# 2021 Guangzhou Charge season

The 2021 Guangzhou Charge season was the third season of Guangzhou Charge's existence in the Overwatch League and was their first season under head coach Lee "Arachne" Ji-won. After a poor start to the season, the Charge released head coach Lee "Arachne" Ji-won on May 6 and signed Sung-woo "Sungwoo" Hong as their new head coach on June 17. They finished the season with a 5–11 record and did not qualify any postseason matches for the first time in franchise history.

## Preceding offseason
### Roster changes

The Charge entered free agency with seven free agents, four of which became free agents due to the Charge not exercising the option to retain the player for another year.

#### Acquisitions

The Charge's first offseason acquisition was Park "KariV" Young-seo, a veteran support player coming off of a struggling year with the Toronto Defiant who signed on November 10, 2020. The next day, they signed Kim "Mandu" Chan-hee, a second-year support player who spent most of the 2020 season on the New York Excelsior's bench. The Charge announced two more signings in the following two days: Zou "MyKaylee" Zijie, a rookie damage player coming from the Hangzhou Spark's Overwatch Contenders academy team Bilibili Gaming, and Choi "ChoiSehwan" Se-hwan, a rookie damage player from Contenders team Element Mystic. The Charge did not sign another player until January 2021; on January 21, they signed Kim "Jihun" Ji-hun, a second-year tank player who did not see much playing time in his rookie season with the London Spitfire.

#### Departures

None of the Charge's seven free agents returned, six of which signed with other teams, beginning with support player Kim "Shu" Jin-seo, who signed with the Los Angeles Gladiators on November 9, 2020. Later that month, on November 25, damage player Lee "Happy" Jeong-woo signed with the Houston Outlaws. Five days later, damage player Charlie "Nero" Zwarg signed with the San Francisco Shock. The Charge lost support player Alberto "Neptuno" González Molinillo on December 9 after he signed with the Paris Eternal. Two of the Charge's free agents, damage player Cai "Krystal" Shilong and support player Qi "Wya" Haomiao signed with the Los Angeles Valiant on March 18, 2021. The Charge's final free agent, support player Kim "Chara" Jeong-yeon announced his retirement in the offseason.

### Organizational changes

On October 6, 2020, the Charge released their entire Korean coaching staff, consisting of head coach Cho "J1N" Hyo-jin and assistant coaches Jung "Tydolla" Seung-min and Hong "Sungwoo" Sung-woo. Several weeks later, they signed former San Francisco Shock assistant coach Lee "Arachne" Ji-won as their new head coach for the upcoming season.

## Regular season

The Charge began their 2021 season on April 17, playing against the Shanghai Dragons in the May Melee qualifiers. They were swept in their opener 0–3. After a 1–3 record to start the season, the Charge released head coach Lee "Arachne" Ji-won and assistant coach Kim "Daemin" Dae-min on May 6. Three days later, the Charge released assistant coach Park "Neko" Se-hyeon and signed Zheng "Extra" Jiawen as an assistant coach. The Charge signed Sung-woo "Sungwoo" Hong as their new head coach on June 17.
With a 5–11 record, the Charge finished the regular season in second-to-last place in the Eastern region, only ahead of the winless Los Angeles Valiant, marking the first time in franchise history that the team would not qualify for any postseason matches.

## Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | Pts | PCT | MW | ML | MT | MD | Qualification |
| 1 | Shanghai Dragons | 16 | 12 | 4 | 20 | 0.750 | 38 | 19 | 2 | +19 | Advance to season playoffs |
| 2 | Chengdu Hunters | 16 | 11 | 5 | 15 | 0.688 | 38 | 22 | 2 | +16 | Advance to season playoffs |
| 3 | Seoul Dynasty | 16 | 12 | 4 | 12 | 0.750 | 40 | 22 | 0 | +18 | Advance to play-ins |
| 4 | Philadelphia Fusion | 16 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 0.625 | 37 | 24 | 3 | +13 | Advance to play-ins |
| 5 | Hangzhou Spark | 16 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 0.438 | 32 | 31 | 0 | +1 | Advance to play-ins |
| 6 | New York Excelsior | 16 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 0.438 | 29 | 32 | 0 | −3 | |
| 7 | Guangzhou Charge | 16 | 5 | 11 | 5 | 0.313 | 20 | 38 | 4 | −18 | |
| 8 | Los Angeles Valiant | 16 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0.000 | 2 | 48 | 1 | −46 | |

