2019 Hangzhou Spark season

Spark began their 2019 season with wins over Shanghai Dragons and Los Angeles Valiant in week one.[3] One day prior to week two, Spark signed flex tank Song "SASIN" Sang-hyun.[4] Despite the strong start, Spark dropped four of their last five matches to end the stage with a 3–4 record.[5]

Hangzhou opened Stage 2 with a 0–4 loss to the Stage 1 champions Vancouver Titans.[6] Spark would find their first victory of Stage 2 a week later, as the team won in map 5 against Boston Uprising.[7] Hangzhou would again win in a five-map series – this time against Guangzhou Charge – the following week.[8] Two days later, Spark was swept 0–4 against the Stage 1 runners-up San Francisco Shock. Spark headed to Allen, Texas in week four for the Dallas Fuel "Homestand Weekend". The team took both of their matches against Chengdu Hunters and Paris Eternal, giving them a 4–2 record heading into their final match of the stage against Seoul Dynasty.[9] Hangzhou defeated Seoul 3–1 to clinch a Stage 2 Playoff berth.[10]

Spark faced London Spitfire in the Stage 2 Quarterfinals. After dropping the first map, Spark did not allow Spitfire to cap a single point in the final three maps as the team went on to a 3–1 victory to move on to the Semifinals against San Francisco Shock.[11] In the Semifinals match, Spark did not cap a single point in the first three maps. Hangzhou was able to push the fourth map against San Francisco to overtime, but Shock took the map to sweep Spark and end their playoff run.[12]

Blizzard Arena after Hangzhou defeated Dallas in Stage 3.

The Spark's first match of Stage 3 was against the Philadelphia Fusion on 8 June. Hangzhou took advantage of Philadelphia's inability to adapt their lineup won the match in a 4–0 sweep.[13] The following week, the Spark faced the undefeated Vancouver Titans. Amidst several close maps, the Spark could only take one map from the Titans, as they fell 1–3 in the match.[14] Two days later, the team took on the Washington Justice. After win and a tie in the first two maps, Hangzhou handed Washington one of the most dominant map losses in the history of the Overwatch League on Hollywood, as the Justice only secured two eliminations in the entire map.[15] Hangzhou went on to win the match 3–0. The Spark's next match was against the Dallas Fuel on 20 June; the team took a convincing 3–0 win.[16] Hangzhou faced the Seoul Dynasty two days later. After four maps, the series was tied up, forcing the match to a fifth tiebreaker map; the Spark came out of the map with a win to take the match 3–2.[17] For their final week of the stage, the Spark first took on the Los Angeles Valiant on 27 June. The match went down to the wire, as the teams went to a fifth tiebreaker map. Like their previous match, the Spark came out with a 3–2 victory.[18] Their final match of the stage was against the Florida Mayhem two days later. took on the Hangzhou Spark on 29 June. Amidst a dominant performance, the Spark set an Overwatch League record for the fastest completion on Eichenwalde at 4 minutes and 12 seconds; Hangzhou swept the Mayhem 4–0.[19]

Finishing Stage 3 with an impressive 6–1 record, the Spark claimed the third seed in the Stage 3 Playoffs. For their quarterfinals match, the team took on the sixth-seeded Los Angeles Valiant on 12 July. The match opened on Ilios, while Hangzhou kept it close in both rounds, the Valiant came out with a map win. The Spark quickly turned it around, however, claiming wins on Hollywood and Paris, largely due to a strong performance from main tank Xu "guxue" Qiulin on Winston on both maps. However, the Valiant evened the match score with a win on Havana, bringing the match to a fifth tiebreaker map. The match went to Oasis; the Spark were handed their first ever map five loss and lost the series 2–3.[20]

Prior to the beginning of Stage 4, which would include the implementation of an enforced 2-2-2 role lock by the league, the Spark fined DPS Cai "Krystal" Shilong after he failed to return to the team following a ten-day leave to China.[21] Krystal would later be indefinitely suspended by the Spark after a week-long public feud ensued.[22]

The Spark's first match of Stage 4 was against the Atlanta Reign on 27 July; Hangzhou lost the match 1–3.[23] The following week, the team was handily defeated by the Guangzhou Charge, 0–3.[24] Looking to bounce back from their recent struggles, Hangzhou faced the New York Excelsior on 9 August. A back-and-forth battle sent the match to a fifth tiebreaker map, but the Spark were unable to pick up a win and lost the match 2–3.[25] The team finally picked up their first win of the stage a day later, when they defeated the Chengdu Hunters, 3–1.[26] That momentum carried on to the following week, as the Spark downed the Dallas Fuel by a score of 3–1.[27] The following day, the Spark took on the Los Angeles Gladiators. Hangzhou looked to have finally adapted to the new meta and team chemistry, as they took down the Gladiators, 3–2, in a five-map series. The win secured the Spark a spot in the season playoffs.[28] For their final match of the regular season, the Spark headed to The Novo in Los Angeles to play in the Kit Kat Rivalry Weekend, hosted by the Los Angeles Valiant, where faced the Stage 3 Champions Shanghai Dragons on 25 August. The Spark closed out the regular season on a high note, sweeping the Dragons 4–0 to finish with a four-game winning streak and the fourth seed in the season playoffs.[29]

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

• On 22 February, Spark signed Song "SASIN" Sang-hyun.[4]