2019 Chengdu Hunters season

The 2019 Chengdu Hunters season was the first season of Chengdu Hunters's existence in the Overwatch League as one of eight expansion franchises added for the 2019 season. After posting three consecutive 3–4 records for the first three stages, the Hunters failed to qualify for any of the Stage Playoffs. A 4–3 record in Stage 4 gave Chengdu 13–15 record for the season and qualified them for the Play-In Tournament, where they were eliminated in the first round by the Guangzhou Charge by a 1–4 scoreline.

2019 Chengdu Hunters season
Head coachWang Xingrui (王星睿)
OwnerHuya
Results
Record13–15 (.464)
Place
Stage 1 PlayoffsDid not qualify
Stage 2 PlayoffsDid not qualify
Stage 3 PlayoffsDid not qualify
Season PlayoffsDid not qualify
OWL All-Stars

Preceding offseason

Chengdu announced the entirety of their initial starting roster in late November, consisting of the following players:[1]

  • Kong "Kyo" Chun-ting,
  • Li "Yveltal" Xian-yao,
  • Guan "GARRY" Li,
  • Luo "Elsa" Wen-jie,
  • Ding "ameng" Meng-han,
  • Ma "lateyoung" Tian-bin,
  • Yi "JinMu" Hu,
  • Lo "Baconjack" Tzu-Heng, and
  • Zhang "YangXiaoLong" Zhi-hao.

The team also had signed Ted "silkthread" Wang, but silkthread retired from professional Overwatch on November 30.[2] On January 16, Chengdu signed Wei "jiqiren" Yan-song.[3]

Regular season

Stage 1

Chengdu opened their 2019 season on February 15 with a victory over fellow Chinese expansion franchise Guangzhou Charge.[4] After their second week of play, which resulted in a loss to Seoul Dynasty and a win over Florida Mayhem, it became apparent that Chengdu was generally not playing to the triple tank, triple support meta that the majority of the league was; instead, the team primarily featured a DPS-heavy composition.[5] Chengdu would go on to lose three matches straight before defeating Atlanta Reign in their final match of Stage 1 to finish the stage with a 3–4 record.[6]

Stage 2

Hunters began Stage 2 with a match against Paris Eternal on April 6. Sticking with their off-meta team composition strategy, Chengdu swept Paris 4–0.[7] Chengdu defeated Washington Justice 3–1 a day later in a match that featured an Overwatch League record 27 out of the 30 possible heroes in the game.[8] Despite the strong start, Chengdu went on a three-game losing streak before finding their next win against London Spitfire on April 28.[9] Chengdu's final match of the stage was against Los Angeles Valiant. Hunters lost the match 2–3 to put them out of playoff contention and for the second stage in a row, finish the stage with a 3–4 record.[10]

Stage 3
Chengdu Hunters post-match handshake after defeating Dallas Fuel in Stage 3.

The Hunters opened Stage 3 on June 6 with a 1–3 loss to the Guangzhou Charge.[11] Two days later, the team was swept 0–4 by the Los Angeles Valiant.[12] Chengdu took on the Dallas Fuel a week later, looking to rebound from the previous two losses. The team kept Dallas guessing throughout the match and took a decisive 3–1 victory.[13] The team's next match was on June 21, when they faced the undefeated Vancouver Titans. While Chengdu was able to take the first map of the match, they dropped the following three, leading to a 1–3 loss.[14] The Hunters rebounded two days later, when they swept the Dallas Fuel 4–0 in a rematch of the previous week.[15] For the final week of the stage, Chengdu first took on the Stage 2 Champions San Francisco Shock on June 27. The match went to a fifth tiebreaker map, and the Hunters managed to pull out a 3–2 victory.[16] Chengdu was unable to close out the stage with a winning record, however, as they fell 0–3 to the Seoul Dynasty three days later and ended the stage with another 3–4 record.[16]

Stage 4

A day prior to their first match of Stage 4, which would include the implementation of an enforced 2-2-2 role lock by the League, the Hunters brought in DPS prospect Xin "leave" Huang. The 17-year-old would not be eligible to officially sign with the Hunters until 2020 season.[17]

The team's first match of the stage was against the Philadelphia Fusion on July 26. The match went the distance, needing a fifth map to determine the winner; Chengdu was able to take map five to win 3–2.[18] Two days later, the team faced the Boston Uprising. The match also went the distance, and with game MVP performance from support Xianyao "Yveltal" Li on Mercy, Chengdu took another 3–2 win.[19] The following week, the Hunters faced the Los Angeles Gladiators. For the third match in a row, the game went to a fifth tiebreaker map; this time, Chengdu was unable to pull out the win and lost the match 2–3.[20] The team came back in full force two days later with a match against the Atlantic Champions New York Excelsior. DPS Yi "Jinmu" Hu on Pharah gave New York troubles throughout the series; that, along with Chengdu's ability to dive NYXL's Jeong "Nenne" Yeon-kwan on Widowmaker, proved to be too much for the Excelsior to handle, as handed New York their first 4–0 sweep in franchise history.[21] The following week, Chengdu faced the Hangzhou Spark; the team fell 1–3 in the match.[22] The Hunter's final week of play saw them first face the San Francisco Shock on August 16. Chengdu was dominated throughout the match and was swept 0–4.[23] Needing a win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, the Hunters faced the Houston Outlaws in their final match of the season. Chengdu pulled out a 3–2 victory after the match went to a fifth tiebreaker map.[24] The team finished the season with a 13–15 record and qualified for the Play-In Tournament.

