The 2021 Chengdu Hunters season will be the third season of Chengdu Hunters's existence in the Overwatch League and the team's second season under head coach Wang "RUI" Xingrui after he was the head coach of the team in 2019.
The Hunters entered free agency with three free agents, all of which became free agents due to the Hunters not exercising the option to retain the player for another year.[1]
Acquisitions[]
The Hunters' first offseason acquisitions were Lei "Jimmy" Yujia, a rookie damage player coming from Guangzhou Charge'sOverwatch Contenders academy team Ultra Prime Academy, and Lui "Kaneki" Nian, a rookie damage player who most recently played for Team Cat in Contenders, both of whom signed on November 19.[2] Three days later, they signed Tan "Nisha" Li, a rookie support player who formerly played for Contenders team Bilibili Gaming.[3] The Hunters signed two more rookie players on November 27: tank player Qui "GA9A" Jiaxin and support player Cao "Faraway1987" Jiale, both of whom came from Shanghai Dragons' academy team Team CC.[4] The Hunters' final acquisition of the offseason was Zhou "Mmonk" Xiang, a rookie support player promoted from their academy team Team Chaser on March 25, 2021.[5]
Departures[]
The Hunters' first departure was on October 15, 2020, with the release of damage player Lo "Baconjack" Tzu-heng and tank player Chen "Ating" Shao-hua.[6] None of the Hunters' three free agents returned, all of which signed with other teams, beginning with support players Kong "Kyo" Chunting and Chen "Lengsa" Jinyi, both of whom were sent to the Hunters' academy team Team Chaser on November 17.[7] One week later, support player He "Molly" Chengzhi was signed by the Shanghai Dragons.[8]
Regular season[]
May Melee[]
The Hunters began their 2021 season on April 17 with a win over the Los Angeles Valiant 3–1 in the May Melee qualifiers.[9] They won their following match against the Shanghai Dragons 3–0, thanks in part to aggressive performances by damage players Yi "JinMu" Hu and Huang "leave" Xin.[10]
Injury / Illness
