2019 Hangzhou Spark season
Hangzhou defeated the London Spitfire, 3–1, in the Stage 2 quarterfinals, but their playoff run ended after getting swept 0–4 by the San Francisco Shock in the semifinals.
Hangzhou struggled at the beginning of Stage 4 after suspending their starting DPS Cai "Krystal" Shilong and the implementation of an enforced 2-2-2 role lock by the league.
The Spark began their playoff run with a 3–4 loss to the Los Angeles Gladiators, sending them to the lower bracket.
[1] In the following week, the Spark revealed their 10-man inaugural roster through a series of Twitter posts, consisting of the following players from different Chinese and Korean Contenders teams:[2] 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.
[6] Spark would find their first victory of Stage 2 a week later, as the team won in map 5 against Boston Uprising.
Spark headed to Allen, Texas in week four for the Dallas Fuel "Homestand Weekend".
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.
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.
[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.
[24] Looking to bounce back from their recent struggles, Hangzhou faced the New York Excelsior on 9 August.
[25] The team finally picked up their first win of the stage a day later, when they defeated the Chengdu Hunters, 3–1.
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.
[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.
On defense, the Spark could not prevent the Gladiators from completing the map, and on their own attack, they were held from reaching the second checkpoint, losing the match 3–4.
[30] Two days later, Hangzhou faced the eighth-seeded Seoul Dynasty in the first round of the lower bracket.
The Spark found their groove coming out of the match break, winning on Temple of Anubis, Dorado, and Lijiang Tower.
[32] Advancing to the third round of the lower bracket, the Spark next faced the third-seeded San Francisco Shock two days later.
