Overwatch League Stage 3: Shanghai Dragons fall to Dallas Fuel

New names, new faces light up the first match of Stage 3 of the Overwatch League.

Geguri, Fearless, Sky, Daemin, Ado. A majority of the players who walked out on stage for the Shanghai Dragons in their first match of Stage 3 were new to the spotlights of the Overwatch League. With so many new faces on stage for this struggling team, no one knew what to expect from the new and revamped Shanghai Dragons.

Their opponents, the Dallas Fuel, also welcomed a new face to the stage in the form of Unkoe. Previously on support for the Los Angeles Valiant, the Fuel had plenty of their own past struggles to reflect on as they started Stage 3. With a roster constantly in flux, Dallas had to start their quest for team chemistry against a team full of unknowns.

Map One: Volskaya Industries

Shanghai showed off their brand new attack roster first, with Geguri on D.Va, Sky on Ana, Fearless on Winston, Daemin on Tracer and Ado on Genji. Right away, Dallas started to cause the team trouble thanks to aKm snipes and EFFECT’s lethal Tracer play. But with just over a minute left on the clock, Ado scored Shanghai a huge multi-kill Dragonblade that easily helped the Dragons secure point one.

Moving onto point B, aKm switched to Sombra. Able to get into the backline over and over, aKm stymied multiple Shanghai pushes and was responsible for collapsing the Dragons’ last push before it could really get started. Shanghai walked away from their attack run with one point until their belt.

On defense, the Dragons stacked up heavy with three tanks, which was strong enough to bump back the Fuel’s first entry. However, EFFECT was able to escape the initial Fuel collapse and remained in the shadows of Shanghai’s backline as the rest of his teammates waited to regroup and respawn. He was integral in blowing things wide open for Dallas on the next push, taking out both Shanghai supports in the backline as the rest of the team charged the point head on. From there, the Dragons’ defense continued to deteriorate, and Shanghai quickly gave up point B to the Fuel as well.

Map Score: Dragons 1, Fuel 2

Match Score: Dragons 0, Fuel 1

Map Two: Numbani

On attack first, Shanghai came out guns blazing. Once again, Ado nearly put the exclamation point on the Dragons’ sentence with a big two-kill Dragonblade. But with just the smallest of slivers between Shanghai and the first point, aKm singlehandedly helped Dallas stabilize once again with a four-kill Attack Visor.

Shanghai would eventually come back and take point A, with Ado able to keep things moving with a few choice slash-and-dashes. But once again, EFFECT was able to sneak into the Dragons’ backline, cornering and taking out both Shanghai supports. This move completely cut down Shanghai’s forward momentum, and subsequent pushes ran into aKm EMPs and more EFFECT eliminations. After a hearty contesting skirmish in overtime, the Dragons petered out just short of the second point.

On defense, the Dragons clustered up on the second-story walkway just outside the spawn point. They waited until the Fuel walked underneath the walkway to jump down and attack from behind. Any advantage gained from the element of surprise was quickly lost as both Shanghai supports fell quickly, followed by the rest of the team. With no one left to contest the point, Dallas swiftly took point A.

With Shanghai still attempting to regroup, the payload took to the streets and was able to cruise very close to the goal line before the Dragons made another concerted stand. It wouldn’t be long before Dallas nudged the payload forward just enough to get out to a 2-0 map lead in the series.

Map Score: Dragons 1, Fuel 2

Match Score: Dragons 0, Fuel 2

Map Three: Ilios

Starting on Lighthouse, Dallas took control first and was able to stay in control through several long engagements. At 93 percent on the board, a five-kill Dragonblade from Ado definitively switched possession in favor of the Dragons. But they wouldn’t maintain the point for too long, as EFFECT once again was able to take down both Shanghai supports. Dallas went up 1-0 on Ilios.

Moving onto Ruins, aKm helped Dallas dominate the point early as a deadly Widowmaker. Shanghai flipped the point much quicker this time, with Geguri and Fearless jumping on top of Unkoe first to force Transcendence away from his teammates and make the play. Dallas retook the point to force overtime, but Shanghai came right back to flip it again. In the end, it was aKm playing just as strong at the end as he did in the beginning, notching headshot after headshot on the players who mattered most. With so many members dropping as soon as they entered aKm’s sightline, the Dragons failed to sustain their presence on the point, giving another victory to the Fuel.

Map Score: Dragons 0, Fuel 2

Match Score: Dragons 0, Fuel 3

Next: Overwatch League Stage 3 preview: What to watch for

Map Four: Junkertown

Shanghai rolled away from the gates in full pirate ship formation, with Sky on Bastion sitting on the payload behind Geguri’s Orisa shield. Dallas defended with Seagull on Junkrat and EFFECT in the back on Widowmaker. Even though Sky fell relatively early, a couple big Fearless Roadhog hooks combined with a resurrected Sky started to make a dent in Dallas’ defense. However, an unpressured EFFECT helped save the Fuel from more eliminations and Shanghai was pushed back.

The Dragons were thwarted again and again right up into overtime. As the wick burned, just Geguri and Altering supporting her on Mercy remained by the payload. A lengthy and strenuous war commenced, with both teams’ Orisas shooting each other at point blank behind cracking shields. Amazingly, it was the Dragons who sustained themselves through the contest, with Altering coming up huge as a Mercy who refused to let his tanks perish, and in overtime Shanghai earned themselves the first point.

The second stretch of the map went similarly, with Shanghai getting pushed back several times before finding the picks that propelled them forward, this time very much thanks to Daemin getting the best of aKm in a Widow-on-Widow duel. Moving into the last stretch of the map, Dallas held fast to the chokepoints just long enough to prevent Shanghai from completing the map.

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On attack, Dallas substituted the Bastion for Mickie on Orisa behind his own shield. EFFECT and aKm supported the team as Widowmaker and Hanzo, respectively. Unsurprisingly, EFFECT continued to terrorize the Dragons, immediately finding himself two headshots that helped the Fuel easily gain the first point. Shanghai waited until the payload was halfway through the second stage of the map to make their move on Dallas, collapsing down on the point and driving the Fuel backward.

Once the Dragons stabilized on the payload, they simply outplayed the Fuel to make it clear that they wouldn’t give it up. With a pick here and a pick there, Dallas struggled to put together a strong, cohesive move on the payload. With less than a minute remaining, the Fuel nearly had their opening. With most of the Dragons wiped from the map, Dallas got the payload moving again but they were just a step too late. Shanghai came back from spawn, regrouped and ready to reclaim the payload which they did with aplomb. The Fuel had mere seconds to throw a few bodies at the payload, but it wouldn’t be enough. The new Shanghai closed the match with a map victory under their belts.

Map Score: Dragons 2, Fuel 1

Final Match Score: Dragons 1, Fuel 3

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