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Hangzhou Spark

Hangzhou Spark
杭州闪电
The logo depicts a hand-gesture in shape of a gun with electricity emerging from it.
Founded7 September 2018
LeagueOverwatch League
RegionEast
Team historyHangzhou Spark
(2018–present)
Based inHangzhou, China
Colors     
OwnerRui Chen
PresidentYouyou "So" Chen
General managerYouyou "So" Chen
Affiliation(s)Bilibili Gaming
Main sponsorMG Motor
WebsiteOfficial website
Uniforms
Hangzhou Spark
Simplified Chinese杭州闪电
Traditional Chinese杭州閃電
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinHángzhōu Shǎndiàn

Hangzhou Spark (simplified Chinese: 杭州闪电; traditional Chinese: 杭州閃電; pinyin: Hángzhōu Shǎndiàn) was a Chinese professional Overwatch esports team based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. The Spark competed in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's East region up until the Overwatch League was shut down on the 23rd of January 2024. Founded in 2018, Hangzhou Spark began play as one of eight expansion teams in 2019 and was one of four professional Overwatch teams based in China. The team is owned by Bilibili, a Chinese video sharing website; the company also owns Bilibili Gaming, who operate their own Overwatch division that competed in Overwatch Contenders as an academy team for the Spark.

Franchise history

OWL expansion

On 7 September 2018, Activision Blizzard announced that Chinese video sharing website Bilibili had purchased an expansion team based in Hangzhou for Overwatch League's second season.[1] On 14 November, the team revealed their team name as Hangzhou Spark.[2]

On 16 November, the Spark revealed their new head coach, Lee "Mask" Mu-ho.[3] In the following week, the Spark revealed their 10-man inaugural roster through a series of Twitter posts, consisting of players from different Chinese and Korean Contenders teams.[4]

Early years: 2019–present

Hangzhou's first regular season OWL match was a 3–1 victory over the Shanghai Dragons on 14 February 2019, in the 2019 season.[5] The Spark qualified for both the Stage 2 and Stage 3 playoffs, but failed to reach the finals in either one.[6][7] Hangzhou struggled at the beginning of Stage 4, which was the beginning of the enforced 2-2-2 role lock by the league, after suspending their starting damage player Cai "Krystal" Shilong — an event that later led to the Spark's parent company Bilibili taking legal actions.[8][9] The team lost their first three matches of the stage but recovered by winning their final four matches, ending the regular season with an 18–10 record and the fourth seed in the season playoffs.[10] The Spark began their playoff run with a 3–4 loss to the Los Angeles Gladiators, sending them to the lower bracket.[11] The team defeated the Seoul Dynasty, 4–1, in the first round of the lower bracket,[12] followed by a 4–0 sweep over the Atlanta Reign in the second round.[13] The Spark's season came to an end after a 0–4 loss to the San Francisco Shock.[14]

Prior to the 2020 season, the Spark made minor changes to their roster, departing with two players and promoting two from their academy team Bilibili Gaming.[15] In the first two regional midseason tournaments of the 2020 season, the May Melee and Summer Showdown, Hangzhou lost 0–3 in the quarterfinals each time.[16] Following, Hangzhou released head coach Lee "Mask" Mu-ho and promoted assistant coach Huang "Pajion" Ji-sub to head coach.[17][18] In the third, and final, midseason tournament, the Countdown Cup, the Spark reached the finals, but lost to the Shanghai Dragons.[19] The team finished the regular season with a 12–10 record.[20] Hangzhou fell in the Asian play-in tournament to the Seoul Dynasty, 0–3, ending their season.[21]

