The One Winner

(Redirected from T1w.GZA)

The One Winner, or simply T1w, is a Chinese esports team for the video game Overwatch competing in Overwatch Contenders (OWC). The team is a former academy team for the Guangzhou Charge of the Overwatch League (OWL). The team was founded under the name Miracle Team One; after the formation of T1w Esports Club, the owner of the team, the team rebranded to The One Winner and rebranded, again, to T1w.GZA after becoming the academy team for the Charge. T1w plays in the China region of OWC, and since inception, they have won one OWC regional title and multiple other major tournaments not affiliated with Overwatch Contenders.

The One Winner
GameOverwatch
Founded2017
LeagueOverwatch Contenders
DivisionPacific
RegionChina
Team historyMiracle Team One
2016–2017
The One Winner
2018–2019
T1w.GZA
2019
The One Winner
2020–present
ColorsRed, blue, white
     
OwnerCheng Xiao
Head coachZhang Peng
Regional titles
  • 1
  • 2018 Season 3
Interregional titles
  • 0

Franchise history

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2016–2017: Miracle Team One

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The franchise began in 2016 under the name Miracle Team One (MT1). The team entered the Chinese scene with high expectations, but failed to find much success. In 2017, they placed in the top four at the Overwatch Premier Series to qualify for the Overwatch APAC Premier 2017.[1][2] However, the team produced disappointing results in the tournament, failing to move on past the group stages.[3] The following month, MT1 was invited to the 2017 Nexus Cup;[4][5] they were eliminated early from the tournament.[6]

2018–2019: The One Winner

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In 2018, T1w Esports Club was officially established to manage competitive teams in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Wangzhe Rongyao (Kings of Glory), and Overwatch, and Miracle Team One was rebranded to The One Winner (T1w).[7] The team competed in the first season of Overwatch Contenders China, and while they were able to qualify for the playoffs, T1w fell to Lucky Future Zenith in the semifinals by a score of 2–3.[8] The following Contenders season, T1w, again, qualified for the playoffs, and fell to Lucky Future Zenith in the semifinals by a score of 2–3.[6]

In between Contenders seasons, the team hit its stride, claiming multiple tournament victories. T1w found its first LAN tournament victory at LanStory Cup 2018 Guangzhou by defeating LinGan e-Sports in the finals.[9] The following week, T1w placed second at the NetEase Esports X Tournament (NeXT) 2018 Summer, falling to RunAway in the finals.[10] A few months later, the team successfully defended their LanStory Cup title, defeating Flag Gaming at the LanStory Cup 2018 Hangzhou finals and secured their second tournament title.[11]

T1w continued their dominance in the group stages of Contenders China 2018 Season 3, as they posted a perfect 5–0 record and 20–0 map differential.[12] The team blew through the playoffs – only dropping a single map – en route to defeating Flag Gaming in the finals and claiming the title of Overwatch Contenders China champions.[12] A few weeks later, the team fell in a close 2–3 match to LGD Gaming in the semifinals of at NeXT 2018 Winter.[13]

In Contenders China 2019 Season 1, The One Winner showed their flexibility as a team, being able to effectively run both GOATS (three tanks, three supports) and standard 2-2-2 compositions; they were able to, again, post a perfect record in the group stages. After defeating both Lucky Future and LGD Gaming by a score of 2–3 in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, of the playoffs, the team was swept by the Chengdu Hunters academy team LGE.Huya in the finals.[14] By placing second in their region, the team qualified for the Contenders Pacific Showdown, an interregional double-elimination tournament; T1w placed third in the event, losing only to the top two Korean Contenders teams.[15] Following the Showdown, T1w picked up a pair of third-place finishes at NeXT 2019 Spring and LanStory Cup 2019 Summer.[16][17]

2019: T1w.GZA

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On July 2, in the middle of Contenders China 2019 Season 2, it was announced that T1w would be competing as the academy team for the Guangzhou Charge of the Overwatch League, and the team rebranded to T1w.GZA. The Charge fielded their own academy team, known as Guangzhou Academy, but the team disbanded after only one season.[15]

2020: The One Winner

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On February 7, 2020, the Charge ended their partnership with T1w.[18]

Seasons overview

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Overwatch Contenders

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Year Season Region OWC regular season Regional playoffs Interregional events
Finish[a] Wins Losses Win %
The One Winner
2018 1 China 3rd 3 2 .600 Semifinals None held
2 China 3rd 3 2 .600 Semifinals
3 China 1st 5 0 1.000 Winners
T1w.GZA
2019 1 China 1st 5 0 1.000 Runners-up Pacific Showdown – Lower Finals
2 China 3rd 3 2 .600 Quarterfinals
Regular season record 19 6 .760
Playoff record 7 4 .636
  1. ^ Placements reflect standings in the team's respective group and not the entire region.

