2018 London Spitfire season

The 2018 London Spitfire season was the first season of the London Spitfire's existence in the Overwatch League. The team finished with a regular season record of 24–16, which was the fifth best in the Overwatch League.

2018 London Spitfire season
Overwatch League champions
Head coach	Lee Beom-joon (rel. 7 Mar)
Owner	Jack Etienne
Results
Record	24–16 (.600)
Place	Pacific: 3rd League: 5th
Stage 1 Playoffs	Champions
Stage 2 Playoffs	Semifinals
Stage 3 Playoffs	Did not qualify
Stage 4 Playoffs	Did not qualify
Season Playoffs	Champions
OWL All-Stars	4 birdring (Kim Ji-hyeok) Bdosin (Choi Seung-tae Fury (Kim Jun-ho) Gesture (Hong Jae-hui)
Total Earnings	$1,200,000

London qualified for the Stage 1 and Stage 2 Playoffs. In the stage 1 playoffs, London defeated the Houston Outlaws in the semifinals and New York Excelsior in the finals. The team lost in the Stage 2 semifinals to the Philadelphia Fusion. The team also qualified for the Season Playoffs, in which they won in the Grand Finals against the Philadelphia Fusion.

Preceding offseason

Cloud9 was awarded the London slot for an OWL franchise on 10 August 2017 and was later named the London Spitfire.[1][2] Shortly afterwards, they disclosed their 12-player inaugural season roster, the maximum permitted, which would be entirely composed of the following South Korean players:[3]

• Kim "birdring" Ji-hyeok
• Park "Profit" Joon-yeong
• Kim "Rascal" Dong-jun
• Lee "Hooreg" Dong-eun
• Hong "Gesture" Jae-hui
• Baek "Fissure" Chan-hyung
• Choi "Bdosin" Seung-tae
• Kim "NUS" Jong-seok
• Jung "Closer" Won-sik
• Jo "HaGoPeun" Hyeon-woo
• Kim "Fury" Jun-ho
• Seong "WooHyaL" Seung-hyun

The roster would mainly be an amalgamation of their current Cloud9 KONGDOO core and OGN's Overwatch APEX Season 4 champions GC Busan.[4]

Review

Regular season

On 11 January, the Spitfire played their first regular season Overwatch League match in a 3–1 victory over the Florida Mayhem.[5][6] They would end Stage 1 of the 2018 Season with a 7–3 record, earning them the third and final spot in the Stage 1 Playoffs. The team then became the first-ever stage playoffs champions, after achieving victories over the Houston Outlaws (3–1) and the New York Excelsior (3–2) in a reverse sweep.[7]

On 7 March 2018, midway through Stage 2, the Spitfire parted ways with head coach Lee "Bishop" Beom-joon for undisclosed reasons.[8] The team finished Stage 2 with an improved 8–2 record and attained another stage playoffs berth. However, they fell short to the Philadelphia Fusion in a thrilling 2–3 semi-finals series.[9]

However, after stage 2, the Spitfire failed to make another stage playoffs, going 5–5 in stage 3 and 4–6 in stage 4. They had to bank on their earlier results to edge them over the finish line. They would end the season with a 24–16 record, good for 5th place and a spot in the postseason where they would face the Los Angeles Gladiators.

Playoffs

London lost their first postseason matchup against the Gladiators on 11 July by a score of 0–3 in the quarterfinals. The Spitfire turned it around the next two games against the Gladiators, winning in 3–0 sweeps in matches two and three and advancing the team to the semifinals.[10] London won both games against the Los Angeles Valiant in the semifinals, winning 3–0 in match one and 3–1 in match two.[11] London claimed the 2018 Overwatch League championship after defeating the Philadelphia Fusion on 27 and 28 July by scores of 3–1 and 3–0, respectively.[12][13]

Final roster

2018 London Spitfire roster
Players	Coaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality Previous team Damage 13 Profit  Park Jun-yeung  South Korea  GC Busan  Damage 20 birdring  Kim Ji-hyeok  South Korea  Cloud9 KongDoo  Tank 7 Gesture  Hong Jae-hee  South Korea  GC Busan  Support 4 Closer  Jung Won-sik  South Korea  GC Busan  Support 8 NUS  Kim Jong-seok  South Korea  Meta Athena  Support 22 Bdosin  Choi Seung-tae  South Korea  Cloud9 KongDoo  Flex 19 Fury  Kim Jun-ho  South Korea  Team Liquid	Head coach Vacant Legend (C) Team captain (2W) Two-way player (I) Inactive (S) Suspended Injury/Illness Latest roster transaction: 18 June 2018.

