The Chinese team (composed of Korean players) of the Shanghai Dragons won its first title of champion of theOverwatch League beating the Atlanta Reigns yesterday.
A one-sided game for the Shanghai Dragons who flew over the playoffs all week, conceding only two cards out of the 15 played.
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Surprising and breathtaking playoffs
Last week until this Sunday morning (very early for us) the Overwatch League playoffs were held in Hawaii during which the eight best teams from the East (Atlantic) and West (Pacific) divisions of the championship competed. On paper, none were big favourites. The Dallas Fuel have had an extraordinary season, the Los Angeles Gladiators have come a long way, going from mid-table team to solid competitors; the Chengdu Hunters impressed with their consistent play; Washington Justice has confirmed its rise in power which began last year; the Philadelphia Fusion, true to themselves, had a reasonable season but never materialized during major events; the San Francisco Shock, defending champions, remained very strong despite more uncertainties in the matches… Finally, Atlanta Reign surprised everyone after a good end to the season.
Indeed, after having moved up the loser bracket and passed the final stages by eliminating in quick succession the double defending champions, San Francisco Shock, (3-1) and the Dallas Fuel (3-1), one of the favorites of this year , the Atlanta Reign team advanced to the finals to face the Shanghai Dragons on Sunday morning. A highly anticipated meeting that would end the last season of Overwatch League on Blizzard's game, since the next edition will be held on Overwatch 2 from April 2022.
Alas, the match was one-sided. The Shanghai Dragons crushed Atlanta 4-0 by deploying all their game based on a total mastery of team communication and on extremely strong individuals, pocketing the $1,5 million cash prize in the process. Lip, the DPS of the team was also elected MVP, a year after his teammate Fleta, DPS too, was consecrated. Shanghai therefore officially has the strongest DPS roster in the world. When you see how far the team has come since the start of the Overwatch League, the result is even more impressive.
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The disciple has become master
How far away the inaugural season of the Overwatch League in 2018 seems! Remember, the Shanghai Dragons and their 100% Chinese roster had lost all their matches (40 losses in a row all the same) but had still managed to win the hearts of the fans, who fell in love with this small team in difficulty. Since then, many changes have been made both in the staff and in the players, moving to a team composed exclusively of Korean talents. The results weren't long in coming and the team quickly showed their potential, starting with a much different style of play during the famous GOATS meta, preferring Pharah and Widowmaker opposition. A decision that will have led them to victory in stage 3 of the Overwatch League.
In 2021, Shanghai Dragons reached its full potential thanks to an extremely high quality roster. Whether it's the DPS played by superstar Fleta, Lip or Whoru; tanks embodied by the excellent Fate and Void or supports Izayaki, Leejaegon and Moly; the Shanghai Dragons have practically flown all season, only rarely falling in the confrontations they have had in the Western Division (which includes teams from China and Korea). Let's not forget Atlanta Reign who surprised everyone and thwarted all predictions. The players are having a good season and, despite their second place, there is nothing to be ashamed of. After all, they did well against the two-time defending champions and one of the fittest and most aggressive teams in the tournament.
The Overwatch League is therefore coming back next April on Overwatch 2, but we don't yet have any information about the overall organization (will we stay in the Pacific and Atlantic divisions? What about public matches? The monthly tournaments will be What will be the financial impact of the departure of major sponsors from the competition, following the legal affairs of Activision-Blizzard?)
We already know that Overwatch 2 will be played in 5v5 and not 6v6, which will limit the choices in the new rosters for next season. It's a safe bet that the tank places will be extremely expensive since only one on the ground instead of two. Finally, we know that there will be no more control cards, to the delight of fans and professional players. This mode will be replaced by Overwatch 2's new Push mode, which consists of pushing a robot as far as possible on the map.
