Shanghai Dragons Parts Ways With Another Head Coach

Joe O'Brien

Shanghai Dragons head coach Wang ‘RUI’ Xiangriu has stepped down from the team due to illness.

The team hasn’t announced that they are bringing on a new replacement for RUI, instead handing the head coaching role to assistant coach Son ‘Kong’ Jun-Young for the time being.

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This isn’t the first head coach that the team has lost this season, with controversial coach Chen ‘U4’ Congchan having parted ways with the team earlier in the season.

The Shanghai Dragons have struggled throughout the Overwatch League, remaining without a series win to their name with three stages completed.

After Stage 2 the team was able to bring in several new additions, including four Korean players, to help reinvigorate the squad. While the changes certainly saw the Dragons in more impressive form in Stage 3, the major overhaul in combination with new language barriers leaves the team still without a win heading into the fourth and final stage.

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The break between the third and fourth stages has seen multiple teams make changes to their coaching staff. Boston Uprising and San Francisco Shock both parted ways with their head coaches, the former moving on to replace the latter.

Meanwhile, the Dallas Fuel still seeks a new head coach to replace Kyle ‘KyKy’ Souder, who is increasingly linked to the Houston Outlaws, while Florida Mayhem head coach Vytis ‘Mineral’ Lasaitis announced he would be taking a break.

For the Shanghai Dragons, there might never be a more important time to find their best form. The team’s opening Stage 4 match will be against the Dallas Fuel on May 16th, likely the best chance they will get at putting a win on the board this season.

About The Author

Joe O'Brien was a veteran esports and gaming journalist, with a passion and knowledge for almost every esport, ranging from Call of Duty, to League of Legends, to Overwatch. He joined Dexerto in 2015, as the company's first employee, and helped shape the coverage for years to come.