Earlier today, the Shanghai Dragons of the Overwatch League claimed the Stage 3 Championship. The matchup pinned the Dragons, who many will remember went 0-40 in the League’s Inaugural Season, against the San Fransisco Shock, the reigning Stage 2 Champions. The Dragons had lot to prove after an abysmal first season and a Goliath opponent in the Shock, who did not drop a single map in Stage 2. The Dragons steamrolled through the playoffs and have cemented themselves as a worthy adversary and a team to keep a close eye on.
The Dragons snuck into the Stage 3 playoffs as the eighth seed, admitted after just a single win more than the Los Angeles Gladiators, the Guangzhou Charge, and the Philadelphia Fusion. The Dragons, who went 5-2 for the Stage along with the Houston Outlaws, the Los Angeles Valiant, the Seoul Dynasty, and the San Francisco Shock, had the worst map record of the five teams with 17-12-0. As the bottom seed, the Dragons had a tough road to victory, pitted first against the red-hot New York Excelsior, who finished the stage with a pristine record of 7-0. After dropping the Excelsior without much difficulty 3-1, they played the Vancouver Titans, who had just swept the Outlaws. Once again winning 3-1 against the Titans, their next hurdle was the Shock, who also had little difficulty getting through the Dynasty and the Valiant.
The Shock, after getting their taste of victory in Stage 2, did not go as quietly as the Dragon’s other opponents. The Dragons, working off their momentum from the previous matchups, took the first three maps, Oasis, Numbani, and Horizon Lunar Colony. Proving that they are no team to sleep on, the Shock took the next three maps, Havana, Ilios, and Eichenwalde, bringing the two teams to Dorado for a nail-biting conclusion. The Dragons defended first, stopping the Shock’s payload push just past the first checkpoint. When it came time to attack, the Dragons managed to push to the first checkpoint, giving them a buffer of over four minutes to make it the rest of the way to the Shock’s final payload position. Ultimately, the Dragons, with the help of well-timed ultimates from each member of the team, blew right through the Shock, allowing them to easily coast to their first Stage Championship, winning 4-3.
You can check out the entire Finals matchup below.
Watch 2019 Season | Stage 3 | Finals from OverwatchLeague on www.twitch.tv