2019 Philadelphia Fusion season | |
---|---|
Head coach | Go Se-hwi Elliot Hayes |
General manager | Yann Luu |
Owner | Comcast Spectacor |
Division | Atlantic |
Results | |
Record | 15–13 (.536) |
Place | |
Stage 1 Playoffs | Semifinals |
Stage 2 Playoffs | Did not qualify |
Stage 3 Playoffs | Did not qualify |
Season Playoffs | Did not qualify |
Total Earnings | $50,000 |
The 2019 Philadelphia Fusion season was the second season of the Philadelphia Fusion's existence in the Overwatch League and their first under co-head coaches Go Se-hwi and Elliot Hayes. They entered the season looking to bounce back after their 2018 Grand Finals loss to the London Spitfire.
The Fusion had a solid Stage 1 performance, finishing the stage with a 5–2 record and making it to the Stage 1 Playoffs, but they lost in the semifinals to the San Francisco Shock. After posting 3–4 and 4–3 records for Stage 2 and Stage 3, respectively, Philadelphia failed to qualify any other stage playoffs. A 3–1 victory over the Seoul Dynasty in their final regular season match gave the Fusion a 15–13 season record and qualified them for the Play-In Tournament. Philadelphia fell 2–4 to the Shanghai Dragons in the first round of the tournament, ending their hope of qualifying for the season playoffs.
Preceding offseason
Player re-signings and free agency
From August 1 to September 9, 2018, all Overwatch League teams that competed in the 2018 season could choose to extend their team's players' contracts. Fusion elected to release Georgii "ShaDowBurn" Gushcha, Park "DayFly" Jeong-hwan, and Joseph "Joemeister" Gramano.[1]
All non-expansion teams could not enter the free agency period until October 8, 2018; they were able to sign members from their respective academy team and make trades until then. On September 25, Fusion promoted support player Elijah "Elk" Gallagher from Fusion University on a two-way contract.[2] On October 17, Fusion transferred Choi "Hotba" Hong-jun to the new expansion team Guangzhou Charge.[3]
Head coach change
In January, the Fusion announced that head coach Yann Luu would be acting as the organization's Director of Overwatch Operations. In his replacement, assistant coaches Elliot Hayes and Se-Hwi Go were promoted to co-head coaches.[4]
Regular season
Philadelphia opened their season on February 14 against the London Spitfire – a rematch of the 2018 Overwatch League Grand Finals. Philadelphia went on to win the match by a score of 3–1.[5] The team finished with a 5–2 Stage 1 record and a Stage 1 Playoff berth.[6] At the end of Stage 1, the Fusion was tied with the Toronto Defiant for the third seed of the playoffs. By rule, the teams would have to compete in an offline match to determine seeding; however, both teams agreed on a coin-flip, instead. Philadelphia received the fourth seed and would take on the Atlanta Reign in the quarterfinals.[7] The Fusion's quarterfinal match took place on March 22 against the Atlanta Reign; the Fusion won the match, 3–1, advancing them to the Stage 1 semifinals.[8] In the semifinals, Philadelphia was swept, 0–4, by the San Francisco Shock.[9]
In Stage 2, on April 19, the Fusion defeated the Houston Outlaws, 4–0, marking their first 4–0 sweep of the 2019 season.[10] The team finished the stage with a 3–4 record and did not qualify for the Stage 2 Playoffs.
In the last week of Stage 3, the Fusion headed to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta to play at the "Atlanta Reign Homestand Weekend"; Philadelphia's final match of the stage was against the Shanghai Dragons. With both teams holding a 4–2 record in Stage 3, the winner of the match would qualify for the final spot in the Stage 3 Playoffs. The Fusion were unable to pull out the win, however, and fell in the match by a score of 1–3.[11]
Prior to the start of Stage 4, which would include the implementation of an enforced 2-2-2 role lock by the League, the Fusion traded main tank Joona "Fragi" Laine to the Guangzhou Charge in exchange for DPS Finley "Kyb" Adisi.[12] Philadelphia finished the regular season in 10th place in the season standings with a 15–13 record and qualified for the Play-In Tournament.[13]
Postseason
Finishing in tenth place in the regular season standings, the Dragons qualified for the Play-In Tournament for the chance to qualify for the season playoffs. The team took on the eleventh-seeded Shanghai Dragons in the first round on August 30. The Dragon jumped out to an early 2–0 lead after winning on Busan and King's Row, but after the match break, Philadelphia forced a tie on Temple of Anubis and won on Watchpoint: Gibraltar. Shanghai recovered and took a win on Lijiang Tower, but the Fusion struck back with a win on King's Row. The Fusion selected Dorado for what would be the final map of the series; both teams completed the map on their respective attacks, but the Dragons managed to grab the map win in overtime rounds. The 2–4 loss eliminated the Fusion from playoff contention.[14]
Final roster
2019 Philadelphia Fusion roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Legend:
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Latest roster transaction: July 17, 2019. |
Transactions
Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2019 regular season:
- On July 17, Fusion traded Joona "Fragi" Laine to Guangzhou Charge in exchange for Finley "Kyb" Adisi.[12]
Standings
Record by stage
Stage | Pld | W | L | Pct | MW | ML | MT | MD | Pos |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 7 | 5 | 2 | .714 | 17 | 12 | 1 | +5 | 3 |
2 | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | 12 | 15 | 1 | -3 | 11 |
3 | 7 | 4 | 3 | .571 | 13 | 16 | 1 | -3 | 11 |
4[lower-alpha 1] | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | 15 | 17 | 0 | -2 | 12 |
Overall | 28 | 15 | 13 | .536 | 57 | 60 | 3 | -3 | 10 |
Qualified for playoffs • Qualified for play-in tournament |
- ↑ No stage playoffs were held for Stage 4.
