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98-554: Seoul has reached the season playoffs three times, including an appearance at the inaugural season Grand Finals , where they lost to the London Spitfire . On September 20, 2017, Overwatch developer Activision Blizzard officially announced that Philadelphia Flyers owner Comcast Spectacor had acquired the rights to the Philadelphia-based Overwatch League franchise. With the purchase,

196-476: A $ 1.4 million prize pool, where the winners receive $ 1 million. 2018 season was the first in OWL history and consisted of twelve teams in two divisions. Each team played 40 matches throughout the regular season. The playoffs were contested by six team – the two teams with the best regular season record in each division and the following four teams with the best regular season record, regardless of division. At

294-571: A 0.18 rating, while a later ESPN2 re-airing of digital coverage managed a 0.05 rating. ABC's Sunday afternoon recap achieved a 0.3 rating. These ratings, when translated into household estimates, indicated the viewership numbers as 215,280 households for the Friday broadcast on ESPN, 59,800 households for the Saturday re-airing on ESPN2, and 358,800 households for Sunday's recap on ABC. However, Nielsen estimates are based on television-owning households in

392-691: A few hours of being on sale, the Grandmaster package upgrades were entirely sold out, leaving only the General Admission tickets and the Master package upgrades. The remaining tickets for the event sold-out exactly two weeks later, leaving resell tickets in excess of $ 125. On the first day of the season playoffs, Disney and Blizzard announced a multi-year partnership that would bring the league and other professional Overwatch competitive events to ESPN , Disney XD , and ABC , starting with

490-445: A global viewership of 10.8   million across the two days. This number was attained through a combination of officially partnered streaming platforms, including Twitch, ESPN, MLG, and Chinese partners ZhanQi TV, NetEase CC, and Panda TV. The Finals were also aired on South Korea's MBC network with a slight delay. Among all of these platforms, the average minute audience was reported to be 861,205 over both days. Blizzard reported that

588-521: A lack of preparation time heading into the regular season, the team struggled for form in Stage 1 and would only manage to notch six victories, missing the Stage 1 Playoffs. Using the stage-break to catch up on lost practice time and welcoming the arrival of Israeli DPS player Josue "Eqo" Corana, Stage 2 would prove to be a turning point for the team. After opening up the stage with back-to-back sweeps over

686-454: A part of the East region for the 2022 season . The team parted ways with head coach NineK and promoted Cho "J1N" Hyo-jin, who was the head coach of their Overwatch Contenders academy team T1 , to head coach. Philadelphia released their entire roster in the offseason, aside from damage player Lee "Carpe" Jae-hyeok and support player Kim "Alarm" Kyeong-bo , and signed two rookies from T1. After

784-566: A respectable 3–4 record for the stage. The Dragons found more success in Stage 2 , as they finished with a 4–3 record and qualified for their first ever stage playoffs, as well as became the first of two Chinese teams to qualify for a stage playoffs. Shanghai lost in their quarterfinals match against the San Francisco Shock , 1–3, but were able to snap the Shock's 28-map winning streak in the process. The Dragons hit their stride after

882-543: A result of the Spitfire's successful attack and capture of the point, they took the map victory, securing a 2–1 lead in the series. The fourth, and final, map of the night was the assault map Volskaya Industries . Needing a win to save the series, the Philadelphia Fusion encountered initial challenges, struggling to make significant progress on the opening point against the defense of the Spitfire. Despite

980-449: A single support composition. Boombox and Bdosin played Roadhog, while neptuNo and Nus assumed the role of Mercy. The Fusion swiftly secured Point A after Carpe's Widowmaker landed critical headshots, but they encountered some difficulties on Point B. As the payload advanced through the streets of King's Row, Profit's Junkrat served as a constant annoyance as a flanker. Additionally, Bdosin's aggressive Zenyatta play added further pressure to

1078-564: A single match in their first season in the OWL, going 0–40, giving them the record for the worst single-season record in professional sports history. The team also holds the record for the longest losing streak in professional sports history at 42 losses, passing the previous record 28-game losing streak held by the Philadelphia 76ers . Following, the Dragons overturned their roster, claimed at least one midseason tournament title in each of

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1176-651: Is an incredible foundation on which to build a successful global league, and we're looking forward to building a world-class team for Shanghai that inspires fans everywhere." On September 27, NetEase revealed the franchise name as the Shanghai Dragons and was the first OWL team to release its branding. On October 31, the Dragons revealed their Overwatch League roster, consisting of eight members. Three weeks later, on November 20, Shanghai Dragons announced their coaching staff, including head coach Chen "U4" Congshan. Shanghai Dragons' first regular season OWL match

