Dear fan of the future,

I am unsure who is dominating the Overwatch esports ecosystem when you read this, or who is quickly climbing the rungs of the competitive ladder, but I write to you today about a team that is long past your time. A team that is timeless in their story and their purpose. A team that unrelentingly dared you to challenge your perception of the current landscape of Overwatch and had the courage to chase their dreams. These are my letters from the past to help educate people on where the community has come from and to act as a Rolodex of info on just who these teams were so that their legacy might continue to live on through you; the reader. Now, sit back and prepare for a brief history lesson or a trip down memory lane.

This is the unfortunate tale of the Chinese team; Miraculous Youngster.

Right before the turn of the year in 2016, the Overwatch community heard rumblings from the east. The tremors came as whispers from China and they spoke of a team who had climbed the rungs of the Chinese Overwatch esports scene and claimed their first major victory.

The team Miraculous Youngster had conquered their personal demons, beating their rivals Star Horn Royal Club in the ImbaTV King of Challengers - Season 1, Week 2 and Week 3. These victories would be used as fuel that would lead Miraculous Youngster to an undefeated 8-0 victory at the ESGL Overwatch Future League Season 2. Miraculous Youngster’s dominant victory forced teams like Vici Gaming and 1246 to fold under their will.

The beginning of 2017 started Miraculous Youngster’s term as kings. They entered the new year with victories at grand finals for the ImbaTV King of Challengers - Season 1 with another victory over Star Horn Royal Club, the QuanminTV Overwatch Challenge - Season 4, and the Acer Predator Cup. Miraculous Youngster then easily qualified the Nexus Cup 2017 and the Overwatch Premier Series - Spring, but sat on an empty pedestal was their longterm goal.

The Overwatch Premier Series was their goal, a victory there would cement them as ‘the’ best team in China without a reasonable doubt, but first, they had the Nexus Cup to pillage. However, things did not go as planned as Miraculous Youngster hit the South Korean blockade. Teams like X6-Gaming, Mighty AOD, wNv.KR, and LW Red stood in front of them.

Miraculous Youngster was seated into Group C with FTD Club, BA.Wind, and what was rumored to be an incredible good South Korean team, wNv.KR. Miraculous Youngster took an early and unexpected loss to FTD Club which made their path during the playoffs even more difficult. Then, Miraculous Youngster met their match against wNv.KR in a swift and decisive 2-0. This put Miraculous Youngster 3rd in Group C, which meant they had to slog their way through the loser's bracket - and they did just that.

Living up to their namesake, Miraculous Youngster went marching undeterred through the lower bracket. Their Losers’ Round 5 opponents were LuxuryWatch Red (minus Fl0w3r, for those wondering). Miraculous Youngster fought valiantly but lost to the might of LuxuryWatch Red as they lost, 3-1. Miraculous Youngster may have suffered defeat at the hands of the South Korean blockade, but they struck a blow against LuxuryWatch Red and actually placed higher than the South Korean team, Mighty AOD, which secured them a respectable 4th place.

Leading into the Overwatch Premier Series 2017 - Spring (OWPS), Miraculous Youngster was slated to be one of the most favored teams to take the spring title. The team floundered inconsistently during the regular season, but it wasn’t until the playoffs that things went from bad, to worse.

During their playoff match against OMG, Miraculous Youngster’s star DPS player received a 3 set ban due to negative speech, which absolutely hamstrung the team. That being said, Miraculous Youngster’s surprising 5-6th placing make a tad bit more sense. It was clear, that Miraculous Youngster needed to pull themselves up by the bootstraps. Their next shot to do so, was in the coming month at the Nexus Cup 2017 - Summer. This tournament would be marked as the catalyst for Miraculous Youngster’s dramatic return to form.

During Nexus Cup 2017 - Summer, Miraculous Youngster did not drop a single map the entire tournament as they roared past some of Korea’s finest teams. These dominant performances over teams like NC Foxes, KongDoo Uncia, and RunAway would leave an impressive impression on the global Overwatch esports community. These were teams that were APEX material, and they were beaten by a Chinese team that took 6th place. What was most shocking to most, is how utterly decisive Miraculous Youngster was at dispatching RunAway - and they did it twice! Either something was seriously amiss or China - more importantly, Miraculous Youngster - might be stronger than some pundits were anticipating. Their victory during Nexus Cup 2017 - Summer would mark the golden age of Miraculous Youngster’s stalwart march and would lead to some impressive victories. At the OWPS 2017 - Summer, Miraculous Youngster went undefeated through the upper bracket, going 14-0 (32-8) and coasted to their OWPS Summer title. This win gave them a ticket to the OWPS 2017 Grand Finals, in which they emerged victorious going 3-0 (10-3).