Looking to improve from their 2020 season, the Spark nearly instantly maxed out their roster with rookies in the 2021 offseason.[20] After an 0–2 start to the 2021 season, the Spark released head coach Hwang "paJion" Ji-sub and promoted Hwang "Andante" Jae-hong to interim head coach.[22] In the first week of June, the Spark hosted the first live OWL events of the 2021 season, marking the first time that live OWL events took place in China.[23] Head coach Hwang "Andante" Jae-hong was released on 15 July 2021, due to "irreconcilable differences between Andante’s and the rest of Spark’s ideals," leaving assistant coach assistant coach Chen "U4" Congshan as the only member on the coaching staff.[24] The Spark finished the regular season in fifth place in the Eastern region. Prior to the start of the postseason, starting Spark support player Lee "MCD" Jeong-ho was dropped from the team following reports that he had made xenophobic remarks towards a Chinese player.[25] Their season ended after they were eliminated in the play-in tournament tournament semifinals, losing to the Philadelphia Fusion.[26]

Team identity

On 14 November 2018, Bilibili officially announced the brand of their franchise, the Hangzhou Spark. The name "Spark" symbolizes the immense speed and power electricity, as well as the "electric nature and creative spark" of the Bilibili brand.[2]

The logo is in the team's official colors of pink, white, and blue. It depicts a hand-gesture in shape of a gun with electricity emerging from it and is a reference to Mikoto Misaka from A Certain Scientific Railgun.[27] The official colors are vibrant in nature to reflect the fast-growing nature of Hangzhou.[2]

Personnel

Current roster

Hangzhou Spark roster
Players Coaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality
Head coach
  • Vacant
Legend:
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • (2W) Two-way player
  • Substitute player Substitute
  • Injured Injury / Illness
  

Latest roster transaction: 29 October 2023.

Head coaches

Handle Name Seasons Record Notes Ref.
Mask Lee Mu-ho 2019–2020 26–21 (.553) Released after 19 games in 2020. [3][17]
paJion Huang Ji-sub 2020–2021 2–2 (.500) Released after two games in 2021. [18][22]
Andante Hwang Jae-hong 2021 5–2 (.714) Interim head coach. Released after seven games in 2021. [22][24]
Changgoon Park Chang-geun 2022 11–13 (.458) [28][29]
RUI Wang Xingrui 2023 3-2 (.600) Released after five games in 2023. [30][31]
Creed Yan Xiao 2023 6-2 (.750) [32]

Awards and records

Seasons overview

Season P W L W% Finish Playoffs
2019 28 18 10 .643 3rd, Pacific Lost in Lower Round 3, 0–4 (Shock)
2020 21 10 11 .476 6th, Asia Did not qualify
2021 16 7 9 .438 5th, East Did not qualify
2022 24 11 13 .458 4th, East Lost in Lower Round 4, 1–3 (Shock)

Individual accomplishments

Role Star selections

  • guxue (Qiulin Xu) – 2019
  • iDK (Park Ho-jin) – 2019

All-Star Game selections

  • guxue (Qiulin Xu) – 2019

Academy team

Main article: Bilibili Gaming § Overwatch

On 15 March 2019, the Hangzhou Spark announced their official academy team, Bilibili Gaming (BLG), and full roster. The team competes in Contenders China.[33]

