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
Founded2 August 2018
LeagueOverwatch League
ConferencePacific
DivisionEast
Team historyGuangzhou Charge
(2018–present)
Based inGuangzhou, China
Arena
Colors     
OwnerZhong Naixiong
Head coachLee "Arachne" Ji-won
General managerEthan "arkael" Liu
Affiliation(s)T1w.GZA
WebsiteOfficial website
Uniforms
Guangzhou Charge
Simplified Chinese广州冲锋
Traditional Chinese廣州衝鋒

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
PlayersCoaches
RoleNo.HandleNameNationality
Damage 34 MYKaylee  Zou Zijie  China 
Damage 0 Eileen  Ou Yiliang  China 
Damage 13 ChoiSehwan  Choi Se-hwan  South Korea 
Tank 14 Rio  Oh Seung-pyo  South Korea 
Tank 2 Jihun  Kim Ji-hun  South Korea 
Tank 10 Cr0ng  Nam Ki-cheol  South Korea 
Support 2 Mandu  Kim Chan-hee  South Korea 
Support 8 KariV  Park Young-seo  South Korea 
Head coach
  • Lee "Arachne" Ji-won
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (2W) Two-way player
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injury/Illness

Latest roster transaction: January 21, 2021.

Head coaches
Guangzhou Charge head coaches
Handle Name From To Span Ref.
J1N Cho Hyo-Jin(조효진) December 4, 2018 October 5, 2020 1 year, 306 days [7] [12]
Arachne Lee Ji-won October 29, 2020 101 days [13]

Awards and records

Seasons overview
Season P W L W% MW ML MT MD Pos. (league) Pos. (conf.) Playoffs Earnings
2019 281513.53661571+49th6thNot eligible$0
2020 21147.66744391+55th3rdAsia Lower Round 1$145,000

Individual accomplishments

Role Star selections

  • Cr0ng (Nam Ki-cheol) – 2020

All-Star Game selections

  • Shu (Kim Jin-Seo) – 2019, 2020
  • Cr0ng (Nam Ki-cheol) – 2020

All-Star Game head coaches

  • J1n (Cho Hyo-Jin) – 2020

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.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16]

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 Charge. "We are now announcing that our contracts with Head Coach J1N and Assistant Coach Tydolla and Sungwoo have ended". Twitter. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  13. Guangzhou Charge. "Let's welcome @Arachne_esports to the team as our new Head Coach!". Twitter. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  14. "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.
  15. GZA Esports Club (30 May 2019). "Guangzhou Academy will be temporarily shutting down" (in Chinese). Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  16. Richardson, Liz (3 July 2019). "Guangzhou Charge pick up T1w for Contenders China team". Dot Esports. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
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