1274-551: The 2021 season , the Fusion signed former Paris Eternal general manager Kim "NineK" Bum-hoon as their new head coach, replacing Kim "KDG" Dong-gun, who was released earlier in the offseason. Philadelphia relocated to Seoul , South Korea to compete in the league's East region; while they planned to bring their team, which was composed of many European and Middle Eastern players, to South Korea, COVID-19 variant outbreaks in these regions caused visa issues, preventing them from joining

1372-510: The All-Star break , amassing a 5–2 Stage 3 record, and qualified for the Stage 3 playoffs. The team took down the top-seeded New York Excelsior , 3–1, and the second-seeded Vancouver Titans , 4–1, in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, before defeating the third-seeded Shock, 4–3, in the finals to claim their first-ever stage championship. Prior to the start of Stage 4, the team acquired support player Kim "Izayaki" Min-chul from

1470-543: The Boston Uprising and Florida Mayhem , the team would continue to impress and go on to achieve a much improved 3rd-place finish – good enough for a stage playoffs berth. During the Stage 2 Playoffs , the team surprised many after defeating heavily favored Stage 1 champions London Spitfire in the semi-finals, however a finals match-up with the New York Excelsior would prove a juggernaut too much as

1568-434: The Boston Uprising late in the offseason, after Fearless became inactive due to unspecified health reasons. Shanghai opened the 2019 season with two consecutive losses. On February 23, 2019, Shanghai snapped their 42-game losing streak – the longest losing streak in professional sports history – by defeating the Boston Uprising , 3–1, marking the franchise's first ever win. The team picked up two more wins in Stage 1 for

1666-715: The Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). The arena has also hosted concerts, conventions and other sporting and entertainment events, including the 2013 NBA draft , the 2015 NBA All-Star Weekend , the 2016 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament , UFC 223 , and the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards . Ticket sales for

1764-533: The Houston Outlaws (3–1) and the New York Excelsior (3–2) in a reverse sweep. On March 7, midway through Stage 2 , the Spitfire parted ways with head coach Lee "Bishop" Beom-joon for undisclosed reasons. 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 2–3 semi-finals series. As

1862-532: The London Spitfire and the Philadelphia Fusion at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn , New York. London qualified for the playoffs as the fifth seed and defeated the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Gladiators and second-seeded Los Angeles Valiant in the playoffs. Philadelphia qualified for the playoffs as the sixth seed and defeated the third-seeded Boston Uprising and top-seeded New York Excelsior in

1960-675: The London Spitfire , went to an OWL record eight maps, but the Dragons fell 3–4, ending their playoff hopes. Prior to the 2020 season , the Dragons dropped most of their coaching staff, including head coach BlueHas, and signed former Los Angeles Valiant head coach Byung-Chul "Moon" Moon as their new head coach. The team also released several players, including Gamsu and tank player Jin "Youngjin" Young-jin. Shanghai added six players to their roster, picking up damage players Kim "Fleta" Byung-sun and Lee "Lip" Jae-won, tank players Kang "Void" Jun-Woo and Seo "Stand1" Ji-won, and support player Lee "Leejaegon" Jae-gon, as well as promoting Fearless back to

2058-526: The Los Angeles Valiant . Shanghai's success did not last, however; after the implementation of a 2-2-2 role lock by the league in Stage 4, the Dragons only won one of their final seven matches, finishing the regular season in 11th place with a 13–15 record. The team advanced to the play-in tournament for a chance to qualify for the season playoffs . They won their first match against the Philadelphia Fusion , 4–2. Their second match, against

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2156-609: The Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's East region. Founded in 2017, Shanghai Dragons are one of the league's twelve founding members and are one of four professional Overwatch teams based in China . The team is owned by Chinese internet technology company NetEase , who also own Team CC , an academy team for the Dragons that compete in Overwatch Contenders . The Shanghai Dragons did not win

2254-614: 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 . Prior to their 2020 season , both co-head coaches Se-hwi "NamedHwi" Go and Elliot "Hayes" Hayes announced their departures from

2352-598: The Washington Justice , 3–0, the Fusion advanced to the Grand Finals bracket. The Fusion's first match in the Grand Finals bracket was on October 8, where they were swept, 0–3, by the Shanghai Dragons . The following day, they were swept, 0–3, by the Seoul Dynasty , ending their postseason run. Fusion support player Kim "Alarm" Kyeong-bo won the league's Rookie of the Year award. In the offseason preceding

2450-546: The quarterfinals by two matches to one. The team went on to face the top-seeded New York Excelsior in the semifinals , a game the Fusion were considered heavy underdogs. Philadelphia dominated New York in the first match, winning three maps to zero, and took the second match by three maps to two. The Barclays Center in New York was selected as the 2018 OWL Grand Finals host venue on May 9, 2018. Overwatch League commissioner Nate Nanzer emphasized that two factors influenced

