Guangzhou Charge

Guangzhou Charge (simplified Chinese: 广州冲锋; traditional Chinese: 廣州衝鋒; pinyin: Guǎngzhōu Chōngfēng) is a Chinese professional Overwatch esports team based in Guangzhou, China. The Charge compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's Pacific East Division.

Guangzhou Charge
广州冲锋

Founded	2 August 2018
League	Overwatch League
Conference	Pacific
Division	East
Team history	Guangzhou Charge (2018–present)
Based in	Guangzhou, China
Arena	Foshan International Sports and Cultural Center Tianhe Gymnasium[1]
Colors
Owner	Zhong Naixiong
Head coach	Cho "J1N" Hyo-Jin
General manager	I-Ting Liu
Affiliation(s)	T1w.GZA
Website	Official website
Uniforms
Current season

Guangzhou Charge
Simplified Chinese	广州冲锋
Traditional Chinese	廣州衝鋒
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Guǎngzhōu Chōngfēng

Founded in 2018, Guangzhou Charge began play as one of eight expansion teams in 2019 and is one of four professional Overwatch teams based in China. The team is owned by Zhong Naixiong, the founder and board chairman of Nenking Group. The Charge also have an academy team playing in Overwatch Contenders; the team, T1w.GZA, is owned by T1w Esports Club.

Franchise history

OWL expansion

On 2 August 2018, Activision Blizzard announced that Nenking Group, owner of Guangzhou Loong Lions, purchased a seat for Guangzhou in Overwatch League.[2][3] On 15 October 2018, Nenking announced that Sonny Xiao, the vice president of Nenking and the president of basketball operations for the Guangzhou Long Lions, would be the CEO of the team, Overwatch developer Eddy Meng would be the COO, and Overwatch management veteran Ethan Liu would be the general manager.[4]

On 8 November, the Nenkeng Group announced that the Guangzhou team would be called the Guangzhou Charge.[5] Two weeks later, the Charge announced nine players of their inaugural roster – four DPS, four supports, and one tank.[6] The Charge signed Cho "J1N" Hyo-jin as the team's head coach on 3 December 2018.[7]

Inaugural season

Main article: 2019 Guangzhou Charge season

On 15 February 2019, Guangzhou Charge played their first regular season OWL match against the Chengdu Hunters, in which the charge lost 2–3.[8] The team's first victory came a week later – a 4–0 sweep against the Dallas Fuel.[9] The team had a subpar performance throughout the first three stages of the season, posting a 9–12 record through 21 matches with no stage playoff appearances. After the implementation of an enforced 2-2-2 role lock by the league, the Charge flourished, losing only one match in their final seven matches to give them a 15–13 record for the season. Finishing in 9th place in the overall standings, Guangzhou qualified for the Play-In Tournament, where they defeated the Chengdu Hunters in the first round, 4–1.[10] However, they were unable to make it season playoffs, as they fell to the Seoul Dynasty by a score of 1–4 the following day.[11]

Team identity

On 9 November 2018, the Nenking Group officially announced the brand of their franchise, the Guangzhou Charge. The name was chosen because it expressed the team's "vision to lead the esports movement in China, and to be at the forefront of innovation. It also [expressed the] vision for a competitive team that plays aggressive and bold."[5]

The logo features two stylized letters "G" and "Z", representing Guangzhou. A lightning bolt symbol can be seen in-between the white space of the two letters. The colors represent the scenery of the region, while the name "Charge" represents bold playstyles and innovation in Chinese esports.[5]

"We want to build an international organization and fanbase, so the goal for our team brand was to create a symbol for Guangzhou that people from all of the world can instantly recognize," the team's Marketing and Creative Director Chris Hwang said. "We took inspiration from iconic sports logos where simple letters have grown to represent an entire city"[5]

