# 2021 Los Angeles Valiant season

The 2021 Los Angeles Valiant season was the fourth season of Los Angeles Valiant's existence in the Overwatch League.

## Preceding offseason
### Roster changes

The Valiant entered free agency with three free agents, two of which became free agents due to the Valiant not exercising the option to retain the player for another year.

#### Acquisitions

The Valiant's first acquisition of the offseason was Adam "Adam" Soong, a rookie tank player coming from Overwatch Contenders Australia team Ground Zero Gaming who signed on November 19, 2020. On December 9, they signed Brady "Agilities" Girardi, a veteran damage player who had played for the Valiant in 2018 and 2019 before signing with the Toronto Defiant in 2020.
After releasing the entirety of their roster and staff in preparation for their move to China for the 2021 season, the Valiant announced their new roster on March 18, 2021. For their damage players, they signed Liao "Molanran" Yang, a "highly touted prospect" from Contenders, and Cai "Krystal" Shilong, a controversial player who had been forcibly removed from his prior two Overwatch League teams. Their tank signings consisted of Han "Sliver3" Haibo, Wen "NvM" Yelin, who had been retired for over three years, and Cheng "ShowCheng" Yu. For their support players, the Valiant signed Zhang "Highbee" Zening and Qi "Wya" Haomiao, another "highly touted prospect" at points in his career.

#### Departures

None of the Spark's three free agents returned, two of which signed with other teams, beginning with damage player Damon "Apply" Conti, who signed with Overwatch Contenders team Revival on December 9, 2020. On February 1, 2021, tank player Rick "Gig" Salazar signed with Contenders team We Want OWL. The team's final free agent damage player Caleb "McGravy" McGarvey announced his retirement in the offseason.
Outside of free agency, the Valiant's first departure was damage player Kyle "KSF" Frandanisa, who was transferred to the Houston Outlaws on December 7. On February 2, 2021, the Valiant released all of its players and staff, citing visa issues, as they prepared compete from China instead of North America for the 2021 season. Players released included damage players Brady "Agilities" Girardi, Kai "Kai" Collins, and Johannes "Shax" Nielsen; tank players Adam "Adam" Soong and Song "Dreamer" Sang-lok; and support players Mun "Lastro" Jung-won and Park "Rain" Jae-ho.

## Regular season
### May Melee

The Valiant began their 2021 season on April 17 with a loss to the Chengdu Hunters 1–3 in the May Melee qualifiers. They were swept in their following match against the Philadelphia Fusion 0–3.

## Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | Pts | PCT | MW | ML | MT | MD | Qualification |
| 1 | Shanghai Dragons | 16 | 12 | 4 | 20 | 0.750 | 38 | 19 | 2 | +19 | Advance to season playoffs |
| 2 | Chengdu Hunters | 16 | 11 | 5 | 15 | 0.688 | 38 | 22 | 2 | +16 | Advance to season playoffs |
| 3 | Seoul Dynasty | 16 | 12 | 4 | 12 | 0.750 | 40 | 22 | 0 | +18 | Advance to play-ins |
| 4 | Philadelphia Fusion | 16 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 0.625 | 37 | 24 | 3 | +13 | Advance to play-ins |
| 5 | Hangzhou Spark | 16 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 0.438 | 32 | 31 | 0 | +1 | Advance to play-ins |
| 6 | New York Excelsior | 16 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 0.438 | 29 | 32 | 0 | −3 | |
| 7 | Guangzhou Charge | 16 | 5 | 11 | 5 | 0.313 | 20 | 38 | 4 | −18 | |
| 8 | Los Angeles Valiant | 16 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0.000 | 2 | 48 | 1 | −46 | |

## Game log
### Regular season

2021 game log :
May Melee
Qualifier match 1
April 17
Los Angeles Valiant
1
3
Chengdu Hunters
Online
3:30 am PDT
   Details
0
Lijiang Tower
2
3
King's Row
2
0
Havana
3
1
Volskaya Industries
2
Qualifier match 2
April 18
Philadelphia Fusion
3
0
Los Angeles Valiant
Online
5:00 am PDT
   Details
2
Busan
1
3
Eichenwalde
2
3
Watchpoint: Gibraltar
2
Qualifier match 3
April 30
Los Angeles Valiant
0
3
Guangzhou Charge
Online
2:00 am PDT
   Details
1
Ilios
2
0
Hanamura
1
1
Eichenwalde
2
Qualifier match 4
May 01
Seoul Dynasty
3
0
Los Angeles Valiant
Online
2:00 am PDT
   Details
2
Nepal
0
2
Temple of Anubis
1
3
Blizzard World
1 :
June Joust
Qualifier match 1
May 29
Shanghai Dragons
3
0
Los Angeles Valiant
Online
2:00 am PDT
   Details
2
Busan
0
3
Rialto
1
1
Volskaya Industries
1
1
Numbani
0
Qualifier match 2
May 30
New York Excelsior
3
0
Los Angeles Valiant
Online
2:00 am PDT
   Details
2
Ilios
0
1
Dorado
0
1
Temple of Anubis
0
Qualifier match 3
June 04
Los Angeles Valiant
0
3
Hangzhou Spark
Hangzhou, CN
5:00 am PDT
   Details
Future Sci-Tech City
Hosted by Hangzhou Spark
0
Oasis
2
0
Hanamura
2
1
Hollywood
2
Qualifier match 4
June 05
Los Angeles Valiant
1
3
Philadelphia Fusion
Hangzhou, CN
2:00 am PDT
   Details
Future Sci-Tech City
Hosted by Hangzhou Spark
0
Nepal
2
1
Volskaya Industries
2
1
Numbani
0
1
Rialto
2 :
Summer Showdown
Qualifier match 1
June 26
Hangzhou Spark
3
0
Los Angeles Valiant
Online
2:00 am PDT
   Details
2
Lijiang Tower
1
2
Eichenwalde
1
1
Route 66
0
Qualifier match 2
June 27
New York Excelsior
3
0
Los Angeles Valiant
Online
5:00 am PDT
   Details
2
Ilios
0
3
Hollywood
0
3
Watchpoint: Gibraltar
1
Qualifier match 3
July 09
Los Angeles Valiant
0
3
Shanghai Dragons
Shanghai, CN
5:00 am PDT
   Details
Jing'An Sports Center
Hosted by Shanghai Dragons
1
Nepal
2
0
Volskaya Industries
1
2
King's Row
3
Qualifier match 4
July 10
Los Angeles Valiant
0
3
Chengdu Hunters
Shanghai, CN
3:30 am PDT
   Details
Jing'An Sports Center
Hosted by Shanghai Dragons
0
Oasis
2
1
Temple of Anubis
2
0
Eichenwalde
1 :
Countdown Cup
Qualifier match 1
July 31
New York Excelsior
3
0
Los Angeles Valiant
Online
3:30 am PDT
   Details
2
Oasis
1
3
Blizzard World
2
3
Rialto
1
Qualifier match 2
August 01
Seoul Dynasty
3
0
Los Angeles Valiant
Online
2:00 am PDT
   Details
2
Ilios
0
1
Numbani
0
3
Havana
2
Qualifier match 3
August 13
Los Angeles Valiant
0
3
Guangzhou Charge
Online
3:30 am PDT
   Details
1
Nepal
2
1
Hanamura
2
1
King's Row
2
Qualifier match 4
August 14
Los Angeles Valiant
0
3
Chengdu Hunters
Online
3:30 am PDT
   Details
0
Lijiang Tower
2
1
Volskaya Industries
2
0
Numbani
3 :
2021 season schedule :