2548-589: The 2021 season. Despite keeping the maps close, the Dragons came out with a 3–1 victory to advance the Grand Finals . In the Grand Finals match, the Dragons swept the Reign by a score of 4–0 to win their first OWL championship. In the 2022 season, the Dragons won the East Summer Showdown tournament, the third midseason tournament of the season. On September 27, 2017, the Shanghai Dragons brand

2646-806: The Asia region May Melee finals, after going down 0–3 to start the match. The Dragons reached the finals in the following two tournament cycles, the Summer Showdown and Countdown Cup ; while they lost to the Guangzhou Charge in the Asia Summer Showdown finals, they took down the Hangzhou Spark in the Asia Countdown Cup finals to claim their second midseason tournament title of the year. The Dragons finished

2744-605: The Barclays Center on July 28, prior to the first match of the second day. The performance was streamed live exclusively on Twitch. During his performance, DJ Khaled made several attempts to engage the audience by encouraging them to sing along to his songs. However, it became evident that the crowd was not familiar with the lyrics, resulting in awkward moments of deafening silence. Despite the challenges, DJ Khaled continued with his performance, incorporating DJ medleys and additional vocals. Twitter users were quick to respond to

2842-624: The Dragons transferred Fearless to the Dallas Fuel ; team found his replacement in tank player Koo "Fate" Pan-seung, who was acquired from the Florida Mayhem . The Dragons advanced to the May Melee tournament, the first of four midseason double-elimination tournaments in the regular season, as the second-seeded Eastern team. The Dragons reached the finals of the tournament, where lost to the Dallas Fuel . The team again advanced to

2940-467: The Fusion and securing the crucial first elimination. Within seconds, the Spitfire won the map. Latest roster transaction: November 3, 2017. Latest roster transaction: June 18, 2018. Shanghai Dragons The Shanghai Dragons ( Chinese : 上海龙之队 ; pinyin : Shànghǎi Lóngzhīduì ) are a professional Overwatch esports team based in Shanghai, China . The Dragons compete in

3038-482: The Fusion from gaining a single percentage on Night Market, resulting in a decisive victory for the Spitfire. Moving on to the second sub-map, Garden, the Spitfire continued their aggressive playstyle. Although the Fusion managed to gain a foothold on the objective, While the Fusion managed to establish a foothold on the point, Carpe's exceptional Widowmaker play proved instrumental as he battled against Gesture's Winston, landing crucial headshots. Despite Carpe's efforts,

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3136-660: The Fusion qualified for the season playoffs , after defeating the Hangzhou Spark and Seoul Dynasty in the Eastern region play-in tournament . However, losses to the Los Angeles Gladiators and San Francisco Shock in their first two matches of the double-elimination tournament eliminated them from the playoffs. The Fusion announced in January 2022 that they would continue to compete in South Korea as

3234-471: The Fusion to make further progress. However, Fusion's Hotba utilized D.Va's "self-destruct" ability, eliminating Gesture, a key player from the Spitfire team, and creating an advantageous opportunity for the Fusion. They capitalized on this advantage, overpowering the Spitfire and securing a 3–0 map lead. As the London Spitfire transitioned to their attack phase, they appeared entirely undeterred by

3332-450: The Fusion were able to capture the point and secure approximately 49% control. Despite the Fusion's efforts, the Spitfire showcased resilient defense, preventing the Fusion from gaining further control, and won the round. The Philadelphia Fusion adjusted their strategy to a more balanced team composition after their initial approach failed. This change allowed Carpe to showcase his skills as Tracer . Philadelphia managed to secure control of

3430-461: The Fusion would fall short in a hard-fought 5-map match. Heading into the final match of Stage 3 on May 5, the Fusion needed a win over the Los Angeles Valiant for a shot to claim the 4th seed in the Stage 3 playoff bracket. However, the Valiant proved too much to handle, as they defeated the Fusion by a score of 3–2 and claimed the 4th seed for their own. After Dallas Fuel's upset 3–1 win over

3528-426: The Fusion, as he executed his own flanks. Despite the Spitfire's attempts to impede their push, the Fusion kept the momentum alive through the second checkpoint with 1:30 remaining on the clock. As the Fusion turned the corner, Neptuno moved in to resurrect Sado, but he was killed. Soon after, Fury used his Self Destruct to eliminate two more Fusion players. As London had no more ultimates, the Fusion were able to finish

