hopes of not reliving the 2018 season, the Shangai Dragons released 8 of 11 members of their roster on September 3, 2018. On September 21, The Shanghai Dragons hired We "BlueHaS" Seong-hwan as the team's new head coach.
Shanghai opened the season with two consecutive losses, but on February 23, Shanghai snapped their 42-game losing streak – the longest losing streak in professional sports history – by defeating the Boston Uprising 3–1, marking the franchise's first ever win. The team picked up two more wins in Stage 1 for a respectable 3–4 record for the stage. The Dragons found more success in Stage 2, as they finished with a 4–3 record and qualified for their first ever stage playoffs; however, the fell 1–3 to the San Francisco Shock in the quarterfinals. After the All-Star break, the Dragons hit their stride, amassing a 5–2 Stage 3 record, and qualified for the Stage 3 Playoffs. The team put on an unprecedented playoff run, taking down the top-seeded New York Excelsior 3–1 and the second-seeded Vancouver Titans 4–1 in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. The team then took down the third-seeded San Francisco Shock 4–3 in the finals to claim their first-ever stage championship. Shanghai's success did not last, however; after the implementation of a 2-2-2 role lock by the league in Stage 4, the Dragons only won one match in their final seven to finish the season with a 13–15 record.
In eleventh place in the regular season standings, Shanghai had to compete in the Play-In Tournament in order to qualify for the season playoffs. A 4–2 win over the Philadelphia Fusion sent the Dragons to the second round, where they faced the London Spitfire. The match against London went to an OWL record eight maps, but the Dragons fell 3–4 to end their playoff hopes.

Team identity

On September 27, 2017, the Shanghai Dragons brand was officially unveiled. The name "dragons" was chosen as the dragon is a symbol of a sacred, powerful, and supreme spirit. The logo for the Shanghai Dragons features a stylized dragon in the shape of the letter 'S' in the team's official colors of red, yellow, white, and black. Specifically, red is a theme color for the logo, as it emphasizes the team's Chinese connection.

Personnel

Current roster

Head coaches

Awards and records

Seasons overview

Individual accomplishments

Role Stars selections
All-Star Game selections
On January 10, 2018, the Dragons revealed "Team CC", their academy team for Overwatch Contenders China. In Season One, the team reached the playoff semi-finals before losing to eventual runners-up LGD Gaming 1–3.