﻿Shanghai Dragons﻿ made Overwatch League history when they defeated Boston Uprising 3-1 last week, ending their record-breaking 0-42 loss streak.





Twitch users, and even the ﻿Los Angeles Gladiators﻿, cried out “WE WERE HERE” during the celebratory moment. The Shanghai Dragons' official #breakthrough hashtag started trending on Twitter, gaining over 18K mentions in a day following their first victory. It was obviously something that the Overwatch League community had been waiting for.









An unexpected victory





The crowd roared when the Shanghai Dragons’ Jin-kyeok “﻿DDing﻿” Yang cleared the first point with a Rocket Barrage. It was their first time taking a map, and fans were beginning to notice something different with their team. Twitch viewers began to spam, “TODAY IS THE DAY,” as the momentum continued.





The ﻿Boston Uprising﻿ couldn’t keep up with the Dragons’ perfectly timed ultimate combos and flawless strategies, spearheaded by their new in-game leader Noh “﻿Gamsu﻿” Yeong-Jin. Formally on Boston Uprising’s roster until just weeks before Season Two began, Gamsu soon became the driving force in defeating his former team. He just needed some time to motivate his new teammates, as well as himself.









An unexpected trade





After finally recovering from a stressful first season, Gamsu was thrown for a loop when he was suddenly traded to the worst team in the league. At first, Gamsu publicly complained about the trade, finding it difficult to cope with. After all, who would be happy about joining the struggling Shanghai Dragons? It didn’t help that his new teammates seemed defeated before Season Two even began.





“Every time I went to practice,” Gamsu admitted, “everyone was kind of sad because of the pressure from the losing streak. I really wanted to break the mood.”





One of his early tactics was bringing his puppy to the new team house in an attempt to lift his new teammates’ spirits. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be enough. The Dragons had lost their first two matches of the season, continuing their Season One standard.





The tank main felt there was a lack of coordination between himself and his new teammates, thanks to the team only having a day of practice before their first game against the Vancouver Titans. But soon, Gamsu began to take on the role of an in-game leader. By the Dragon’s third match of the season, Gamsu was flexing not only his skills as a tank (with 108 eliminations and over 8,000 hero damage per 10 minutes), but leading his new team with confidence. Their meta-breaking strategies paid off, leading to Boston Uprising’s defeat.





An unexpected illness

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The addition of Gamsu wasn’t the only shocking roster change for the Shanghai Dragons going into Season Two. The team announced on Twitter that their main tank Lee “﻿Fearless﻿” Eui-Seok wouldn’t be joining them for the start of the season due to illness.





According to the Dragons, Fearless had asked for permission to recuperate at home in Korea, and management approved his request after some consideration. The announcement stated that Fearless’ worsening condition made it difficult for him to keep up with their rigorous training schedule.





Down a main tank, it seemed like Shanghai Dragons just couldn’t catch a break. People speculated that the Winston main’s role would be filled by flex players Jun-hwan “﻿GuardiaN﻿” Jo and Se-yeon “﻿Geguri﻿” Kim. But things were continuing to look grim for the winless team, and fans soon wondered if Season Two would be another painful carnage against their team.









An unexpected accusation





When Fearless started to have trouble keeping up with the Shanghai Dragons’ extensive training regimes, it reminded many fans of the player mistreatment rumors floating around during Season One. This came after coach Van Yang admitted the team practiced for 72 hours a week, sometimes including 15-hour days. This admission led fans to believe the practice schedule may have attributed to the Dragons’ underperformance.





While Yang said that the player mistreatment rumors “were just not true,” he did acknowledge that there was a lack of time for physical exercise and entertainment in their training schedule.





“With a reasonable amount of training time ensured, the management team has also developed plans regarding life issues, for the well-being and health concern of our players, both physically and mentally,” Yang had said in an apology to the players and fans.





Leading up to Season Two, it just seemed like the Shanghai Dragons couldn’t catch a break. Despite their new, promising roster, the Dragons appeared destined to lose another season. Even the Dragons themselves seemed stuck in this mindset, feeling the pressure to prove themselves more than ever before.





It’s no surprise that Geguri was seen crying backstage soon after their first win in the Overwatch League. The pressure to win, even just once, had finally been lifted. They had not only proven viewers wrong, but proven themselves wrong. With Gamsu leading the way, the Dragons have now realized they have what it takes to compete, and they have what it takes to win.





“We have overcome,” said Gamsu. “And we will be a great team now.”





Photos via Blizzard Entertainment