3626-603: The Los Angeles Valiant on June 15, Philadelphia needed a 4–0 sweep over the London Spitfire in order to make the Stage 4 Playoffs . While the Fusion were victorious in that matchup, they were only able to win by a score of 3–1 and subsequently, missed the Stage 4 Playoffs. Philadelphia Fusion claimed the 6th seed in the Season Playoffs on June 15, after Seoul Dynasty lost to the Los Angeles Gladiators . Fusion defeated third-seeded Boston Uprising in

3724-585: The North American division of Overwatch Contenders . The team won all three North American championships in 2018, as well as the first North American East championship in 2019. After winning the first Atlantic Showdown, Fusion University announced that they would be moving from the North American division to compete in Korean Trials; the move was reportedly made to abide by the new region lock rules, which were implemented in 2019 Season 1, though FU

3822-610: The Overwatch League announced that the Grand Finals would be opening with a live performance from DJ Khaled . However, the decision to have DJ Khaled as the opening act received mixed reactions from the online community. A notable point of contention surrounding DJ Khaled's performance stemmed from his past remarks, which were deemed sexist in nature. In an interview, he made statements suggesting that he expects certain actions from his wife, which he himself may not reciprocate. This led to criticism and backlash from some members of

3920-424: The Philadelphia Fusion to defend against. Despite the Fusion's efforts, Poko, who started as the flex tank in place of Hotba, continued to impress with his performance. Poko executed a three-kill D.Va bomb, successfully slowing down the Spitfire's advance towards the second point. However, the London Spitfire displayed relentless determination, and their coordinated play proved overwhelming. They decisively rolled over

4018-419: The Philadelphia Fusion, securing a 3-2 map victory and establishing a 1–0 lead in the series after Map 1. The second map of the night was Lijiang Tower . On the first sub-map, Night Market, the Spitfire completely dismantled the Fusion, strategically forcing them into vulnerable positions and capitalizing on those opportunities to pick off their opponents. London executed their game plan flawlessly, preventing

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4116-438: The Spitfire executed a decisive push and successfully captured the point, thanks in part to Gesture's performance on Winston, which proved instrumental once again. Although the Philadelphia Fusion had a strong start, they faced a swift breakdown in their defense. Bdosin's Tracer, who had been a constant threat throughout the match, secured crucial eliminations for the Spitfire during their payload push, propelling them to victory. As

4214-416: The Spitfire had already amassed an overwhelming 99% control. The Fusion managed to make a bit of a resurgence, reaching 38% control, but the Spitfire pushed the Philadelphia Fusion off the point and securing a resounding 2–0 victory on Lijiang Tower. The third, and final, map of the day was hybrid map King's Row . Philadelphia commenced their attack run against the London Spitfire with both teams opting for

4312-526: The Spitfire in the Grand Finals; the Spitfire defeated the Fusion 2 games to 0. For their 2019 season , the team was led by co-head coaches Go "NamedHwi" Se-hwi and Elliot "Hayes" Hayes. 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 0–4 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

4410-701: The United States accounted for 289,175 of the average minute viewers, encompassing both the Twitch stream and the ESPN broadcast. The remaining substantial portion of the audience hailed from international markets, with the Chinese market likely playing a significant role. Chinese streaming numbers can be intricate due to challenges such as botting, which involves creating fake users to inflate viewer numbers, and differences in metrics used by various websites to calculate

4508-517: The United States and don not provide a comprehensive view of viewership patterns. Additionally, comparing Nielsen ratings to concurrent viewers on platforms like Twitch , where Overwatch League's grand finals broadcasts garnered between 150,000 and 350,000 concurrent viewers, can be challenging as households and viewers are not equivalent. According to a press release from Blizzard, the Overwatch League Grand Finals achieved

4606-418: The beginning of Dorado. The Spitfire swiftly secured control of the capture area, establishing a dominant offensive presence, led by Fury's Roadhog and Birdring's Hanzo. The Philadelphia Fusion initially appeared somewhat shaken by the Spitfire's assertive playstyle but managed to regain composure. They found success by relying on Eqo's Pharah play and Sado's performance as a tank. Through coordinated efforts,

4704-430: The bridge of Eichenwalde. Nonetheless, the Spitfire's tank line, particularly Gesture's Winston, dominated the remainder of the match and halted Philadelphia's progress along the way. The London Spitfire encountered difficulties when it was their turn to attack. For nearly three minutes, they struggled to make any significant progress against the defense of the Philadelphia Fusion. However, with about 50 seconds remaining,

4802-444: The clock, the Spitfire encountered a formidable obstacle against the Fusion's defense, led by Eqo on Hanzo and Carpe on Widowmaker. These two snipers consistently inflicted substantial damage on the attacking Spitfire, causing considerable disruption to their progress. In combination with the effective coordination of Hotba on D.Va and Sado on Winston , who provided crucial cleanup support, the Fusion managed to hold their ground and turn