Transactions

Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2018 regular season:

• On 20 February, Spitfire transferred Baek "Fissure" Chan-hyung to Los Angeles Gladiators.[14]
• On 21 February, Spitfire released Kim "Rascal" Dong-jun.[15]
• On 8 March, Spitfire signed Hwang "TiZi" Jang-hyeon.[16]
• On 18 June, Spitfire released Jo "HaGoPeun" Hyeon-woo, Hwang "TiZi" Jang-hyeon, Seong "WooHyaL" Seung-hyun, and Lee "Hooreg" Dong-eun.[17]

Standings

Record by stage

Stage	Pld	W	L	Pct	MW	ML	MT	MD	Pos
1	10	7	3	.700	29	14	0	+15	3
2	10	8	2	.800	31	11	0	+20	2
3	10	5	5	.500	24	21	1	+3	6
4	10	4	6	.400	18	23	2	-5	9
Overall	40	24	16	.600	102	69	3	+33	5
Qualified for playoffs

League

2018 Overwatch League standings
#	Team	Division	W	L	PCT	P	MR	MD	STK
Division leaders
1	New York Excelsior	ATL	34	6	.850	40	126–43–4	+83	W1
2	Los Angeles Valiant	PAC	27	13	.675	40	100–64–7	+36	L1
Wild cards
3	Boston Uprising	ATL	26	14	.650	40	99–71–3	+28	W4
4	Los Angeles Gladiators	PAC	25	15	.625	40	96–72–3	+24	W5
5[lower-alpha 1]	London Spitfire	ATL	24	16	.600	40	102–69–3	+33	L1
6[lower-alpha 1]	Philadelphia Fusion	ATL	24	16	.600	40	93–80–2	+13	W1
Did not qualify for playoffs
7[lower-alpha 2]	Houston Outlaws	ATL	22	18	.550	40	94–77–2	+17	L1
8[lower-alpha 2]	Seoul Dynasty	PAC	22	18	.550	40	91–78–3	+13	L1
9	San Francisco Shock	PAC	17	23	.425	40	77–84–5	-7	W1
10	Dallas Fuel	PAC	12	28	.300	40	58–100–7	-42	W1
11	Florida Mayhem	ATL	7	33	.175	40	42–120–5	-78	L3
12	Shanghai Dragons	PAC	0	40	.000	40	21–141–2	-120	L40
Tiebreakers
London placed ahead of Philadelphia based on map differential. Houston placed ahead of Seoul based on map differential.

Game log

Preseason

2018 preseason game log
Preseason (1–1) 1 December 7 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 – 2 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 2 December 8 San Francisco Shock 0 – 4 London Spitfire Burbank, CA

Regular season

2018 game log (Overall record: 24–16)
Stage 1 (7–3) 1 January 11 London Spitfire 3 – 1 Florida Mayhem Burbank, CA 2 January 13 London Spitfire 4 – 0 Philadelphia Fusion Burbank, CA 3 January 19 London Spitfire 3 – 1 Dallas Fuel Burbank, CA 4 January 20 Los Angeles Valiant 2 – 3 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 5 January 24 San Francisco Shock 1 – 3 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 6 January 25 Boston Uprising 3 – 2 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 7 February 01 London Spitfire 4 – 0 Seoul Dynasty Burbank, CA 8 February 03 Shanghai Dragons 0 – 4 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 9 February 08 London Spitfire 1 – 3 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 10 February 10 New York Excelsior 3 – 2 London Spitfire Burbank, CA
Stage 2 (8–2) 11 February 22 Houston Outlaws 3 – 2 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 12 February 23 London Spitfire 3 – 2 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 13 March 01 Florida Mayhem 1 – 3 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 14 March 03 Philadelphia Fusion 0 – 4 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 15 March 09 London Spitfire 4 – 0 Boston Uprising Burbank, CA 16 March 10 London Spitfire 1 – 3 Los Angeles Gladiators Burbank, CA 17 March 16 London Spitfire 3 – 1 San Francisco Shock Burbank, CA 18 March 17 Seoul Dynasty 0 – 4 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 19 March 24 London Spitfire 4 – 0 Shanghai Dragons Burbank, CA 20 March 24 Dallas Fuel 1 – 3 London Spitfire Burbank, CA
Stage 3 (5–5) 21 April 05 London Spitfire 2 – 3 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 22 April 07 New York Excelsior 4 – 0 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 23 April 12 London Spitfire 3 – 0 Florida Mayhem Burbank, CA 24 April 14 London Spitfire 2 – 3 Philadelphia Fusion Burbank, CA 25 April 19 Boston Uprising 3 – 2 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 26 April 21 London Spitfire 3 – 2 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 27 April 26 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 – 2 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 28 April 28 San Francisco Shock 0 – 4 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 29 May 04 London Spitfire 3 – 2 Seoul Dynasty Burbank, CA 30 May 05 Shanghai Dragons 1 – 3 London Spitfire Burbank, CA
Stage 4 (4–6) 31 May 17 Houston Outlaws 4 – 0 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 32 May 19 London Spitfire 1 – 3 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 33 May 24 London Spitfire 3 – 2 San Francisco Shock Burbank, CA 34 May 26 Seoul Dynasty 2 – 3 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 35 May 31 London Spitfire 2 – 1 Boston Uprising Burbank, CA 36 June 02 London Spitfire 1 – 3 Dallas Fuel Burbank, CA 37 June 07 Los Angeles Valiant 2 – 1 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 38 June 09 London Spitfire 2 – 3 Los Angeles Gladiators Burbank, CA 39 June 14 Florida Mayhem 0 – 4 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 40 June 16 Philadelphia Fusion 3 – 1 London Spitfire Burbank, CA