Postseason

As the twelfth seed in the overall standings, the Hunters qualified for the Play-In Tournament, where they took on the ninth-seeded Guangzhou Charge on August 30. After dropping the first two maps, Ilios and Eichenwalde, the Hunters closed the gap by taking map three, Horizon Lunar Colony. However, the Charge would not yield another map, as the Hunters lost the match 1–4 and ended their 2019 season.[25]

Final roster
2019 Chengdu Hunters roster
PlayersCoaches
RoleNo.HandleNameNationalityPrevious team
Damage 24 JinMu  Yi Hu  China  Big Time Regal Gaming 
Damage 74 Baconjack  Lo Tzu-Heng  Taiwan  Flash Wolves 
Damage 88 YangXiaoLong  Zhang Zhihao  China  Miraculous Youngster 
Damage leave (I)  Huang Xin  China  Miraculous Youngster 
Tank 3 Elsa  Luo Wenjie  China  LinGan Esports 
Tank 5 Ameng  Ding Menghan  China  Big Time Regal Gaming 
Tank 64 LateYoung  Ma Tianban  China  Team CC 
Tank 99 jiqiren  Wei Yansong  China  Team CC 
Support 7 Kyo (C)  Kong Chunting  China  Team CC 
Support 29 Yveltal  Li Xianyao  China  LinGan Esports 
Support 77 GARRY  Li Guan  China  Lucky Future 
Head coach
  • Wang Xingrui
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (2W) Two-way player
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injury/Illness

Latest roster transaction: January 16, 2019.

Transactions

Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2019 regular season:

  • On July 25, Hunters signed Huang "leave" Xin.[17]

Standings

Record by stage
StagePldWLPctMWMLMTMDPos
1 7 3 4 .429 12 20 0 -8 16
2 7 3 4 .429 15 14 0 +1 9
3 7 3 4 .429 12 16 1 -4 13
4[lower-alpha 1] 7 4 3 .571 16 16 0 ±0 9
Overall 28 13 15 .464 55 66 1 -11 12
  Qualified for playoffs •   Qualified for play-in tournament
  1. No stage playoffs were held for Stage 4.

League
# Team Division W L PCT P MR MD STK
Division leaders
1 Vancouver Titans PAC 25 3 .893 28 89–28–0 +61 W1
2 New York Excelsior ATL 22 6 .786 28 78–38–3 +40 L1
Wild cards
3 San Francisco Shock PAC 23 5 .821 28 92–26–0 +66 W8
4 Hangzhou Spark PAC 18 10 .643 28 64–52–4 +12 W3
5 Los Angeles Gladiators PAC 17 11 .607 28 67–48–3 +19 W1
6[lower-alpha 1] Atlanta Reign ATL 16 12 .571 28 69–50–1 +19 W9
Play-in tournament
7[lower-alpha 1] London Spitfire ATL 16 12 .571 28 58–52–6 +6 L1
8[lower-alpha 2] Seoul Dynasty PAC 15 13 .536 28 64–50–3 +14 L1
9[lower-alpha 2] Guangzhou Charge PAC 15 13 .536 28 61–57–1 +4 W4
10[lower-alpha 2] Philadelphia Fusion ATL 15 13 .536 28 57–60–3 -3 W1
11[lower-alpha 3] Shanghai Dragons PAC 13 15 .464 28 51–61–3 -10 L5
12[lower-alpha 3] Chengdu Hunters PAC 13 15 .464 28 55–66–1 -11 W1
Did not qualify for playoffs
13 Los Angeles Valiant PAC 12 16 .429 28 56–61–4 -5 L2
14 Paris Eternal ATL 11 17 .393 28 46–67–3 -21 L1
15 Dallas Fuel PAC 10 18 .357 28 43–70–3 -27 L12
16 Houston Outlaws ATL 9 19 .321 28 47–69–3 -22 L5
17 Toronto Defiant ATL 8 20 .286 28 39–72–4 -33 L4
17 Washington Justice ATL 8 20 .286 28 39–72–6 -33 W1
19 Boston Uprising ATL 8 20 .286 28 41–78–2 -37 L8
20 Florida Mayhem ATL 6 22 .214 28 36–75–5 -39 W2
Tiebreakers

  1. Atlanta placed ahead of London based on map differential.

  2. Seoul placed ahead of Guangzhou based on map differential.
    Guangzhou placed ahead of Philadelphia based on map differential.

