# 2019 Philadelphia Fusion season

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.
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. On October 17, Fusion transferred Choi "Hotba" Hong-jun to the new expansion team Guangzhou Charge.

### 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.

## 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. The team finished with a 5–2 Stage 1 record and a Stage 1 Playoff berth. 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. 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. In the semifinals, Philadelphia was swept, 0–4, by the San Francisco Shock.
In Stage 2, on April 19, the Fusion defeated the Houston Outlaws, 4–0, marking their first 4–0 sweep of the 2019 season. 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.
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. Philadelphia finished the regular season in 10th place in the season standings with a 15–13 record and qualified for the Play-In Tournament.

## 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.

## Final roster
### 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.

## Standings
### Record by stage

* ↑ No stage playoffs were held for Stage 4.

### League

| Pos | Div | Teamvte | 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 | Advance to season playoffs (division leaders) |
| 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 | Advance to season playoffs |
| 5 | PAC | Los Angeles Gladiators | 28 | 17 | 11 | 0.607 | 67 | 48 | 3 | +19 | Advance to season playoffs |
| 6 | ATL | Atlanta Reign | 28 | 16 | 12 | 0.571 | 69 | 50 | 1 | +19 | Advance to season playoffs |
| 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 | Advance to play-ins |
| 9 | PAC | Guangzhou Charge | 28 | 15 | 13 | 0.536 | 61 | 57 | 1 | +4 | Advance to play-ins |
| 10 | ATL | Philadelphia Fusion | 28 | 15 | 13 | 0.536 | 57 | 60 | 3 | −3 | Advance to play-ins |
| 11 | PAC | Shanghai Dragons | 28 | 13 | 15 | 0.464 | 51 | 61 | 3 | −10 | Advance to play-ins |
| 12 | PAC | Chengdu Hunters | 28 | 13 | 15 | 0.464 | 55 | 66 | 1 | −11 | Advance to play-ins |
| 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 | |

