2018 Los Angeles Valiant season

The 2018 Los Angeles Valiant season was the first season of Los Angeles Valiant's existence in the Overwatch League. The team finished with a regular season record of 27–13 – the second best in the Overwatch League.

2018 Los Angeles Valiant season
Pacific Division champions
Head coach	Henry Coxall (rel. Feb 19) Moon Byung-chul
Owner	Noah Whinston
Results
Record	27–13 (.675)
Place	Pacific: 1st League: 2nd
Stage 1 Playoffs	Did not qualify
Stage 2 Playoffs	Did not qualify
Stage 3 Playoffs	Semifinals
Stage 4 Playoffs	Champions
Season Playoffs	Semifinals
OWL All-Stars	6 Agilities (Brady Girardi) Custa (Scott Kennedy) Fate (Koo Pan-seung) Kariv (Park Young-seo) Soon (Terence Tarlier) Space (Indy Halpern)
Total Earnings	$400,000

Los Angeles qualified for the Stage 3 and Stage 4 Playoffs. The team lost in the Stage 3 semifinals to the New York Excelsior. Los Angeles found revenge in the Stage 4 finals when the defeated the New York Excelsior. The team qualified for the Season Playoffs, but lost to the would-be champions London Spitfire in the semifinals.

Preceding offseason

Valiant revealed their inaugural season starting roster over a series of Twitter posts from October 30 to November 2, consisting of the following players:[1]

• Brady "Agilities" Girardi
• Terence "Soon" Tarlier
• Ted "silkthread" Wang
• Christopher "GrimReality" Schaefer
• Park "Kariv" Young-seo
• Stefano "Verbo" Disalvo
• Benjamin "uNKOE" Chevasson
• Indy "SPACE" Halpern
• Koo "Fate" Pan-seung
• Seb "Numlocked" Barton
• Lee "Envy" Kang-jae

Review

Los Angeles Valiant's first OWL regular season game was a 4–0 victory against the San Francisco Shock on January 10, 2018.[2] The Valiant posted an impressive 7–3 record in Stage 1, but did not qualify for the Stage 1 Playoffs.[3] On February 19, two days before the beginning of Stage 2, the Los Angeles Valiant announced the departure of head coach Henry "Cuddles" Coxall. The team announced, on the same day, the hiring of Byung Chul "Moon" Moon as the team's new head coach.[4] Stage 2 ended in a disappointing 4–6 record.[5]

The Valiant had a more successful Stage 3, as the team posted a 7–3 record – good for the 3rd seed in the Stage 3 Playoffs.[6] The team faced off against the 2nd-seeded New York Excelsior in the semifinals of the Stage 3 Playoffs, but the Valiant lost in a 0–3 sweep.[7]

Los Angeles Valiant had its best stage in the 4th stage. The team was undefeated going into the final regular season game against the Dallas Fuel. The Valiant lost that matchup by a score of 3 to 1, giving them a 9-1 record and the 2nd seed for the Stage 4 Playoffs.[8] The Valiant faced their intercity-rivals and top-seeded team, the Los Angeles Gladiators, in the semifinals, and were able to pull off a 3–2 victory to move on the finals against the New York Excelsior. On June 17, the Los Angeles Valiant claimed their first-ever stage title, defeating the Excelsior 3–1 in the Stage 4 Finals.[9]

The Valiant ended the regular season with a 27-13 record and the 2nd seed and a first-round bye in the Season Playoffs.[10] The team's was set to face the London Spitfire in the season semifinals. The first matchup was on July 18, in which the Valiant fell to the Spitfire by a score of 1–3. On July 20, the Valiant was eliminated from the Season Playoffs after getting swept 0–3 in the second semifinal match against the Spitfire.[11]