League
Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | MW | ML | MT | MD | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | PAC | Vancouver Titans | 28 | 25 | 3 | 0.893 | 89 | 28 | 0 | +61 | Advance to season playoffs (division leaders) |
2 | ATL | New York Excelsior | 28 | 22 | 6 | 0.786 | 78 | 38 | 3 | +40 | |
3 | PAC | San Francisco Shock | 28 | 23 | 5 | 0.821 | 92 | 26 | 0 | +66 | Advance to season playoffs |
4 | PAC | Hangzhou Spark | 28 | 18 | 10 | 0.643 | 64 | 52 | 4 | +12 | |
5 | PAC | Los Angeles Gladiators | 28 | 17 | 11 | 0.607 | 67 | 48 | 3 | +19 | |
6 | ATL | Atlanta Reign | 28 | 16 | 12 | 0.571 | 69 | 50 | 1 | +19 | |
7 | ATL | London Spitfire | 28 | 16 | 12 | 0.571 | 58 | 52 | 6 | +6 | Advance to play-ins |
8 | PAC | Seoul Dynasty | 28 | 15 | 13 | 0.536 | 64 | 50 | 3 | +14 | |
9 | PAC | Guangzhou Charge | 28 | 15 | 13 | 0.536 | 61 | 57 | 1 | +4 | |
10 | ATL | Philadelphia Fusion | 28 | 15 | 13 | 0.536 | 57 | 60 | 3 | −3 | |
11 | PAC | Shanghai Dragons | 28 | 13 | 15 | 0.464 | 51 | 61 | 3 | −10 | |
12 | PAC | Chengdu Hunters | 28 | 13 | 15 | 0.464 | 55 | 66 | 1 | −11 | |
13 | PAC | Los Angeles Valiant | 28 | 12 | 16 | 0.429 | 56 | 61 | 4 | −5 | |
14 | ATL | Paris Eternal | 28 | 11 | 17 | 0.393 | 46 | 67 | 3 | −21 | |
15 | PAC | Dallas Fuel | 28 | 10 | 18 | 0.357 | 43 | 70 | 3 | −27 | |
16 | ATL | Houston Outlaws | 28 | 9 | 19 | 0.321 | 47 | 69 | 3 | −22 | |
17 | ATL | Toronto Defiant | 28 | 8 | 20 | 0.286 | 39 | 72 | 4 | −33 | |
18 | ATL | Washington Justice | 28 | 8 | 20 | 0.286 | 39 | 72 | 6 | −33 | |
19 | ATL | Boston Uprising | 28 | 8 | 20 | 0.286 | 41 | 78 | 2 | −37 | |
20 | ATL | Florida Mayhem | 28 | 6 | 22 | 0.214 | 36 | 75 | 5 | −39 |
Rules for classification: 1) winning percentage; 2) map differential; 3) head-to-head record; 4) head-to-head map differential
Game log
Regular season
2019 game log (Regular season record: 15–13) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Stage 1 (5–2)
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Stage 1 Playoffs
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Stage 2 (3–4)
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Stage 3 (4–3)
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Stage 4 (3–4)
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Playoffs
2019 playoff game log | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Play-In Tournament (0–1)
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Awards
On May 1, Lee "Carpe" Jae-hyeok was named as a starter for the 2019 Overwatch League All-Star Game.[15] A week later Gael "Poko" Gouzerch was named as a reserve for the All-Star Game.[16]
References
- ↑ Hangen, Christopher (September 14, 2019). "ESPN Stats & Info: OWL signing window analysis". ESPN. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
- ↑ Torres, Xander (September 25, 2018). "Philadelphia Fusion Add Elk". VPE Esports. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
- ↑ Rodriguez, Veronika (October 17, 2018). "Philadelphia Fusion Trades HOTBA to Guangzhou Overwatch League Team". DBLTAP. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
- ↑ Shepard, Kate (January 15, 2019). "Overwatch: Fusion Staff's New Roles". The Game Haus. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ↑ Richardson, Liz (February 24, 2019). "Philadelphia Fusion take down London Spitfire in Overwatch League grand finals rematch". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
- ↑ Linscott, Gillian (March 19, 2019). "Overwatch League Week 5 Recap: The Expected and Unexpected". Hotspawn. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
- ↑ Richardson, Liz (March 19, 2019). "SF Shock defeat Seoul Dynasty, Toronto Defiant win coin toss to finalize Overwatch League playoff bracket". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
- ↑ Fossett, Wyatt (March 22, 2019). "All Shock, No Surprises in Day 2 of the OWL Stage 1 Playoffs". Twin Galaxies. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
- ↑ Richardson, Liz (March 23, 2019). "Vancouver Titans and San Francisco Shock advance to Overwatch League stage one finals". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
- ↑ Czar, Michael (April 20, 2019). "Overwatch League Recap: Philadelphia Fusion sweep Houston Outlaws". Daily Esports. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ↑ Geracie, Nick (July 7, 2019). "Shanghai Dragons qualifies for Overwatch League Stage 3 Playoffs". Inven Global. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- 1 2 "Guangzhou Charge officially add Bischu, Fragi". ESPN. Reuters. July 17, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
- ↑ Howard, Brandon (August 30, 2019). "Overwatch League 2019 Play-Ins Preview". TheGamer. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ↑ "Charge, Dragons advance in OWL play-in tourney". ESPN. Reuters. August 31, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
- ↑ Richardson, Liz (May 1, 2019). "Here are the starting lineups for the Overwatch League All-Star Game". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
- ↑ Chillerón, Lucas (May 8, 2019). "OWL All-Star event lineup finally complete with reserve players announced". Daily Esports. Retrieved June 12, 2019.