After the finale of the Overwatch Premier Series Grand Finals, I spoke with OWPS Summer caster, Robert "hexagrams" Kirkbride about Miraculous Youngster’s domestic win. He spoke high praises of the entire team overall. However, there was one whom he was quite excited about. “When we were watching early videos of Miraculous Youngster, from even early in the OWPS Summer series, Leave was by far the most 'Western/KR' of the Tracer players (and anyone who has watched my cast knows I'm obsessed with Tracers).” He continued, “However, as the season went on for Miraculous Youngster, I found a new player to love every week, to the point where we barely talked about Leave. I think the rest of the team started playing worlds better, literally every player has a map or a moment I will remember from them. Zhang "YangX1aoLg" Zhihao became an unstoppable force on DPS, Wei "jiqiren" Yansong's main tank became remarkable in how consistent it was, the support players, Yan "creed" Xiao and He "zhufanjun" Junjian really came into their own, especially when it came to protecting each other, and I think Ma "Lateyoung" Tianbin is BY FAR the best off tank in the region.”

I even proposed a situation to hexagrams to make his own Chinese Super team; “[...] so much of how good players look is because of their role counterparts. I don't think Creed and Zhufanjun look as godly on support as they did without each other. I don't think Jiqiren or LateYoung have the same kind of success with another tank pair. I'll take the easy answer and just take Miraculous Youngster as a whole [...]” He was not only obviously impressed but enjoyed their diversity and creativity.

This victory at the OWPS Grand Finals was exactly what the team dreamed of, not one, but two domestic titles with the OWPS Summer and the Grand Final and an impressive international tournament win during the Nexus Cup Summer. As undoubtedly the No. 1 team in China at the time, Miraculous Youngster received an invitation to OGN’s Seoul Cup Super Match. This was to be a collection of two of the best teams from Korea facing off in a single-elimination bracket against two of the best teams from China. Miraculous Youngster and Lucky Future were sent on behalf of China and representing South Korea, Cloud 9 KongDoo and Lunatic-Hai rose to the challenge. Cloud 9 Kongdoo drew Lucky Future as their first opponent and made quick work of the Chinese team, but the other match proved to be a heavyweight bout for the ages; Miraculous Youngster vs. Lunatic-Hai.

This match had it all, but what really was interesting was this iteration of Lunatic-Hai had not been seen before. In preparation for the upcoming Overwatch League, Lunatic-Hai added a few new fixtures to their roster. Byung-sun "Fleta" Kim and Jae-mo "xepheR" Koo were both featured during the action-packed match.

Miraculous Youngster took the core that soon became rebranded as the Seoul Dynasty to game five but ultimately fell under Fleta and Munchkin’s stellar performances. Miraculous Youngster took the loss in stride, they took the 2 time APEX champions to their limits on Korean soil. A victory surely would have been exciting, but Miraculous Youngster put on an amazing performance and a valiant effort. The undisputed No. 1 team in China was a shoo-in with this performance in mind, surely?

Wrong.

October 31, 2017 the Shanghai Dragon unveiled their Overwatch League roster, completely void of any members from Miraculous Youngster roster. Left with not many other options, Miraculous Youngster had little choices left.

November 28, 2017, Miraculous Youngster, the organization, had been running on a huge deficit for the past year and its inability secure an Overwatch League franchise position caused the organization to realize that Overwatch alone could not guarantee a sustainable long-term investment. The Chinese King’s’ sat with no ticket to the Overwatch League heartbreakingly announced that their departure from Overwatch would be after the Nexus Cup - Annual Finals. The news surfaced the same day that news broke that the Overwatch Contenders division would expand, feature religation globally, and begin early in 2018.

I write to you as Miraculous Youngster is playing in their last tournament, the Nexus Cup - Annual Finals. Being seated into Group D, Miraculous Youngster takes on Element Mystic, Lunatic-Hai, and Miracle Team One. Miraculous Youngster is going to have to dive in headfirst to defend their Nexus Cup Summer title and defeat South Korea again. The strongest Chinese team will have one final shot at cementing their legacy in Overwatch.

While we all prepare for the Overwatch Preseason to ignite, it’s important to remember the regions outside of the Overwatch League. A win at the Nexus Cup - Annual Final will forever crown Miraculous Youngster as China’s rightful heirs.

Remember MY,

- Volamel

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.

Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment, Banana Culture, and OGN