The Shanghai Dragons lost to Dallas Fuel on the first day in the new Stage of Overwatch League. Yes, it was a loss in what was probably their best chance at winning a match in Season 1 of Overwatch League.

With this loss to Dallas Fuel, Shanghai Dragons have yet to win a match in the first Season of Overwatch League. Already holding the record for the maximum number of consecutive losses in a Major sports title, Shanghai Dragons need to review their roster and performance for the upcoming Season.

Shanghai Dragons have yet to win a match

Currently 0-31, the Shanghai Dragons has become the surprising underdog favorites in many of their matches. However, despite their best efforts, the Dragons have been unable to win a single match out of thirty-one so far.

Once Stage 3 came to an end, all eyes were on the first day of Stage 4. The fourth and final stage presented the best opportunity for a resurgent Shanghai Dragons to secure their first win. Shanghai Dragons performance has been improving significantly since they added the new Korean players on their roster. Despite the incremental improvements, Shanghai still chase the elusive victory.

Dallas Fuel: Better or Worse?

The Dallas Fuel started out Season 1 as potentially one of the favorites to win the League. However, the Dallas Fuel team has been a TV drama at best. From XQC’s behavior to the several internal problems within the team, the Dallas Fuel team in Season 1 has been the perfect example of mismanagement and poor performance.



So when Shanghai Dragons schedule placed them against the Dallas Fuel in Stage 4, a big part of the community believed that this would be the shanghai’s first win. But instead, Dallas wiped the floor with a 3-1 victory over the Dragons. Effect, the star DPS player for Dallas Fuel is absent for most of Stage 4 due to personal problems. Despite this, the Dallas fuel was able to adapt themselves well enough to win the series.

So the question arises: Is Dallas Fuel better or worse than Shanghai? I think we can safely answer that question. Dallas Fuel is much better equipped to handle Shanghai Dragon and their ability to adapt to the meta is what makes them a strong contender. Ofcourse internal problems within the team are proving to be a big problem for the team. The exclusion of several key members of the team ( Rascal, XQC, Custa ), as well as their OWL Coach, definitely puts Dallas in a vulnerable position.

Whats next for Shanghai?

Well, Shanghai really has their work cut out for them. By now it’s obvious that the management’s strategy of obtaining a full Chinese roster has failed miserably. They have gone forth to add Korean players, in an attempt to amend their mistakes. But the Shanghai Dragons have not improved enough to be OWL quality yet.

The corruption allegations during the initial announcement of the team as well as the absence of some of the best players in the region definitely raise eyebrows. It is very difficult to try to fix Shanghai right now unless you actually try to renew the roster. The NetEase management will have some options before them.

Release the roster and build it anew

Change certain members of the team, maybe the supports?

Bring in better coaching staff / Shot-call players.

Release the roster

The current roster has been given several chances by the management as well as fans. It is not uncommon to see the overwhelming support for the Shanghai Dragons live at the arena. Even on Twitch chat, the chorus for a Shanghai win is always visible.

The Shanghai Dragons, if they manage the 0-40 record will definitely be lured to take some drastic measures. Releasing the entire roster seems just the kind of action that they might wish to undertake. With all the remaining teams consisting of a mixture of players from all over the world, Shanghai would also do well to follow in their footsteps. Either way, having a fully Chinese roster in early seasons of OWL does not make sense. Once the home and away games begin, ( mostly around Season 3) the nationalities of the players would definitely be in focus for the management. Till then, the focus should be on winning their first match and delisting their names from the Hall of Shame.

Change part of the team

The Shanghai Dragons team definitely has problems on their roster. The new additions of Geguri, ADO are definitely OWL quality and we have seen their individual gameplay shine amongst their peers. However, the Shanghai Dragons Chinese players seem to be quite lackluster in their performance.

For the most of the League up to Stage 4, the support lineup has been a glaring weakness on the roster. The Shanghai Dragons definitely lack the chemistry in order to protect their supports, but the individual gameplay of the supports is also missing. We have seen several support ultimates wasted just as the Shanghai dragons would be retreating from the point.

Bring in Better Coaching Staff

This point is probably most relevant to the Shanghai Dragons’ match against Dallas FUel. it is a new meta in the fourth stage and yet, Shanghai Dragons were constantly using the Dive meta. Their inability to get past the Brigitte on the Dallas Fuel showed the lack of preparation on the Chinese roster. When they kept running the Dive composition into the Dallas FUel team, their lack of adaptability was displayed for the Overwatch League viewers.

As we head into the final weeks of Season 1, Shanghai Dragons should already be thinking about their future. They need to be able to ensure that their coaching is on par to help their players develop and form strategies. Having a better coach or In-Game Shotcaller is a high priority for the Shanghai Dragons.

It is easy to sit outside and criticize the Shanghai team, but the problems are there for all to see. The lack of results definitely confirm that the team should be taking new and heavy measures to improve the performance. Meanwhile the 0-40 dream is still alive for the Dragons, a new record indeed.