Final roster

2018 Los Angeles Valiant roster
Players	Coaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality Previous team Damage 8 Bunny  Chae Joon-hyuk  South Korea  Seoul Dynasty  Damage 9 Agilities  Giradi, Brady   Canada  Immortals  Damage 27 KSF  Frandanisa, Kyle   United States  Simplicity  Damage 99 SoOn  Tarlier, Terrence   France  Rogue  Tank 1 Fate  Ko Pan-seung  South Korea  Immortals  Tank 6 Numlocked  Barton, Sebastian   United Kingdom  NRG Esports  Support 10 Custa  Kennedy, Scott   Australia  Dallas Fuel  Support 13 Verbo  Disalvo, Stefano   United States  Immortals  Support 99 KariV  Park Young-seo  South Korea  Immortals  Flex 8 Finnsi  Jonasson, Finnbjorn   Iceland  Orgless and Hungry  Flex 16 SPACE  Halpern, Indy   United States  Cloud9 EU  Flex 22 Izayaki  Kim Min-chul  South Korea  Foxes	Head coach Moon Byung-chul Legend (C) Team captain (2W) Two-way player (I) Inactive (S) Suspended Injury/Illness Latest roster transaction: April 13, 2018.

Transactions

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

• On March 31, Valiant acquired Chae "Bunny" Jun-hyeok from Seoul Dynasty.[12]
• On April 2, Valiant released Lee "Envy" Kang-jae and Christopher "GrimReality" Schaefer.[13]
• On April 2, Valiant traded Benjamin "uNKOE" Chevasson to Dallas Fuel in exchange for Scott "Custa" Kennedy.[14]
• On April 3, Valiant transferred Ted "silkthread" Wang to Los Angeles Gladiators.[15]
• On April 4, Valiant signed Kyle "KSF" Frandanisa and Finnbjörn "Finnsi" Jónasson.[16]
• On April 13, Valiant signed Kim "Izayaki" Min-chul.[17]

Standings

Record by stage

Stage	Pld	W	L	Pct	MW	ML	MT	MD	Pos
1	10	7	3	.700	26	13	3	+13	4
2	10	4	6	.400	18	23	1	-5	8
3	10	7	3	.700	28	15	1	+13	3
4	10	9	1	.900	28	13	2	+15	2
Overall	40	27	13	.675	100	64	7	+36	2
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 (2–0) 1 December 06 Los Angeles Valiant 3 – 2 San Francisco Shock Burbank, CA 2 December 09 Los Angeles Valiant 3 – 1 Los Angeles Gladiators Burbank, CA

Regular season

2018 game log (Overall record: 27–13)
Stage 1 (7–3) 1 January 10 San Francisco Shock 0 – 4 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 2 January 12 Los Angeles Valiant 3 – 0 Dallas Fuel Burbank, CA 3 January 18 New York Excelsior 3 – 0 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 4 January 20 Los Angeles Valiant 2 – 3 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 5 January 24 Los Angeles Gladiators 2 – 3 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 6 January 27 Los Angeles Valiant 3 – 1 Florida Mayhem Burbank, CA 7 January 31 Los Angeles Valiant 4 – 0 Philadelphia Fusion Burbank, CA 8 February 03 Boston Uprising 4 – 0 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 9 February 07 Los Angeles Valiant 3 – 0 Seoul Dynasty Burbank, CA 10 February 09 Los Angeles Valiant 4 – 0 Shanghai Dragons Burbank, CA
Stage 2 (4–6) 11 February 21 Seoul Dynasty 4 – 0 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 12 February 24 Shanghai Dragons 0 – 3 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 13 February 28 Los Angeles Valiant 3 – 1 San Francisco Shock Burbank, CA 14 March 02 Dallas Fuel 1 – 3 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 15 March 07 Los Angeles Valiant 0 – 4 Los Angeles Gladiators Burbank, CA 16 March 08 Houston Outlaws 0 – 4 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 17 March 15 Florida Mayhem 3 – 1 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 18 March 16 Los Angeles Valiant 2 – 3 Boston Uprising Burbank, CA 19 March 23 Philadelphia Fusion 3 – 2 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 20 March 24 Los Angeles Valiant 0 – 4 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA
Stage 3 (7–3) 21 April 04 Los Angeles Valiant 4 – 0 Seoul Dynasty Burbank, CA 22 April 06 Los Angeles Valiant 4 – 0 Shanghai Dragons Burbank, CA 23 April 11 San Francisco Shock 0 – 4 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 24 April 13 Los Angeles Valiant 2 – 1 Dallas Fuel Burbank, CA 25 April 18 Los Angeles Gladiators 2 – 3 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 26 April 21 London Spitfire 3 – 2 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 27 April 25 Los Angeles Valiant 1 – 3 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 28 April 27 Los Angeles Valiant 3 – 1 Florida Mayhem Burbank, CA 29 May 03 Boston Uprising 3 – 2 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 30 May 05 Los Angeles Valiant 3 – 2 Philadelphia Fusion Burbank, CA
Stage 4 (9–1) 31 May 16 Seoul Dynasty 2 – 3 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 32 May 19 Shanghai Dragons 1 – 3 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 33 May 23 Florida Mayhem 1 – 3 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 34 May 25 Los Angeles Valiant 3 – 2 Boston Uprising Burbank, CA 35 May 30 Los Angeles Valiant 3 – 0 Los Angeles Gladiators Burbank, CA 36 June 02 New York Excelsior 2 – 3 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 37 June 07 Los Angeles Valiant 2 – 1 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 38 June 09 Houston Outlaws 0 – 4 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA 39 June 13 Los Angeles Valiant 3 – 1 San Francisco Shock Burbank, CA 40 June 15 Dallas Fuel 3 – 1 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA

