Translation by: @r1pnikki

After their solid performance in China during Overwatch Contenders Season 2 and their victory at LanStory Cup - Guangzhou, T1w Esports Club has secured themselves as the strongest full Chinese team in the region. As the only team to really challenge the tyrants of China, Lucky Future Zenith, T1w Esports are quickly becoming households name -- not only within their region but globally. Assistant coach Zheng “ExtrA” JiaWen spoke with Esports Heaven shortly after the climax of LanStory Cup - Guangzhou to talk about the Overwatch scene in China, how T1w is feeling after their victory, and more!

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Before the match, we had accurately predicted the opponent’s choices of maps and compositions. We had more than enough preparation for Lijiang Tower, and [were] very confident, plus we already had a lot of strategies for Control Center, but, the young players prematurely let their guard down, resulting in serious mistakes. On Night Market, the players were visibly [shaken] from the mistakes on Control Center.

This originates from our team always wanting to explore and search for possible compositions. On City Center, due to this map being surrounded by high ground, while also not favoring supports with high mobility, we wanted to maximize on the advantages these two features could bring and hence came up with this composition. Furthermore, we trained and practiced a lot with this composition, at the same time, our team also aimed to help each of our players grow and improve in all aspects. [We tried] to stay close to having a centralized mindset, hence being able to exceed our own personal [limits] and [the games] patch’s limits.

In my opinion, my favorite moment would probably be when we won the championship for Lanstory Cup, when everybody lifted the trophy together. That moment, I could feel the fruits of the labor everyone put in for the past year. As a team who has an [a team with an] average age of 18, being able to have this precious experience at such a young age is very hard to come across and is very rare. At the same time, I wish that they can also use this past year’s efforts to build the foundation, allowing them to establish their legacy and glory [in the future].

The globalization of esports and [the] Overwatch League [is a trend leading in the future], regardless of it being in China or Western countries. When we see everybody wanting globalization, and the league to expand, thus I believe that these reports, no matter the outcome, shows the possibility of building a global league.

Similar to what I said just now, this is a very good signal for the Overwatch League. At the same time, we feel that this can raise the impact of Overwatch League in China.

This is the result that our team should get. It also shows that we are the strongest team in China; however, we are not satisfied with this. We want to compete against more world-class teams in more LAN events.

Since we are the only team that qualified for two national tournaments at the same time, thus Krystal had lesser time to scrim with the national team, however, this did not affect Krystal’s expected dominant performance, regarding their preparation, only the coach for the national team should be clearer on this. However I believe, no matter what, excellent players will always put in their utmost effort and show their very best performance in the competition.

I’m very happy that China has such a successful team like RNG, leading the League of Legends scene in China to succeed. Their constant strive to improve is something that is present in the spirit of esports. As for Overwatch, I believe that we can do the same, and reach even further heights. I am very confident in the future prospects of our team and Overwatch in China along with the international Overwatch scene, thus even in this period of time in China where[the Overwatch scene] is at a low, I can still maintain this unwavering belief!

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Joseph “Volamel” Franco has followed esports since the MLGs of 2006. He started out primarily following Starcraft 2, Halo 3, and Super Smash Bros. Melee. He has transitioned from viewer to journalist and writes freelance primarily about Overwatch and League of Legends. If you would like to know more or follow his thoughts on esports you can follow him at

@Volamel

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Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.