The 2019 Philadelphia Fusion season is the second season of the Philadelphia Fusion's existence in the Overwatch League and their first under the 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 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 Dynasty in their final regular season match gave the Fusion a 15–13 season record and qualified them for the Play-In Tournament.
Preceding offseason
Player resignings 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
Stage 1
Philadelphia opened their season on February 14 against the London Spitfire – a rematch of the 2018 Overwatch League Grand Finals. Contrasted to the Spitfire's landslide victory from the 2018 Finals, the Fusion dominated on the second map, Hollywood, and fourth map, Rialto. Although the Spitfire took map three, Volskaya Industries, Philadelphia went on to win the match by a score of 3–1.[5] The Fusion's next match was against the Atlanta Reign three days later. After splitting the first four maps, the match entered a fifth tiebreaker map, which Philadelphia won to claim a 3–2 series win.[6]
The following week, the team took on the Florida Mayhem on February 21. With their flex support Isaac "Boombox" Charles out due to illness, two-way contract player Elijah "Elk" Gallagher took over the role. The Fusion were edged out by the Mayhem, who had a standout performance by Lee "BQB" Sang-bum on Sombra and Zarya, by a score of 1–2.[7] Two days later, the Philadelphia faced the Dallas Fuel. Still without their flex support Boombox, the Fusion were only able to take one map in the match, falling 1–3.[8]
The Fusion's next match was against the Washington Justice on February 28. With Boombox back from illness, the team returned to its original roster they played in week one. After losing the first map, Ilios, the Fusion racked off three straight map wins to take the series 3–1.[9] The following week, Philadelphia faced the Los Angeles Valiant. The Fusion took to the first two maps to enter halftime up 2–0, but subsequently, they dropped the second two as the match entered a fifth tiebreaker map, Busan, where Philadelphia eked out the victory, winning the match 3–2.[10]
Philadelphia's final match of Stage 1 was against the Paris Eternal on March 17. The Fusion split the first two maps, Busan and King's Row, to enter halftime tied. However, Philadelphia dominated in the final two maps, not allowing Paris to claim a single point in either one, to claim a 3–1 match victory. The win gave Philadelphia a 5–2 Stage 1 record and a Stage 1 Playoff berth.[11]
At the end of Stage 1, 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.[12]
The Fusion's quarterfinal match took place on March 22. Despite losing the first map, Philadelphia claimed the following three maps in a row to defeat the Reign and move on to the Stage 1 Semifinals, where they would face the San Francisco Shock.[13] The Fusion were unable to claim a point on Ilios and were full-held on Hollywood to enter halftime down 0–2. While the Fusion were able to complete Horizon Lunar Colony on their attack, the Shock did as well and took the map in overtime rounds. Philadelphia was then full-held on Rialto to cement a 0–4 loss to the Shock.[14]
Stage 2
Philadelphia began Stage 2 on April 4 with a match against the undefeated New York Excelsior. The Fusion were unable to win a map in the match and were swept 0–4 for the first time in the 2019 season.[15] Two days later, they took on the Florida Mayhem. The Mayhem won the first map, Oasis, in convincing fashion, but the Fusion turned it around, taking the next three maps and winning the match 3–1.[16]
The Fusion's first match of the following week was against the Toronto Defiant on April 11. The Fusion won on Busan but lost on Paris to enter halftime tied 1–1. Philadelphia held Toronto from completing both Blizzard World and Rialto and were able to push the payload further themselves to take both maps and win the match 3–1.[17] Two days later, the Fusion took on the Spitfire in a rematch of their first match of the season. London managed to take the first map, Lijiang Tower; on map two, Hanamura, both team completed the map to go into overtime rounds. After full-holding the Fusion, the Spitfire had a five-minute time-bank to capture one tick of progress, but Philadelphia ultimately full-held London to tie the map. The Fusion took map three to tie the series, but they were unable to complete map four, Rialto, and could not hold London on their attack to fall 1–2 in the series.[18]
The Fusion again faced the New York Excelsior on April 18. Philadelphia lost the first two maps of the match to down up 0–2 heading into halftime. On map three, Blizzard World, Philadelphia held New York from completing the map and completed it their own attack, snapping NYXL's 23-map winning streak in the process. The Fusion were full-held on the final map, Watchpoint: Gibraltar, and ultimately, lost the match 1–3.[19] A day later, the Fusion took on the Houston Outlaws. A solid performance by Jae-hyeok "Carpe" Lee throughout the match helped the Fusion take down the Outlaws and claim their first 4–0 sweep of the 2019 season.[20]
After a week off of play, Philadelphia's final match of the stage was against the San Francisco Shock on May 2. The Fusion kept the match close in the first two maps, Oasis and Hanamura, by taking a point in each map, but the Shock would win both maps to put the Fusion down 0–2 going into halftime. On King's Row, Philadelphia was unable to keep San Francisco from completing the map and was only able to cap the first point on their attack, marking the first time the Fusion lost on King's Row in the 2019 season. The final map, Junkertown, was dominated by the Shock, as they completed the map, while the Fusion failed to get past the first point and lost the series 0–4.[21] With the loss, the Fusion were eliminated from Stage 2 Playoff contention and finished the stage with a 3–4 record.