Playoffs

2018 playoff game log
Stage 3 Playoffs (0–1) Semifinals May 06 Los Angeles Valiant 0 – 3 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA
Stage 4 Playoffs (2–0) Semifinals June 17 Los Angeles Valiant 3 – 2 Los Angeles Gladiators Burbank, CA Finals June 17 New York Excelsior 1 – 3 Los Angeles Valiant Burbank, CA
Season Playoffs (0–2) Quarterfinals   First-round bye   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

References

1. "Los Angeles Valiant unveil roster". over.gg. November 2, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
2. Carpenter, Nicole (January 10, 2018). "Hometown favorites Los Angeles Valiant win Overwatch League's first match". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
3. Mejia, Ozzie (February 10, 2019). "The London Spitfire Win the Overwatch League Stage 1 Finals". Shack News. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
4. Tahan, Chelsey (19 February 2018). "Los Angeles Valiant announces a change in their coaching staff". Overwatch Wire. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
5. Thomas, Jeremy (March 26, 2018). "Breaking Down Overwatch League Stage Two – The Good, the Bad, The Ugly". 411 Mania. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
6. Lingle, Samuel (May 5, 2018). "Boston Uprising select Los Angeles Gladiators as their stage 3 playoff foe". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
7. "New York Excelsior earns back-to-back stage titles". ESPN. May 6, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
8. Lingle, Samuel (June 16, 2018). "Dallas Fuel will play in OWL stage 4 title matches after Philadelphia Fusion fail to sweep London Spitfire". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
9. "Los Angeles Valiant beats New York Excelsior in Stage 4 final". ESPN. June 17, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
10. Mejia, Ozzie (June 16, 2018). "Here are the Final Standings for the First Overwatch League Regular Season". Shack News. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
11. Craffey, Liam (July 25, 2018). "London Spitfire punches ticket to Overwatch League finals". ESPN.
12. Brathwaite, Brandon (March 31, 2019). "LA Valiant Acquire Bunny From Seoul Dynasty". DBLTAP. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
13. Choi, Soobin; Paek, Ji-Eun (April 2, 2018). "LA Valiant releases Envy and recruits Custa - Major Roster Changes". Inven Global. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
14. Carpenter, Nicole (April 2, 2018). "Dallas Fuel and Los Angeles Valiant swap support players". Dot Esports.
15. Carpenter, Nicole (April 3, 2018). "Silkthread switches from Los Angeles' Valiant Overwatch League team to Gladiators". Dot Esports.
16. "LA Valiant Acquires Free Agents KSF and Finnsi". The Overwatch League. April 4, 2018.
17. "LA Valiant Acquires 12th Player Izayaki from NC Foxes". The Overwatch League. April 13, 2018.