4900-481: The conclusion of the regular season, both London and Philadelphia had regular season records of 24–16 and were the fifth and sixth seeds, respectively, making them the bottom two teams to qualify for the season playoffs. The teams faced each other five times throughout the 2018 season, with one of those match-ups being the Stage 2 Semifinals – a game in which Philadelphia won. Overall, Philadelphia had beaten London in three out of their five match-ups. Cloud9

4998-533: The death of Alarm in November 2021, the Fusion signed two more veterans to fill out a five-man roster. On December 30, 2022, Comcast Spectacor announced that from the 2023 season onward, the Fusion would be rebranding to the Seoul Infernal and relocating to Seoul , South Korea, where they would share facilities with T1 , who is co-owned by Comcast Spectacor. The decision to move cities and change branding

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5096-405: The decision to select the Barclays Center as the grand finals host: the venue's location in a prominent global city and its world-class status. Nanzer also acknowledged the fervent fanbase of the New York Excelsior (NYXL), stating that the support from NYXL fans played a role in selecting New York as the host city. Opened in 2012, the $ 1 billion stadium has a capacity of about 19,000 and is used by

5194-406: The finals began on May 18, 2018. Two-day general admission tickets sold for $ 60. Fans also had the option to upgrade their packages. The "Grandmaster" package, priced at $ 75, and the "Master" package, priced at $ 40, offered exclusive perks, including the chance to take photos with Overwatch League players, attend meet-and-greets with players, and receive Overwatch League merchandise, or "swag". Within

5292-656: The finals, where they faced the Fuel; this time, the Dragons defeated the Fuel, claiming their first title of the 2021 season. The Dragons went undefeated in the Summer Showdown tournament cycle, ultimately defeating the Chengdu Hunters in the finals to claim their second consecutive midseason tournament title. In the final tournament cycle of the regular season, the Countdown Cup, the Dragons went 2–2 in

5390-539: The franchise became the first professional esports team to be based in the city of Philadelphia. Dave Scott, CEO at Comcast Spectacor, said that his decision to buy into the league was based on research that showed there were over 300,000 Overwatch players in the market. "I was surprised as we started to look at this seriously a few months ago, just the number of gamers worldwide being in the hundreds of millions," he said. "It’s amazing when you really get into it — 350,000-plus Overwatch players in this market." On November 1,

5488-437: The franchise name was revealed as the Philadelphia Fusion. Shortly afterwards on November 3, their roster was revealed. Philadelphia opened their inaugural season with a 3–2 victory over the Houston Outlaws on January 11. On January 25, Philadelphia upset the undefeated New York Excelsior , which marked New York's only loss in Stage 1. During the Stage 2 playoffs , the team defeated the Stage 1 champions London Spitfire in

5586-472: The frontline to control Carpe's Widowmaker and limit his impact on the match. Despite a brief scare, the Spitfire outlasted the Fusion and secured a convincing victory, resulting in a 1–1 tie as they headed into halftime. Coming out of the half-time break and into the third map of the night, hybrid map Eichenwalde , the Fusion subbed-in tank player Gael "Poko" Gouzerch for Isaac "Boombox" Charles. Philadelphia managed to regain momentum by swiftly capturing

5684-457: The main roster, after the team had sent him down to their Overwatch Contenders academy team Team CC . Behind the resurgence of Fearless at the tank position and rookie-of-the-year-level gameplay from Lip, the Dragons were widely considered the best team in the league throughout the league's first tournament cycle of the season, the May Melee . The team took down the Seoul Dynasty , 4–3, in

5782-436: The map in overtime. It was then the London Spitfire's turn to attack, they struggled to capture the first point. With just under two minutes remaining, the Spitfire transitioned to a triple-tank, triple-support composition and captured Point A. The composition featured Reinhardt and Brigitte, which lacked mobility and resurrection capabilities, forcing the Spitfire to reset. With Gesture's Earthshatter, London managed to advance

5880-412: The map, the Fusion was shut down. With less than two minutes remaining, Profit's Hanzo, combined with Gesture's well-timed halt ability as Orisa , unleashed a Dragonstrike that eliminated four members of the Philadelphia Fusion, effectively halting their advance. On London's attack, Gesture on Orisa and Bdosin on Roadhog consistently combined their abilities to create a force that proved challenging for

5978-515: The match, 2–3. The loss dropped them to the lower bracket finals, where they were upset by the Dynasty, losing 2–3 and ending their season. Fleta won the league's regular season Most Valuable Player award, while coach Moon was named the Coach of the Year. In the offseason preceding the 2021 season , the team elected not to re-sign all five of their free agents, which included Geguri. Additionally,

