# 2018 Philadelphia Fusion season

The 2018 Philadelphia Fusion season was the first season of the Philadelphia Fusion'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. Philadelphia had the same record as the London Spitfire, but London held the tiebreaker by map differential. Philadelphia qualified for the Stage 2 playoffs, in which they lost in the finals against the New York Excelsior. The team also qualified for the Season Playoffs, in which they lost in the Grand Finals against the London Spitfire.

## Preceding offseason

On November 3, 2017, Fusion announced their inaugural season roster, consisting of the following players:
* Lee "Carpe" Jae-hyeok
* Simon "Snillo" Ekström
* Georgii "ShaDowBurn" Gushcha
* Josue "Eqo" Corona
* Kim "SADO" Su-min
* Joona "fragi" Laine
* Alberto "Neptuno" González Molinillo
* Park "DayFly" Jeong-hwan
* Joseph "Joemeister" Gramano
* Isaac "Boombox" Charles
* Choi "Hotba" Hong-jun
* Gael "Poko" Gouzerch
Due to "player logistics issues," the Philadelphia Fusion did not participate in preseason play.

## Review
### Regular season

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 a lack of preparation time heading into the regular season, the team struggled for form in Stage 1 and would only manage to notch 6 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 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 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 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.

### Season playoffs

Philadelphia Fusion claimed the 6th seed in the Season Playoffs on June 15, after Seoul Dynasty lost to the Los Angeles Gladiators. During the Post-Season Playoffs, Philadelphia Fusion first faced the Boston Uprising. After a dominant first game they lost the second one, forcing a tie-breaker game which Fusion managed to win. After that they faced the New York Excelsior, who were heavy favorites to win the Post-Season playoffs. Fusion upset them in the first game, winning 3–0 and then narrowly winning the second game 3–2, which sent them to the grand finals. In the Grand Finals they faced another underdog; the London Spitifire. The Spitfire however showed the potential their team had and beat the Fusion in a best-of-3-game series, winning 2–0.

## Standings
### Record by stage
### League

| Pos | Div | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | PCT | MW | ML | MT | MD | Qualification |
| 1 | ATL | New York Excelsior | 40 | 34 | 6 | 0.850 | 126 | 43 | 4 | +83 | Advance to season playoffs semifinals |
| 2 | PAC | Los Angeles Valiant | 40 | 27 | 13 | 0.675 | 100 | 64 | 7 | +36 | Advance to season playoffs semifinals |
| 3 | ATL | Boston Uprising | 40 | 26 | 14 | 0.650 | 99 | 71 | 3 | +28 | Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals |
| 4 | PAC | Los Angeles Gladiators | 40 | 25 | 15 | 0.625 | 96 | 72 | 3 | +24 | Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals |
| 5 | ATL | London Spitfire | 40 | 24 | 16 | 0.600 | 102 | 69 | 3 | +33 | Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals |
| 6 | ATL | Philadelphia Fusion | 40 | 24 | 16 | 0.600 | 93 | 80 | 2 | +13 | Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals |
| 7 | ATL | Houston Outlaws | 40 | 22 | 18 | 0.550 | 94 | 77 | 2 | +17 | |
| 8 | PAC | Seoul Dynasty | 40 | 22 | 18 | 0.550 | 91 | 78 | 3 | +13 | |
| 9 | PAC | San Francisco Shock | 40 | 17 | 23 | 0.425 | 77 | 84 | 5 | −7 | |
| 10 | PAC | Dallas Fuel | 40 | 12 | 28 | 0.300 | 58 | 100 | 7 | −42 | |
| 11 | ATL | Florida Mayhem | 40 | 7 | 33 | 0.175 | 42 | 120 | 5 | −78 | |
| 12 | PAC | Shanghai Dragons | 40 | 0 | 40 | 0.000 | 21 | 141 | 2 | −120 | |

## Game log
### Regular season

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

### Playoffs

2018 playoff game log :
Stage 2 Playoffs (1–1)
Semifinals
March 25
Philadelphia Fusion
3
2
London Spitfire
Burbank, CA
Finals
March 25
Philadelphia Fusion
2
3
New York Excelsior
Burbank, CA :
Season Playoffs (4–3)
Quarterfinals Match 1
July 11
Philadelphia Fusion
3
1
Boston Uprising
Burbank, CA
Quarterfinals Match 2
July 13
Philadelphia Fusion
1
3
Boston Uprising
Burbank, CA
Quarterfinals Match 3
July 13
Philadelphia Fusion
3
1
Boston Uprising
Burbank, CA
Semifinals Match 1
July 18
Philadelphia Fusion
3
1
New York Excelsior
Burbank, CA
Semifinals Match 2
July 21
Philadelphia Fusion
3
2
New York Excelsior
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 :