References

  1. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (7 September 2018). "It's official: All 8 new teams coming to Overwatch League have been revealed". Dot Esports. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Introducing the Hangzhou Spark杭州闪电队". Business Wire. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  3. ^ a b Rodriguez, Veronika (16 November 2018). "Hangzhou Spark Reveals Overwatch League Coaching Staff". DBLTAP. Archived from the original on 12 September 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  4. ^ Qu, Bonnie (13 December 2018). "The Hangzhou Spark are making an electric entrance into the Overwatch League". Heroes Never Die. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  5. ^ Grayson, Nathan (15 February 2019). "Overwatch League's Season Two Debut Was Exciting Despite An Unpopular Meta". Kotaku. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  6. ^ Samples, Rachel (11 May 2019). "Vancouver Titans and San Francisco Shock advance to Overwatch League stage 2 finals". Dot Esports. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  7. ^ Linscott, Gillian (13 July 2019). "LA Valiant Continue Meteoric Rise, Head To Semifinals". Hotspawn. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  8. ^ Amos, Andrew (2 August 2019). "Hangzhou Spark indefinitely suspend Krystal". Dot Esports. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  9. ^ Butler, Sam (15 July 2020). "Hangzhou Spark Sues Krystal For $2 Million After Controversy". The Gamer. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  10. ^ Howard, Brandon (26 August 2019). "Hangzhou Spark End Their Regular Season Strong, Hoping To Carry Momentum Into The Playoffs". TheGamer. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Gladiators, Titans win on Day 1 of Overwatch League playoffs". ESPN. Reuters. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Shock, Spark stay alive in OWL playoffs". ESPN. Reuters. 8 September 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  13. ^ Gemignani, Mike (13 September 2019). "Overwatch League Playoff: Spark and Shock Advance". Hotspawn. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  14. ^ Hoskins, Ryan (15 September 2019). "OWL: San Francisco Shock Advance over the Spark". Hotspawn. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  15. ^ Hook, Brennon (22 January 2020). "2020 Team Preview: Hangzhou Spark". Overwatch League. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  16. ^ Garcia, Jordy (6 August 2020). "Third Times The Charm For Hangzhou At The Countdown Cup". The Game Haus. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  17. ^ a b Hangzhou Spark [@Hangzhou_Spark] (31 July 2020). "Thank you Coach @Mask_ow" (Tweet). Retrieved 26 April 2021 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ a b Hangzhou Spark [@Hangzhou_Spark] (31 July 2020). "Meanwhile, @pajion90 will step in as the main Coach" (Tweet). Retrieved 26 April 2021 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Parrish, Ash (12 August 2020). "I (Almost) Miss When The Shanghai Dragons Were OWL's Worst Team". Kotaku Australia. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  20. ^ a b Richardson, Liz (8 April 2021). "Full house: Hangzhou Spark 2021 team preview". Dot Esports. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  21. ^ Richardson, Liz (5 September 2020). "Hangzhou Spark, Chengdu Hunters eliminated in Overwatch League playoffs". Dot Esports. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  22. ^ a b c Johnson, Xavier (26 April 2021). "Hangzhou Spark parts ways with Pajion, Andante becomes interim head coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  23. ^ Czar, Michael (2 June 2021). "Hangzhou Spark host the first live Overwatch League games in China". Upcomer. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  24. ^ a b Richardson, Liz (15 July 2021). "Hangzhou Spark parts ways with head coach Andante, assistant coach Mentalist". Dot Esports. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  25. ^ "Hangzhou Spark drop MCD after xenophobic remarks". Reuters. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  26. ^ Richardson, Liz (5 September 2021). "San Francisco Shock, Washington Justice advance to Overwatch League playoffs bracket". Dot Esports. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  27. ^ Cooney, Bill (15 November 2018). "Chinese Illustrator shares her original Overwatch League concepts for the Hangzhou Spark". Dexerto. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  28. ^ "Hangzhou Spark announce Changgoon as coach". Reuters. 17 November 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  29. ^ Richardson, Liz (12 November 2022). "Overwatch League 2023 offseason trade tracker". Dot Esports. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  30. ^ Hangzhou Spark [@Hangzhou_Spark] (10 January 2023). "We are glad to announce Xingrui "RUI" Wang has joined #HangzhouSpark as our Head Coach" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  31. ^ Hangzhou Spark [@Hangzhou_Spark] (25 June 2023). "Today we part ways with our Head Coach Xingrui "RUI" Wang" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  32. ^ Hangzhou Spark [@Hangzhou_Spark] (25 June 2023). "We are glad to announce our Assistant Coach Xiao "Creed" Yan has been promoted to Head Coach after thorough consideration" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  33. ^ Joyce, Darby (15 March 2019). "Overwatch: Hangzhou Spark Announces Academy Team". The Game Haus. Retrieved 20 March 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
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