Shanghai Dragons exhaustive training schedule was unveiled after the team addressed its losing streak.

The only Chinese team in the Overwatch League, Shanghai Dragons have so far failed to win a single game since the League began. Team manager Van Yang released an open letter to address fans, attempting to reassure them that the Dragons were undergoing an extensive training schedule.

"We have the most intensive training scheme among all the teams," said Yang. "Our daily schedule starts at 10:30am as we leave for training facilities and return to our houses around 10:30 to 11:00pm, with a possible training extension to 12:00am; we train six days a week with one day off. During mid-stages, we have 3-4 days off depending on other teams' schedule.”

Yang’s letter reads as an apology to fans for not working hard enough. “We will not slack off or give up” suggests that there’s a focus on working longer, not smarter, to improve. Esports are a passion career for players, but stress and burnout affect them all the same. If 72 hour work weeks aren’t helping the Chinese team win a game, coaches and managers are going to have to find more effective uses of their players times.

The emotional toil esports exacts on players is clear in Shanghai Dragons player Weida “Diya” Lu’s letter to fans in March.

“We are all responsible for the losing streak. You can say it’s because of the strategy or the roster, but in the end it’s because we are so noob,” wrote Diya. “We truly owe you all an apology, but we’ve tried our hardest. I’m now truly lost and don’t know what to do. We want to win, but good strategies didn’t play out well. It’s just we are noobs. Our coach gets the blame every day and we feel bad for that too.”

Shanghai Dragons have had a rough time of the League so far. Despite the positive impact brought by hiring the League’s first and only female player, the team has seen two coaches depart since January.

The Overwatch League has continued to thrive since opening at the start of this year. Blizzard are looking to bring on more teams in upcoming seasons. But in spite of Blizzard’s commitment to financial security, the working conditions for China’s premier team are unacceptable. The coming months will be an important test of Blizzard’s capacity to create a healthy competitive space.