Previously when we were invited to the Blizzard HQ in California and got to tour around the Blizzard Arena in LA, we got to meet the two Overwatch teams that were preparing for their first match of the OWL Stage 3 which are Dallas Fuel and Shanghai Dragons. We got to meet and interview with Dallas Fuel and also of course, Shanghai Dragons. We got to interview with the Shanghai Dragons’ main roster which are from left, Ado (Gi-hyeon Chon), Sky (He Junjian), Altering (Yage Cheng), Fearless (Eui-Seok Lee), Daemin (Dae-min Kim), Geguri (Kim Se-yeon)
We all know that Geguri, being the first female ever to be on the OWL might be overwhelming to be playing on stage. However when asked if she’s overwhelmed by the pressure on stage, she replied in a manner of ease. She loved playing Overwatch, so she doesn’t feel excited at all being the first female to be on OWL. Though she may look nervous, but she affirmed that she’s just being her normal self.
For those who don’t know how Geguri was drafted to be on the Shanghai Dragons’ team, she was known for her signature hero, Zarya, plays. However, Zarya was not used much in most of the matches as it depends on the need of the team composition. She’s seen using the heroes like Roadhog, Orisa or Dva during matches. However when asked if we would see her playing different roles rather than tanks, she said that it all depends on her team or the opponent’s team composition which is a very logical reason. Since Shanghai Dragons are on a losing streak, they do need to play better than just skills.
As Shanghai Dragons has been on a long losing streak, a question was posed to Sky to represent the team on their performance so far in the OWL. Though Sky says that it’s their first time on stage, they definitely need more practice as a team to climb up the OWL ladder. Being their first match of Stage 3 was against Dallas Fuel, they are and still pretty nervous to be on stage.
With so many of the Shanghai Dragons players are new and mostly from Korea being in a Chinese team, it is difficult to communicate. As seen in the main roster of the Shanghai Dragons, only two of the players are Chinese while the rest are Koreans. However they are still able to communicate despite the language barrier. They communicate with simple English while the Koreans are making the effort to learning Mandarin. Communication being a very important aspect in a team-based game, language is important but that doesn’t seem to be a problem for the Shanghai Dragons. If all goes well, they should be able to nab some wins in the coming matches.
Looking at their packed practice schedule, they have been practicing together as a team with 2 scrims per day. They would debrief each other to know their strengths and weaknesses so that they can improve on their future matches. It would seem that despite their losing streak, they are keeping their hopes up with a positive mental attitude (PMA). They also thank the fans for continuously supporting them despite their performances, but with the determination and practices, they aim to win in their future matches with their skills.