After 147 days of OWL, Shanghai Dragons almost earned their first match win.

Jun 6, 2018

It is the running joke, the constant tragedy, and the statistical anomaly of the Overwatch League: Shanghai Dragons miraculously managing to lose every single match since the January 10th start of the league. With a 0-37 match record and a 21-129-2 game score, It seems as if Shanghai Dragons are the forever losers of the league.

And yet, the Shanghai Dragons remains a fan favorite. The crowd at Blizzard Arena always cheers the loudest when Dragons are close to their first win and online support for the team never seems to completely wane. Their fan favorite status (despite an abysmal record) was cemented further when Geguri, the first women OWL player, joined to the team. Alongside Fearless and Ado( two more Korean pros) fans were hopeful that the embarrassing 0-8 starting record would be a thing of a past.

But now, after 29 additional match losses, the Dragons still failed to get their first win. Their best chance of victory had always been against the 2nd worst team in the league, Florida Mayhem, and this week it really looked like the Dragons might break their losing streak.

The curse almost lifted

Almost everyone who loves competitive Overwatch was rooting for Shanghai Dragons. The match between Dragons and Mayhem had no playoff implications and didn't "really" matter. Nevertheless, it still felt like one of the most important OWL matches in the entire season.

Other OWL teams (who usually remain neutral on social media) were clearly rooting for the Dragons. There was an unmistakable tension in the air -- the hype for the Dragons first win was, quite literally, the longest and most anticipated storyline in OWL history. After coming so close to defeating Florida Mayhem, Shanghai Dragons fans were ecstatic in anticipation for their first victory.

▲ The anticipation for SHD's first win was very real.

But Florida Mayhem clutched out a win. on June 6th, the incredible story of Dragon's constant losing almost came to an end. Thanks to an incredible performance by Sayaplayer, Dragons fans are still waiting for their first win.