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6076-521: The next three seasons, and won the 2021 Overwatch League Grand Finals after shutting out Atlanta Reign . On July 12, 2017, Overwatch developer Activision Blizzard officially announced that NetEase , a Chinese technology company, would be the team owner of a Shanghai-based Overwatch League franchise. "We're passionate about gaming at NetEase, and the Overwatch League is an opportunity we didn't want to miss," said William Ding , CEO of NetEase. "The commitment of Overwatch's players and fan community

6174-472: The next two games against the Gladiators, winning in 3–0 sweeps in matches two and three and advancing the team to the semifinals . London won both games against the Los Angeles Valiant in the semifinals, winning 3–0 in match one and 3–1 in match two. On September 20, 2017, Overwatch developer Activision Blizzard officially announced that Philadelphia Flyers owner Comcast Spectacor had acquired

6272-518: The number of viewers. The 2018 Overwatch League Grand Finals featured a lineup of entertainment performances. David Garibaldi , an artist known for his Speed painting abilities, created his own take on the Overwatch League logo. Blizzard said that one fan would have the opportunity to receive the artwork as a special memento. DJ Mick entertained the audience on Friday during breaks in the broadcast. Meanwhile, DJ Envy opened for DJ Khaled and performed during breaks on Saturday. On July 25, 2018,

6370-418: The opening act. Tatjana Vejnovic of Overwatch Wire described the performance as "the worst one [she's] ever witnessed... the performance should be categorized as a disaster." The 2018 Overwatch League Grand Finals commenced with the escort map Dorado . At the beginning of the match, the Philadelphia Fusion, who had a 70% win rate on the map, advanced a payload through the map with ease. Led by Sado, who

6468-428: The opening point. However, after the initial capture and a brief push of the payload, the London Spitfire regrouped and took advantage of Philadelphia's challenging choke point position on the map. Leveraging the map's topography, the Spitfire effectively stalled and wasted valuable time from the Fusion's clock. As the clock dwindled down to about a minute, the Fusion finally began moving the payload, progressing it towards

6566-472: The overall standings, with a 24–2 record. Advancing to the season playoffs , Philadelphia swept both the Los Angeles Gladiators and Los Angeles Valiant by scores of 3–0 in the first two rounds of the North America bracket. In the upper finals match, which took place on September 12, Philadelphia were handed their first loss of the postseason, falling to San Francisco by a score of 1–3. After sweeping

6664-447: The payload to Point B with 2:18 remaining to complete the map. The Spitfire completed King's Row with 1:10 left on the clock. Since London was the only team to finish their attack run with time remaining on the clock, they were granted another chance to attack. With only one tick needed on Point A to secure victory, the Spitfire swiftly capitalized on their advantage. London wasted no time and quickly gained control, effectively boxing out

6762-416: The payload. Key plays by their players, such as Eqo on Hanzo and Carpe on Widowmaker , allowed them to gain ground effectively. Eqo's precise arrow shots and Carpe's eliminations of enemy players supported their team's dominance. As the match transitioned to the map's interior areas, the London Spitfire's defense improved notably. Birdring 's Genji play and Fury's performance as D.Va made it harder for

6860-476: The performance, with many offering humorous takes on the situation. While DJ Khaled demonstrated professionalism by completing the entire 15-minute performance, the overall reception was mixed, with some viewers questioning whether he was the most suitable choice for the Overwatch League event. The performance sparked discussions within the Overwatch community about music preferences and the choice of DJ Khaled as

6958-415: The playoffs and throughout all of the following season. The partnership marked the time that a live esports competition had aired on ESPN in prime time and the first time that an esports competition had aired on ABC. The Nielsen ratings for the Grand Finals broadcasts on ESPN and ABC were relatively low compared to other programs that aired in similar time slots. The full Friday broadcast on ESPN received

7056-425: The playoffs. London Spitfire defeated Philadelphia Fusion in the first and second matches by scores of 3–1 and 3–0, respectively, to claim the title of Overwatch League Grand Finals Champions before a two-day attendance of 22,434 spectators. The Grand Finals are the post-season championship series of the Overwatch League (OWL), a professional international esports league; the teams of the Grand Finals compete for

7154-510: The point and gained 41% of control before the London Spitfire mounted a comeback. Led by Gesture and Bdosin, who played Zenyatta , the Spitfire took charge and successfully cleared out most of the Philadelphia damage heroes, seizing control of the point for themselves. Birdring's performance across multiple heroes was pivotal in the Spitfire's success on Oasis. His 15 eliminations to only 2 deaths showcased his effectiveness in working with