## Game log
### Regular season

2019 game log (Regular season record: 15–13) :
Stage 1 (5–2)
1
February 14
Philadelphia Fusion
3
1
London Spitfire
Burbank, CA
   Recap
Blizzard Arena
2
Ilios
1
3
Hollywood
2
4
Volskaya Industries
5
1
Rialto
0
2
February 17
Philadelphia Fusion
3
2
Atlanta Reign
Burbank, CA
   Recap
Blizzard Arena
1
Nepal
2
2
King's Row
1
4
Volskaya Industries
5
2
Dorado
1
2
Ilios
1
3
February 21
Philadelphia Fusion
1
2
Florida Mayhem
Burbank, CA
   Recap
Blizzard Arena
0
Nepal
2
4
Numbani
3
4
Temple of Anubis
4
0
Route 66
1
4
February 23
Philadelphia Fusion
1
3
Dallas Fuel
Burbank, CA
   Recap
Blizzard Arena
0
Busan
2
1
Numbani
3
4
Horizon Lunar Colony
3
2
Dorado
3
5
February 28
Washington Justice
1
3
Philadelphia Fusion
Burbank, CA
   Recap
Blizzard Arena
2
Ilios
1
1
Hollywood
2
3
Temple of Anubis
4
1
Route 66
3
6
March 07
Los Angeles Valiant
2
3
Philadelphia Fusion
Burbank, CA
   Recap
Blizzard Arena
0
Nepal
2
2
Numbani
3
2
Temple of Anubis
1
3
Route 66
0
1
Busan
2
7
March 17
Philadelphia Fusion
3
1
Paris Eternal
Burbank, CA
   Recap
Blizzard Arena
1
Busan
2
3
King's Row
2
1
Horizon Lunar Colony
0
3
Rialto
0 :
Stage 1 Playoffs
Quarterfinals
March 22
Atlanta Reign
1
3
Philadelphia Fusion
Burbank, CA
6:00 pm PST
   Recap
Blizzard Arena
2
Ilios
1
1
King's Row
2
3
Volskaya Industries
4
1
Route 66
2
Semifinals
March 23
San Francisco Shock
4
0
Philadelphia Fusion
Burbank, CA
3:00 pm PST
   Recap
Blizzard Arena
2
Ilios
0
3
Hollywood
0
4
Horizon Lunar Colony
2
3
Rialto
0 :
Stage 2 (3–4)
8
April 04
Philadelphia Fusion
0
4
New York Excelsior
Burbank, CA
4:00 pm PST
   Recap
Blizzard Arena
0
Lijang Tower
2
1
Paris
2
2
Eichenwalde
3
1
Rialto
3
9
April 06
Florida Mayhem
1
3
Philadelphia Fusion
Burbank, CA
12:00 noon PST
   Recap
Blizzard Arena
2
Oasis
0
2
Temple of Anubis
3
3
King's Row
4
4
Junkertown
5
10
April 11
Toronto Defiant
1
3
Philadelphia Fusion
Burbank, CA
8:30 pm PST
   Details
Blizzard Arena
0
Busan
2
4
Paris
3
2
Blizzard World
3
2
Watchpoint: Gibraltar
3
11
April 13
London Spitfire
2
1
Philadelphia Fusion
Burbank, CA
12:00 noon PST
   Recap
Blizzard Arena
2
Lijiang Tower
1
2
Hanamura
2
3
Blizzard World
4
3
Rialto
2
12
April 18
New York Excelsior
3
1
Philadelphia Fusion
Burbank, CA
4:00 pm PST
   Recap
Blizzard Arena
2
Busan
0
3
Temple of Anubis
2
2
Blizzard World
3
1
Watchpoint: Gibraltar
0
13
April 19
Philadelphia Fusion
4
0
Houston Outlaws
Burbank, CA
5:30 pm PST
   Recap
Blizzard Arena
2
Busan
1
3
Temple of Anubis
2
2
Eichenwalde
0
3
Watchpoint: Gibraltar
0
14
May 02
Philadelphia Fusion
0
4
San Francisco Shock
Burbank, CA
7:00 pm PST
   Details
Blizzard Arena
1
Oasis
2
1
Hanamura
2
1
King's Row
3
0
Junkertown
3 :
Stage 3 (4–3)
15
June 08
Hangzhou Spark
4
0
Philadelphia Fusion
Burbank, CA
12:00 noon PST
   Details
Blizzard Arena
2
Oasis
0
2
Paris
1
3
Eichenwalde
0
3
Watchpoint: Gibraltar
2
16
June 14
Los Angeles Gladiators
3
1
Philadelphia Fusion
Burbank, CA
9:15 pm PST
   Details
Blizzard Arena
2
Oasis
0
6
Volskaya Industries
5
2
Eichenwalde
1
1
Dorado
2
17
June 16
Philadelphia Fusion
2
1
Boston Uprising
Burbank, CA
3:30 pm PST
   Details
Blizzard Arena
0
Ilios
2
4
Paris
4
1
Hollywood
0
1
Watchpoint: Gibraltar
0
18
June 22
Atlanta Reign
2
3
Philadelphia Fusion
Burbank, CA
1:45 pm PST
   Details
Blizzard Arena
2
Nepal
1
1
Horizon Lunar Colony
2
0
Numbani
2
2
Havana
1
0
Ilios
2
19
June 29
Boston Uprising
2
3
Philadelphia Fusion
Burbank, CA
1:45 pm PST
   Details
Blizzard Arena
0
Nepal
2
2
Horizon Lunar Colony
1
0
Numbani
1
2
Havana
1
1
Ilios
2
20
July 06
Philadelphia Fusion
3
1
Washington Justice
Atlanta, GA
10:15 am PST
   Details
Cobb Energy Center
1
Ilios
2
3
Horizon Lunar Colony
2
3
Hollywood
1
3
Watchpoint: Gibraltar
2
21
July 07
Philadelphia Fusion
1
3
Shanghai Dragons
Atlanta, GA
9:00 am PST
   Details
Cobb Energy Center
1
Ilios
2
3
Volskaya Industries
4
4
Hollywood
3
0
Dorado
2 :
Stage 4 (3–4)
22
July 25
Guangzhou Charge
3
2
Philadelphia Fusion
Burbank, CA
7:10 pm PST
   Details
Blizzard Arena
0
Busan
2
2
Volskaya Industries
1
4
King's Row
3
3
Junkertown
4
2
Ilios
0
23
July 26
Philadelphia Fusion
2
3
Chengdu Hunters
Burbank, CA
9:15 pm PST
   Details
Blizzard Arena
0
Busan
2
3
Hanamura
2
2
Blizzard World
3
2
Junkertown
1
1
Ilios
2
24
August 02
Houston Outlaws
1
3
Philadelphia Fusion
Burbank, CA
5:45 pm PST
   Details
Blizzard Arena
0
Ilios
2
2
Temple of Anubis
1
1
Hollywood
2
3
Havana
6
25
August 04
Philadelphia Fusion
3
2
Toronto Defiant
Burbank, CA
1:45 pm PST
   Details
Blizzard Arena
2
Lijiang Tower
0
0
Volskaya Industries
1
0
King's Row
1
3
Havana
2
2
Busan
0
26
August 08
Paris Eternal
3
2
Philadelphia Fusion
Burbank, CA
5:45 pm PST
   Details
Blizzard Arena
1
Ilios
2
1
Temple of Anubis
2
2
Hollywood
1
3
Route 66
2
2
Lijiang Towe
1
27
August 11
Philadelphia Fusion
0
4
Vancouver Titans
Burbank, CA
12:00 noon PST
   Details
Blizzard Arena
1
Busan
2
2
Hanamura
3
1
Blizzard World
3
0
Route 66
3
28
August 17
Seoul Dynasty
1
3
Philadelphia Fusion
Burbank, CA
3:30 pm PST
   Details
Blizzard Arena
1
Lijiang Tower
2
1
Volskaya Industries
0
2
Blizzard World
3
1
Havana
2 :

### Playoffs

2019 playoff game log :
Play-In Tournament (0–1)
Quarterfinals
August 30
Shanghai Dragons
4
2
Philadelphia Fusion
Burbank, CA
9:00 pm PST
   Details
Blizzard Arena
2
Busan
1
5
King's Row
4
3
Temple of Anubis
3
3
Watchpoint: Gibraltar
4
2
Lijiang Tower
1
1
King's Row
3
5
Dorado
4 :

## Awards

On May 1, Lee "Carpe" Jae-hyeok was named as a starter for the 2019 Overwatch League All-Star Game. A week later Gael "Poko" Gouzerch was named as a reserve for the All-Star Game.