## Game log
### Regular season

2021 game log :
May Melee
Qualifier match 1
April 17
Guangzhou Charge
0
3
Shanghai Dragons
Online
5:00 pm CST
   Details
1
Lijang Tower
2
3
Blizzard World
3
0
Dorado
1
0
Temple of Anubis
2
Qualifier match 2
April 18
Guangzhou Charge
0
3
Seoul Dynasty
Online
5:00 pm CST
   Details
0
Busan
2
3
King'S Row
4
2
Havana
3
Qualifier match 3
April 30
Los Angeles Valiant
0
3
Guangzhou Charge
Online
5:00 pm CST
   Details
1
Ilios
2
0
Hanamura
1
1
Eichenwalde
2
Qualifier match 4
May 01
Guangzhou Charge
0
3
Hangzhou Spark
Online
6:30 pm CST
   Details
1
Oasis
2
1
Temple of Anubis
2
2
Blizzard World
3 :
June Joust
Qualifier match 1
May 22
Guangzhou Charge
1
3
Hangzhou Spark
Online
5:00 pm CST
   Details
2
Lijiang Tower
0
2
Eichenwalde
3
1
Dorado
3
3
Temple of Anubis
4
Qualifier match 2
May 23
New York Excelsior
1
3
Guangzhou Charge
Online
6:30 pm CST
   Details
1
Nepal
2
1
Hollywood
3
3
Junkertown
1
0
Hanamura
1
Qualifier match 3
June 04
Guangzhou Charge
0
3
Philadelphia Fusion
Hangzhou, CN
5:00 pm CST
   Details
Future Sci-Tech City
Hosted by Hangzhou Spark
0
Oasis
2
3
Hanamura
3
1
Hollywood
3
1
Junkertown
3
Qualifier match 4
June 05
Guangzhou Charge
0
3
Seoul Dynasty
Hangzhou, CN
6:30 pm CST
   Details
Future Sci-Tech City
Hosted by Hangzhou Spark
1
Busan
2
1
Volskaya Industries
2
2
Numbani
3 :
Summer Showdown
Qualifier match 1
June 26
Guangzhou Charge
3
2
New York Excelsior
Online
8:00 pm CST
   Details
2
Lijiang Tower
0
2
King's Row
3
4
Junkertown
3
3
Volskaya Industries
4
2
Oasis
1
Qualifier match 2
June 27
Chengdu Hunters
3
0
Guangzhou Charge
Online
6:30 pm CST
   Details
2
Busan
1
3
Eichenwalde
0
3
Route 66
2
Qualifier match 3
July 03
Philadelphia Fusion
3
0
Guangzhou Charge
Online
5:00 pm CST
   Details
2
Ilios
0
3
Watchpoint: Gibraltar
2
2
Hanamura
2
3
Hollywood
2
Qualifier match 4
July 04
Seoul Dynasty
3
2
Guangzhou Charge
Online
5:00 pm CST
   Details
1
Oasis
2
2
Junkertown
3
2
Volskaya Industries
1
3
King's Row
2
2
Nepal
1 :
Countdown Cup
Qualifier match 1
August 07
Chengdu Hunters
3
1
Guangzhou Charge
Online
8:00 pm CST
   Details
2
Oasis
0
0
Route 66
1
1
Temple of Anubis
1
2
Blizzard World
1
2
Nepal
0
Qualifier match 2
August 08
Shanghai Dragons
3
1
Guangzhou Charge
Online
8:00 pm CST
   Details
2
Lijiang Tower
0
3
Havana
0
0
Hanamura
1
4
Numbani
3
Qualifier match 3
August 13
Los Angeles Valiant
0
3
Guangzhou Charge
Online
6:30 pm CST
   Details
1
Nepal
2
1
Hanamura
2
1
King's Row
2
Qualifier match 4
August 14
Guangzhou Charge
3
2
Hangzhou Spark
Online
5:00 pm CST
   Details
2
Ilios
0
3
Volskaya Industries
4
4
Numbani
5
3
Rialto
2
2
Lijiang Tower
1 :
2021 season schedule :