Stage 3
The Fusion's first match of Stage 3 was against the Hangzhou Spark on June 8. The team stumbled out of the gates, falling on the first map, Oasis, and failed to recover throughout the match. An inability to adapt their lineup and a flat defense led the Fusion to a 0–4 loss to begin the stage.[22]
Looking to bounce back from the loss, the team took on the Los Angeles Gladiators on June 14. Philadelphia dropped the first map, Oasis, without much resistance, and while they were able to push map two, Volskaya Industries to two overtime rounds, they would lose that map as well; a loss on Eichenwalde cemented the match loss. The Fusion took the fourth map, Dorado, and lost the match 1–3.[23] Two days later, the team faced the Boston Uprising. Despite going into halftime with a 0–1 deficit, Philadelphia took the final two maps to win the series by a 2–1 scoreline.[24]
The Fusion's only match in week three was against the Atlanta Reign on June 22. The match went the distance, as after four maps, the game was tied 2–2. Philadelphia came out on top on the fifth tiebreaker map, Ilios, and won the match 3–2.[25] Philadelphia faced the Boston Uprising on June 29 in their only match of week four. The match also went to a fifth tiebreaker map, and for the second match in a row, the Fusion were able to take the final map to claim another 3–2 victory.[26]
In the last week of the stage, the Fusion headed to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta to play at the "Atlanta Reign Homestand Weekend". Their first match at the homestand was against the Washington Justice on July 6. Both teams mirrored each other's composition throughout the match, but the Fusion came out on top with a 3–1 victory.[27] Philadelphia's final match of the stage was against the Shanghai Dragons a day later. 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.[28]
Stage 4
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.[29]
The Fusion's first match of Stage 4 was also against the Charge on July 25. After splitting the first four maps, the match went to a fifth tiebreaker map; Philadelphia was unable to secure the victory, losing the match 2–3.[30] The following day, the team took on the Chengdu Hunters. The match also went the distance, needing a fifth map to determine the winner. The Fusion were, once again, unable to take map five, falling 2–3 in the match.[31]
Philadelphia took on the Houston Outlaws in their first match of week two on August 2. Going into map four Havana, Philadelphia was up 2–1. Both teams finished the fourth map in overtime, but Philadelphia was able to complete the map in their overtime round to secure a 3–1 victory.[32] Two days later, the Fusion faced the Toronto Defiant. After three maps, Philadelphia was down 1–2, but they were able to take map four to push the map to a fifth tiebreaker map. A win on map five gave Philadelphia a 3–2 win.[33]
The Fusion faced the Paris Eternal on August 8. Philadelphia quickly took the first two maps to go up 2–0 heading into halftime, but Paris was able to strike right back, taking the following two maps to tie the series 2–2 and force the match to a fifth tiebreaker map. The Fusion were unable close out the series and lost 2–3.[34] The team's next match was against the Vancouver Titans three days later. The Fusion failed to win a map in the match, getting swept 0–4.[35]
Philadelphia's final regular season match was against the Seoul Dynasty on August 17. A solid performance by Josue "EQO" Corona on Mei enabled DPS Lee "Carpe" Jae-hyeok and the rest of the team to control the match throughout; the Fusion won the match 3–1.[36] Philadelphia finished the regular season in 10th place in the season standings with a 15–13 record to qualify for the Play-In Tournament.[37]
On May 1, Lee "Carpe" Jae-hyeok was named as a starter for the 2019 Overwatch League All-Star Game.[38] A week later Gael "Poko" Gouzerch was named as a reserve for the All-Star Game.[39]