7252-503: The point, they found themselves at a loss against the Spitfire, particularly against Profit 's play as Mei . The Spitfire's solid defense prevailed, thwarting the Fusion's efforts to complete the map. On the attacking side, the Spitfire faced an equally slow start due to a formidable defensive effort from the Fusion. Unconventional in their approach, the Fusion adopted a more aggressive defensive style, led by Hotba on Roadhog, which proved highly successful in nearly fully holding London off

7350-421: The point. Despite facing a tight situation and limited time on the clock, the Spitfire secured a crucial elimination on Mercy , shifting the momentum in their favor and capturing Point A. The ensuing gameplay witnessed a tense back-and-forth exchange. However, in the closing moments, Profit swapped to Tracer and picked up five critical final blows in a span of 93 seconds, and the Spitfire captured Point B, securing

7448-458: The previous defensive collapse. The Spitfire exhibited an impressive start, and at one point, it seemed likely that they would achieve a full payload capture with four minutes left on the clock. As the payload reached its final destination inside the building at the end of Dorado, the Philadelphia Fusion seemed to awaken to the urgency of the situation. With just meters remaining for the payload to reach its final destination and nearly three minutes on

7546-512: The public. Overwatch League host Malik Forté also expressed his thoughts on the artist choice on Twitter, emphasizing the importance of mutual respect and equal treatment within relationships. Past BlizzCon events had successfully featured artists like Weird Al Yankovic and Muse , prompting some to suggest that the League could have considered alternative artists from the area who had not been involved in similar controversies. He performed live at

7644-425: The qualifiers, failing to advance to the regional knockouts for the first time in the season; Dragons' head coach Moon stated that they were "resting" their players during the tournament cycle. The team finished the regular season with 12 wins, 4 losses, 20 league points, and the top seed in the season playoffs. Lip, Void, Izayaki, and Leejaegon were all awarded Role Star commendations on the season. Shanghai selected

7742-406: The regular season atop the Asia region standings with 27–2 record, including bonus wins. Shanghai took down the New York Excelsior and Seoul Dynasty in the Asia bracket of the season playoffs , advancing them to the Grand Finals bracket. In the Grand Finals bracket, the Dragons took down the Fusion in the first round on October 8. The team faced the Shock in the upper bracket finals, but they lost

7840-427: The rights to the Philadelphia-based Overwatch League franchise; later the team name was revealed as the Philadelphia Fusion. Shortly afterwards on November 3, their roster was revealed. Philadelphia's first regular season OWL match was a 3–2 victory against the Houston Outlaws on January 11. On January 25, Philadelphia upset the undefeated New York Excelsior , which marked New York's only loss in Stage 1. With

7938-440: The season progressed, the Spitfire experienced a slight dip in form during Stages 3 and 4, resulting in a combined record of 9–11 . Despite this relative downturn, the team's performance during the first half of the season secured their berth in the season playoffs as the fifth seed. London lost their first postseason matchup against the Gladiators on July 11 by a score of 0–3 in the quarterfinals . The Spitfire turned it around

8036-541: The season with a 0–40 record and a -120 map differential. This marked the worst single-season record in professional sports history. In hopes of not reliving the 2018 season, the Shanghai Dragons released eight of 11 members of their roster in the offseason, leaving only Geguri, Lee "Fearless" Eui-seok , and Lu "Diya" Weida. Shortly after, they picked up We "BlueHaS" Seong-hwan as their new head coach. The team announced six new player signings in mid-October 2018. The team also acquired tank player Noh "Gamsu" Young-jin from

8134-428: The season with a win to the a 3–1 victory over the Florida Mayhem and continued that winning trend through their first five games, resulting in the team's best win streak of the 2018 regular season. 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

8232-517: The second academy team for the Philadelphia Fusion in May 2021; Fusion University competes in the Europe region of Contenders. 2018 Overwatch League Grand Finals The 2018 Overwatch League Grand Finals was the first championship series of the Overwatch League (OWL), which took place July 27–28, 2018. The series was the conclusion of the 2018 Overwatch League playoffs and was played between

8330-408: The semifinals, though they lost to the New York Excelsior , 3–2, in the stage finals. The team then missed both the Stage 3 and 4 playoffs. They claimed the sixth seed in the season playoffs They defeated the Boston Uprising in the quarterfinals, 2 games to 1. They then faced the three-time stage champions Excelsior, who the Fusion defeated 2 games to 0, which sent them to the Grand Finals. They faced