Other tournaments

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  • 3rd – Overwatch Premier Series 2017
  • 4th – Overwatch APAC Premier 2017
  • 3rd – LanStory Cup 2018 Chengdu
  • 1st – LanStory Cup 2018 Guangzhou
  • 2nd – NetEase Esports X Tournament 2018 Summer
  • 1st – LanStory Cup 2018 Hangzhou
  • 3rd – NetEase Esports X Tournament 2019 Spring
  • 3rd – LanStory Cup 2019 Summer

Current roster

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The One Winner roster
Players Coaches
Role Handle Name Nationality
Damage Mijia Tan Xujie China
Damage China
Damage MoLanran Yang Liao China
Tank Highbee Zhang Zening China
Tank Silver3 Han Haibo China
Support China
Support Zihee Gong Zixi China
Head coach

Zhang Peng


Legend:
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • (2W) Two-way player
  •   Substitute
  •   Injury / Illness
  

Latest roster transaction: January 4, 2020.

OWL buyouts and promotions

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All Overwatch Contenders players are eligible to be promoted by their affiliated Overwatch League team or signed to any other Overwatch League during specified non-blackout periods.[19]

2018

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  • DPS Cai "Krystal" Shilong was signed by new expansion franchise Hangzhou Spark on November 20.[20]

OWL affiliates

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T1w.GZA

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Guangzhou Charge (2019)

References

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  1. ^ Gach, Ethan (September 30, 2017). "The Weekend In Esports: Smash Bros. Lights Up The Utah Jazz's Arena". Kotaku. Archived from the original on January 24, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  2. ^ Chan, Eric (October 2, 2017). "Ten Teams Invited For Overwatch APAC Premier 2017 - Two Slots Remain". Akshon Esports. Archived from the original on July 29, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  3. ^ "APAC Premier Day 4 Recap – Easy ride for AF, Blank second". Winston's Lab. October 23, 2017. Archived from the original on July 29, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  4. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (November 24, 2017). "8 Korean Overwatch teams will take on 8 Chinese teams at the Nexus Cup". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on July 29, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  5. ^ Nguyen, Steven (November 30, 2017). "Nexus Cup to round out the Overwatch circuit". ESPN. Archived from the original on July 29, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Feng, Evie (October 30, 2018). "Catch up on Contenders, the best Overwatch matches you probably missed". Heroes Never Die. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  7. ^ T1w Esports Club (January 15, 2018). "T1w电子竞技俱乐部 正式成立~" [T1w Esports Club is Officially Established] (in Chinese). Archived from the original on July 29, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2019 – via Sina Weibo.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "LFZ, 오버워치 컨텐더스 차이나 우승…태평양 이어 중국까지 한국팀이 정복" [LFZ wins Overwatch Contenders China … South Korea team conquers the Pacific]. Daily e-Sports (in Korean). May 14, 2018. Archived from the original on September 3, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  9. ^ "T1w ExtrA after the LanStory Cup Victory: "This is the result that our team should get. It also shows that we are the strongest team in China, however we are not satisfied with this …"". Esports Heaven. September 14, 2018. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  10. ^ O'Brien, Joe (September 28, 2018). "Haksal shows he's still an insane Genji player at NeXT Overwatch tournament". Dexerto. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  11. ^ "《守望先锋挑战者系列赛》第三赛季常规赛落幕 T1w一小分未丢杀进季后赛" ["Overwatch Contenders" Regular Season of Season Three Ended – T1w Did Not Lose a Map Going into the Playoffs]. Gamefy (in Chinese). December 21, 2018. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  12. ^ a b Mel, Hawthorne (May 23, 2019). "The Pacific Showdown is about to go down – Overwatch Contenders". Esports.net. Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  13. ^ August, Charlotte (January 25, 2019). "Overwatch Esports: NeXT Winter Semi-Finals". ESTNN. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  14. ^ Weil, Katrina (May 24, 2019). "Contenders casters from around the world weigh in on the Pacific Showdown". Upcomer. Archived from the original on July 27, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  15. ^ a b Richardson, Liz (July 3, 2019). "Guangzhou Charge pick up T1w for Contenders China team". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  16. ^ Netease Esports NeXT (June 6, 2019). "网易守望先锋NeXT春季赛总决赛,RunAway零封Gen.G夺冠" [Netease Overwatch NeXT Spring Finals, RunAway defeats Gen.G]. Kuaibao (in Chinese). Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  17. ^ "6月19日LSC战况:BLG斩杀LGD获得冠军" [LSC Battle on June 19: BLG Defeats LGD to Win Championship]. ZhanqiTV (in Chinese). June 19, 2019. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  18. ^ O'Dwyer, Samuel (February 7, 2020). "Guangzhou Charge cuts ties with T1W, plans to build new branded Contenders team". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  19. ^ Olmstead, Sydney (June 14, 2018). "Blizzard Reveals Information About Overwatch League Offseason". VGR. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  20. ^ Qu, Bonnie (December 13, 2018). "The Hangzhou Spark are making an electric entrance into the Overwatch League". Heroes Never Die. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.