On 7 September 2018, Activision Blizzard announced that Chinese video sharing website Bilibili had purchased an expansion team based in Hangzhou for Overwatch League's second season. On 14 November, the team revealed their team name as Hangzhou Spark. On 16 November, the Spark revealed their new head coach, Lee "Mask" Mu-ho. In the following week, the Spark revealed their 10-man inaugural roster through a series of Twitter posts, consisting of players from different Chinese and Korean Contenders teams.
Inaugural season
Hangzhou's first regular season OWL match was a 3–1 victory over the Shanghai Dragons on 14 February. The Spark finished Stage 1 with a 3–4 record and did not qualify for the Stage 1 Playoffs. A 3–1 win over the Seoul Dynasty on 5 May gave the team a 5–2 record for Stage 2 and the seventh seed in the Stage 2 Playoffs. Hangzhou defeated the London Spitfire, 3–1, in the Stage 2 quarterfinals, but their playoff run ended after getting swept 0–4 by the San Francisco Shock in the semifinals. The Spark improved upon their Stage 2 performance in Stage 3, amassing a 6–1 record and the third seed in the Stage 3 Playoffs. However, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by the Los Angeles Valiant after losing a in five-map series. Hangzhou struggled at the beginning of Stage 4 after suspending their starting DPS Cai "Krystal" Shilong and the implementation of an enforced 2-2-2 role lock by the league. The team lost their first three matches of the stage but recovered by winning their final four matches. The Spark ended the regular season with an 18–10 record and the fourth seed in the season playoffs. The Spark began their playoff run with a 3–4 loss to the Los Angeles Gladiators, sending them to the lower bracket. The team defeated the Seoul Dynasty, 4–1, in the first round of the lower bracket. In the second round, the Spark swept the Atlanta Reign, 4–0 to advance to the third round, where they faced the Shock. The Spark's season came to an end in a 0–4 loss to the Shock.
Team identity
On 14 November 2018, Bilibili officially announced the brand of their franchise, the Hangzhou Spark. The name "Spark" symbolizes the immense speed and power electricity, as well as the "electric nature and creative spark" of the Bilibili brand. The logo is in the team's official colors of pink, white, and blue. It depicts a hand-gesture in shape of a gun with electricity emerging from it and is a reference to Mikoto Misaka from A Certain Scientific Railgun. The official colors are vibrant in nature to reflect the fast-growing nature of Hangzhou.