8428-412: The sixth-seeded San Francisco Shock as their opponent for the first round of the season playoffs; the Dragons swept the Shock, 3–0. The team next defeated the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Gladiators by a score of 3–1. Moving on to the upper bracket finals, the Dragons faced the second-seeded Dallas Fuel, marking the fifth time the two teams had played each other in a midseason or season playoff match in

8526-424: The tables on the Spitfire. Despite the Spitfire's earlier dominance, the tide shifted drastically, and the Philadelphia Fusion turned the situation in their favor. They held firm against London's efforts and repelled the attack, securing at victory from what appeared to be an impending defeat. During the second map, Oasis , the London Spitfire maintained their aggressive momentum, reminiscent of their performance at

8624-408: The team's interim head coach. The team continued to lose; after their 29th consecutive loss, the Dragons surpassed the Philadelphia 76ers ' record for the longest losing streak in professional sports history. After another loss, Dragons went through another coaching change, as head coach RUI stepped down due to health issues. Having not won a single match the entire season, the Dragons finished

8722-417: The team. As a result, the Fusion signed several new South Korean players to the team right before the start of the season. With a starting roster of veteran players, the Fusion began the season with a perfect 4–0 start in the May Melee qualifiers. However, they lost to the Shanghai Dragons in the following regional knockout, failing to advance to the interregional tournament. Plagued with ongoing visa issues,

8820-497: The team. The team found their replacement on October 25, 2019, with the hiring of former Seoul Dynasty head coach Kim "KDG" Dong-gun. Over the course of the 2020 season, the Philadelphia Fusion reached the finals of two of the three mid season tournaments: the Summer Showdown and the Countdown Cup, losing both to the Paris Eternal and San Francisco Shock , respectively. The Fusion finished the regular season in second place in

8918-422: The tough start, the Fusion found a glimmer of hope when a few careless mistakes by the Spitfire players allowed Poko on D.Va and Eqo on Zarya to execute a near team kill. This play enabled the Fusion to seize control of the opening point with approximately one minute remaining. Although the Fusion capitalized on this opportunity, they faced a different story when it came to Point B. After initially capturing half of

9016-400: The victory in the series. Escort map Junkertown was the first map of the night, and Philadelphia was the first to attack. The Fusion launched their offense with a Bastion composition, effectively shielded for a powerful push. While the London Spitfire put up a fight, the Fusion managed to advance swiftly through the first two sections of the map. However, as they entered the last third of

9114-405: Was a 1–3 loss to the San Francisco Shock . Unfortunately, this result would become a trend for the Dragons throughout the season. After an 0–10 start to the season, the Dragons signed four new players, including the Overwatch League's first female player, Kim "Geguri" Se-yeon . After four more losses, head coach U4 stepped down from his position, leaving assistant coach Son "Kong" Jun-young as

9212-480: Was awarded the London slot for an OWL franchise on August 10, 2017, and was later named the London Spitfire. Shortly afterwards, they disclosed their 12-player inaugural season roster, the maximum permitted, which would be entirely composed of South Korean players. The roster would mainly be an amalgamation of their current Cloud9 KONGDOO core and OGN 's Overwatch APEX Season 4 champions GC Busan. London started

9310-525: Was given a season-long grace period. On January 14, 2020, T1 Esports , a Korean organization jointly operated by Comcast Spectacor (the parent organization of the Fusion) and SK Telecom , replaced Fusion University as the new Philadelphia Fusion academy team. T1 compete in Contenders Korea where they have had middling results since their introduction in early 2020. Fusion University returned as

9408-561: Was met with criticism by fans who had supported the team. On January 21, 2019, Philadelphia Fusion received an official jersey sponsorship from telecommunications equipment manufacturing company ARRIS . Latest roster transaction: November 27, 2023. Rookie of the Year Role Star selections All-Star Game selections All-Star Game head coaches On January 29, 2018, the Fusion formally announced their academy team, Fusion University (FU), that would begin competition in

9506-574: Was officially unveiled. The name "dragons" was chosen as the dragon is a symbol of a sacred, powerful, and supreme spirit. The logo for the Shanghai Dragons features a stylized dragon in the shape of the letter 'S' in the team's official colors of red, yellow, white, and black. Specifically, red is a theme color for the logo, as it emphasizes the team's Chinese connection. Latest roster transaction: October 9, 2023. Season MVP Grand Finals MVP Role Stars selections All-Star Game selections All-Star Game head coaches On January 10, 2018,

9604-418: Was playing as Reinhardt , they charged forward aggressively. On the other hand, the London Spitfire appeared somewhat unsettled and unprepared. Throughout the match, several players made uncharacteristic errors. As the game progressed, however, the Spitfire gradually regained their composure and began performing more steadily. The Philadelphia Fusion capitalized on the Spitfire's overaggressive positioning around

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