  3. Shanghai placed ahead of Chengdu based on map differential.

Game log

Regular season
2019 game log (Overall record: 13–15)
Stage 1 (3–4)
Stage 2 (3–4)
Stage 3 (3–4)
Stage 4 (4–3)

Playoffs
2019 playoff game log
Play-In Tournament (0–1)
Quarterfinals August 30 Chengdu Hunters 1 – 4 Guangzhou Charge Burbank, CA
6:00 pm PST    Details Blizzard Arena
1 Ilios 2
1 Eichenwalde 2
3 Horizon Lunar Colony 2
2 Rialto 3
0 Lijiang Tower 2

gollark: This seems like FRP or something, which could be neat but how does this even work.
gollark: It would take twice as long to program and have several times the security issues.
gollark: > entire gigantic complex application
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gollark: ```rustextern crate mogwai;use mogwai::prelude::*;let (tx, rx) = txrx_fold( 0, |n:&mut i32, _:&Event| -> String { *n += 1; if *n == 1 { "Clicked 1 time".to_string() } else { format!("Clicked {} times", *n) } } );button() .rx_text("Clicked 0 times", rx) .tx_on("click", tx) .run().unwrap_throw()```I do not understand how this is meant to work.

References
  1. Torres, Xander (December 2, 2018). "Chengdu Hunters announce full lineup for 2019". VPEsports. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  2. Binkowski, Justin (December 1, 2018). "Silkthread retires from professional Overwatch". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  3. Rodriguez, Veronika (January 16, 2019). "Chengdu Hunters Sign Jiqiren Ahead of Overwatch League Season 2". DBLTAP. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  4. Rand, Emily (February 18, 2019). "New names dominate opening week of Overwatch League". ESPN. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  5. Rand, Emily (February 28, 2019). "Chengdu Hunters outperform early expectations in Overwatch League". ESPN. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  6. August, Charlotte (March 17, 2019). "Overwatch League Recap: Stage 1 | Week 5 | Day 1". ESTNN. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  7. Buchholz, Matt (April 7, 2019). "Against the Meta, Chengdu Hunters Entertain the Fans and Defeat Paris". Twin Galaxies. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  8. Rand, Emily (April 9, 2019). "From GOATS to BOATS: How the Overwatch League meta has shifted". ESPN. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  9. Rand, Emily; Torres, Xander; Qu, Bonnie (April 30, 2019). "Overwatch League power rankings through Stage 2, Week 4". ESPN. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  10. Field Level Media (May 5, 2019). "Titans finish OWL Stage 2 perfect yet again". Gwinnett Prep Sports. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  11. R., Olivia (June 8, 2019). "Amang discusses loss to Guangzhou Charge and loss of his panda hat". win.gg. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  12. Gerr, Aaron (June 8, 2019). "Overwatch League Recap: Los Angeles Valiant vs. Chengdu Hunters". The Game Haus. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  13. Cowan-Kazmi, Ethan (June 14, 2019). "Overwatch League Recap: Dallas Fuel vs Chengdu Hunters". The Game Haus. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  14. Long, Bradley (June 22, 2019). "Overwatch League Recap: Vancouver Titans vs Chengdu Hunters". The Game Haus. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  15. Cowan-Kazmi, Ethan (June 23, 2019). "Overwatch League Recap: Dallas Fuel vs Chengdu Hunters". The Game Haus. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  16. Rand, Emily (June 3, 2019). "Overwatch League power rankings through Stage 3, Week 4". ESPN. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  17. "Chengdu Hunters add DPS prospect Leave". ESPN. Reuters. July 25, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  18. McHale, Violet (July 31, 2019). "The Chengdu Hunters have a Scrappy Start to Stage 4". The Game Haus. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  19. R., Olivia (August 1, 2019). "Chengdu Hunters produce first Mercy MVP of OWL Season 2". Win.gg. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  20. McHale, Violet (August 8, 2019). "Chengdu Hunters Stage 4 Week 3 Preview". The Game Haus. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  21. Richardson, Liz (August 5, 2019). "How role lock caused huge upsets in the Overwatch League". Dot Esports. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  22. McHale, Violet (August 16, 2019). "Chengdu Hunters Stage 4 Week 4 Preview". The Game Haus. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  23. McHale, Violet (August 16, 2019). "Chengdu Hunters Stage 4 Week 4 Preview". The Game Haus. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  24. Salaun, Theo (August 18, 2019). "Overwatch League 2019 Stage 4, Week 4: Hangzhou Spark's Top Plays, Prize Money". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  25. "Charge, Dragons advance in OWL play-in tourney". ESPN. Rueters. August 31, 2019. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
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