The Overwatch League is expected to see its first female player join a roster, as Kim “Geguri” Se-yeon has reportedly been signed by the Shanghai Dragons.
According to ESPN, multiple sources including Dragons players say Geguri and two other South Korean pros, Lee “Fearless” Eui-Seok and Cheon “Ado” Ki-hyun, will join the team. A fourth, as of yet unnamed Chinese player is also expected to be added to the roster.
For Geguri, a spot on an Overwatch League roster will put her at the highest level of the game – a spot that many observers thought she should have earned when the league’s rosters were first announced.
While she largely shied away from any controversy, the fact Geguri wasn’t signed was a hot topic on the league’s first media day. Her play with the character Zarya was so impressive that when she first started playing at a high level at the age of 17, many accused her of cheating, a charge that was quickly dismissed by Blizzard.
Dragons New Hope
An official announcement of the transaction is expected to come in the next few weeks. Neither the league nor the Shanghai Dragons have yet to comment on the reports, due to the fact that the signings are not yet finalized.
“For someone to be considered part of the Overwatch League, the League office must both receive and approve a contract for a given player,” a league representative told Compete. “The League office has not yet received a contract for Geguri.”
Assuming the contract ink dries as expected, the Dragons will be hoping that the new crop of Korean pros will help the team bounce back from a disastrous start to the season.
The Dragons are currently 0-8 and stand alone in last place, the only winless team in the league. Shanghai has only won four maps in total across their eight matches.
But the new reinforcements are expected to help in some key areas where the team has been struggling. Geguri is one of the top off-tank players in Korea, while Fearless is a tank who captains the Element Mystic team, and Ado is a flex who plays for MVP Space.
Shanghai Surprise?
The new additions could help a team that is given almost no chance to win even a single match by oddsmakers at the moment. On Wednesday evening, the Dragons are set to play the Dallas Fuel, who have also gotten off to a highly disappointing 1-7 start.
Shanghai is considered a massive underdog in the match, with Pinnacle listing them at 5.63 (+463) against Dallas. The Dragons are an even larger underdog on Friday when they face the 5-3 Los Angeles Valiant, with Shanghai fetching 10.50 (+950) odds for that match.
A concern they’ll have to overcome, however, is potential communication difficulty between the Korean players and a Chinese team of Mandarin speakers. Geguri and her fellow Korean teammates reportedly don’t speak Mandarin, though ESPN suggested they are all engaged in a crash course to learn the language.