The first female player of the Overwatch League will be Kim “Geguri” Se-yeong. This has now been officially confirmed – just like the team she will be joining in the event: the Shanghai Dragons.
The Overwatch League had no female players in the roster throughout the entire first phase. None of the teams hired a woman – which led to accusations and criticism for some time.
Recently, however, there was a rather mysterious message that the well-known Zarya player Geguri is joining the Overwatch League. The pro gamer did not want to reveal which team she would be joining – until today. The Shanghai Dragons have officially confirmed Geguri’s addition to the team.
We’re excited to welcome He “Sky” Junjian, Kim “Geguri” Seyeon, Lee “Fearless” Euiseok and Chon “Ado” Gihyeon to our #OverwatchLeague roster. #FightingForGlory #OWL2018 pic.twitter.com/ErP88CmDS6
— Shanghai Dragons (@ShanghaiDragons) February 14, 2018
The first woman and the first Koreans in the team
Together with Geguri, three other players join the previously least successful team of the Overwatch League. A Chinese and two more Korean players will complement the Dragons. A brief overview of the four new players:
- Kim “Geguri” Se-yeong, Mains: Zarya, Roadhog, D.Va
- He “Sky” Junjian, Mains: Ana, Zenyatta, McCree
- Chon “Ado” Gi-Hyeon, Mains: Genji, Tracer, Pharah
- Lee “Fearless” Eui-Seok, Mains: Winston, Reinhardt, Roadhog
With Geguri, Ado, and Fearless, the team is now international; it is no longer purely Chinese. However, there are language barriers, as the Koreans do not speak Mandarin and the existing players do not speak Korean. Therefore, Geguri, Ado, and Fearless will receive a Mandarin crash course.
What does this mean for the Shanghai Dragons?
The roster will be complemented by one support, two tanks, and a much-needed projectile DPS player. Especially the tanks and the DPS player will significantly help the team.
So far, the Shanghai Dragons have shown great weaknesses in exactly those areas. Besides their coordination, playing with the tanks and their coordination with the DPS players was the biggest problem for the Dragons. The new players will address these issues.
All four new players also have experience in e-sports. The three Koreans have all played in the Overwatch APEX or the APEX Challengers; Sky was, among other things, the champion of the Overwatch Premier Series in the summer of 2017 and in their grand finals.
The new additions promise to give the Shanghai Dragons a bit of momentum again. After 10 losses in 10 games in the first phase, the team desperately needs a restructuring and improvement.
