Q:

in spite of everyone playing or in spite of playing

1.In spite of everyone playing well, we lost the game.
2.In spite of playing well, we lost the game.

Which is better? I prefer 2#. I think "everyone" and "we" are the same in this sentence.

A:

Your understanding of your two sentences is correct.
"Everyone" is implied in the second sentence due to "we".
Your second sentence is shorter and would probably be preferred by a native speaker.  It could be further shortened to

Despite playing well, we lost the game.