Personnel

Current roster

Guangzhou Charge roster
Players	Coaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality Previous team Damage 0 Eileen  Ou Yiliang  China  LGD Gaming  Damage 20 Happy  Lee Jeong-woo  South Korea  Meta Bellum  Damage 7 Krystal (2W)  Cai Shilong  China  Hangzhou Spark  Damage 42 nero  Zwarg, Charlie   United States  Toronto Esports  Tank 14 Rio  Oh Seung-pyo  South Korea  Meta Bellum  Tank 10 Cr0ng  Nam Ki-cheol  South Korea  O2 Blast  Support 11 Wya (2W)  Qi Haomiao  China  T1w.GZA  Support 1 shu  Kim Jin-seo  South Korea  Toronto Esports  Support 3 Chara (C)  Kim Jung-yeon  South Korea  Meta Bellum  Support 27 neptuNo  González, Alberto   Spain  Philadelphia Fusion	Head coach Cho Hyo-Jin Legend (C) Team captain (2W) Two-way player (I) Inactive (S) Suspended Injury/Illness Latest roster transaction: July 14, 2020.

Head coaches

Guangzhou Charge head coaches
Handle	Name	From	To	Span	Ref.
J1N	Cho Hyo-Jin(조효진)	4 December 2018	–	1 year, 250 days	[7]

Awards and records

Seasons overview

Season	P	W	L	W%	MW	ML	MT	MD	Pos. (league)	Pos. (conf.)	Playoffs	Earnings
2019	28	15	13	.536	61	57	1	+4	9th	6th	Not eligible	$0
2020	25	18	7	.720	44	39	1	+5	5th	3rd	TBD	$0

Individual accomplishments

All-Star Game selections

• Shu (Kim Jin-Seo) – 2019

Academy team

Further information: T1w.GZA

On 13 March 2019, GZ Academy, also known as GZA, was founded as the academy team of Guangzhou Charge.[12] After a 1–4 finish in their first season of Overwatch Contenders, team shut down on 30 May, citing a focus on preparations for the Charge's 2020 home arena and teamhouse.[13] On 2 July, in the middle of the second season of 2019 Contenders, it was announced that the roster of Chinese Contenders team The One Winner (T1w) had been signed as the new academy team of Guangzhou Charge, rebranding themselves to T1w.GZA.[14]

References

1. Richardson, Liz (20 August 2019). "Here is the full Overwatch League 2020 season schedule". Dot Esport. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
2. Hume, Mike (2 August 2018). "Overwatch League expansion wave begins in Atlanta, Guangzhou". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
3. "Atlanta and Guangzhou take the stage". Blizzard Entertainment. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
4. "Guangzhou Overwatch League Team Announces Executive Leadership". The Esports Observer. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
5. Nenking Group (8 November 2018). "Feel The Charge! Nenking Group Unveils Its Guangzhou Overwatch League Team Branding". Business Wire. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
6. Viana, Bhernardo (23 November 2018). "Guangzhou Charge signs an international roster for its debut in the Overwatch League". Dot Esports. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
7. Rodriguez, Veronika (4 December 2018). "Guangzhou Charge Signs J1N, TyDolla, and Sungwoo to Overwatch League Coaching Staff". DBLTAP. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
8. August, Charlotte (16 February 2019). "Overwatch Esports: Overwatch League Day 2 Recap". ESTNN. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
9. August, Charlotte (22 February 2019). "Overwatch League Stage 1 Week 2 Day 1 Recap". ESTNN. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
10. "Charge, Dragons advance in OWL play-in tourney". ESPN. Rueters. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
11. Richardson, Liz (31 August 2019). "London Spitfire and Seoul Dynasty advance to Overwatch League 2019 season playoffs". Dot Esports. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
12. "Guangzhou Academy (GZA) was founded as the academy team of Guangzhou Charge and will take part in the Overwatch Contenders". GZA Esports Club. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
13. GZA Esports Club (30 May 2019). "Guangzhou Academy will be temporarily shutting down" (in Chinese). Retrieved 30 May 2019.
14. Richardson, Liz (3 July 2019). "Guangzhou Charge pick up T1w for Contenders China team". Dot Esports. Retrieved 30 July 2019.

External links

• Official website