Playoffs

2018 playoff game log
Stage 1 Playoffs (2–0) Semifinals February 10 London Spitfire 3 – 1 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA Finals February 10 London Spitfire 3 – 1 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA
Stage 2 Playoffs (0–1) Semifinals March 25 Philadelphia Fusion 3 – 2 London Spitfire Burbank, CA
Season Playoffs (6–1) Quarterfinals Match 1 July 11 London Spitfire 0 – 3 Los Angeles Gladiators Burbank, CA Quarterfinals Match 2 July 14 London Spitfire 3 – 0 Los Angeles Gladiators Burbank, CA Quarterfinals Match 3 July 14 London Spitfire 3 – 0 Los Angeles Gladiators Burbank, CA Semifinals Match 1 July 18 London Spitfire 3 – 1 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA Semifinals Match 2 July 20 London Spitfire 3 – 0 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA Grand Finals Match 1 July 27 Philadelphia Fusion 1 – 3 London Spitfire Brooklyn, NY Grand Finals Match 2 July 28 Philadelphia Fusion 0 – 3 London Spitfire Brooklyn, NY

References

1. Handrahan, Matthew (10 August 2017). "Overwatch League adds first UK franchise". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
2. Carpenter, Nicole (1 November 2017). "Cloud9's Overwatch League team is the London Spitfire". Dot Esports. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
3. Carpenter, Nicole (4 November 2017). "London Spitfire reveals its 12-man South Korean roster". Dot Esports. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
4. Nguyen, Steven (21 October 2017). "GC Busan completes Royal Road at APEX". ESPN. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
5. Craffey, Liam (15 January 2018). "Fusion, Spitfire, Excelsior snag wins on Day 2 of Overwatch League". ESPN. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
6. "London Spitfire vs. Florida Mayhem". Overwatch League. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
7. Waltzer, Noah (11 February 2018). "London Spitfire beats Houston, New York to win Overwatch League Stage 1 playoffs". ESPN. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
8. Woodward, Ben (7 March 2018). "London Spitfire Parts Ways With Bishop". Retrieved 18 March 2019.
9. Craffey, Liam (26 March 2018). "Stage 2 semifinal". ESPN. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
10. "Spitfire shuts down LA Gladiators, advances to OWL semis". ESPN. 14 July 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
11. Lingle, Samuel (20 July 2018). "London Spitfire sweep Los Angeles Valiant, will play in OWL finals". Dot Esports. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
12. Waltzer, Noah (28 July 2018). "London Spitfire wins inaugural Overwatch League title". ESPN. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
13. Bright, Ryan (28 July 2018). "London Spitfire duo master Philadelphia Fusion to claim first Overwatch League title". NBC Sports. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
14. Woodward, Ben (20 February 2018). "London Spitfire Transfer Fissure to LA Gladiators". London Spitfire.
15. Woodward, Ben (21 February 2018). "Rascal moves on to the Dallas Fuel". London Spitfire.
16. Ring, Oliver (8 March 2018). "Welcome T1zi!". London Spitfire.
17. Nomis, John (18 June 2018). "London Spitfire Release Quartet". London Spitfire.