2021 London Spitfire season

The 2021 London Spitfire season will be the fourth season of the London Spitfire's existence in the Overwatch League and the team's first under head coach Justin "reprize" Hand.[2]

2021 London Spitfire season
Head coach
  • Justin "reprize" Hand
    (Released 21 May)
  • Mads "fischer" Jehg
General managerYsabel "Noukky" Müller[1]
OwnerJack Etienne
RegionWest
Results
Record1–15 (.063)
Place
May MeleeDid not qualify
June JoustDid not qualify
Summer ShowdownDid not qualify
Countdown CupDid not qualify
Season PlayoffsDid not qualify
Total Earnings$0

Preceding offseason

edit

Roster changes

edit

The Spitfire entered the free agency with no free agents, although eight players became free agents beginning due to mutual agreements with the players and the Spitfire prior to free agency beginning.[3]

Acquisitions

edit

The Spitfire's first offseason acquisition was on 26 December 2020 with the signing of Jeffrey "Blasé" Tsang, a damage player and four-year veteran of the league that competed with the Houston Outlaws in the 2020 season.[4] The team promoted support player Riku "Ripa" Toivanen from their Overwatch Contenders academy team British Hurricane on 4 January.[5] The next day, the Spitfire promoted three more players from British Hurricane: support player Kristian "Kellex" Keller, tank player Hadi "Hadi" Daniel Bleinagel, and tank player Mikkel "Molf1g" Djernes.[6] The Spitfire signed two more players the following day: Dominic "Hybrid" Grove, a damage player who competed with Overwatch Contenders team Team Doge the previous season, and William "SparkR" Andersson, a damage player from British Hurricane who would not become eligible to play until June 2021 due to age restrictions.[7] London's final offseason acquisition was on 8 February with the signing of Johannes "Shax" Nielsen, a damage player and hitscan specialist who signed with the Los Angeles Valiant in the offseason but was released after the team dropped its entire roster.[8]

Departures

edit

The Spitfire released seven of its players from their contracts on 15 October, bringing validity to rumors that the team was preparing to field a roster composed entirely of Western players. The team dropped damage players Jung "Although" Hyeon-wook, Park "Babel" Sang-jun, and Lee "Schwi" Dong-jae; tank players Cho "Clestyn" Geon-hee and Kim "Jihun" Ji-hun; and support players Lee "Highly" Sung-hyuk and Jeong "Krillin" Young-hoon. Two days later, London released tank player Choi "Jmac" Dae-han,[9] London continued its roster overhaul in November, releasing tank player Shin "Bernar" Se-won and support player Lim "SanGuiNar" Gyu-min on 17 November.[10] Four days later, they released damage player Lim "Glister" Gil-seong.[11] The team's final departure of the offseason was support player Kim "Fuze" Tae-hoon, who was released on 4 January 2021.[12]

Regular season

edit

On 21 May, head coach Justin "reprize" Hand retired; in his replacement, the Spitfire promoted assistant coach Mads "fischer" Jehg to head coach.[13]

Final roster

edit
2021 London Spitfire roster
Players Coaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality
Damage 25 SparkR (2W) Andersson, William Sweden
Damage 5 Hybrid (2W) Grove, Dominic United Kingdom
Damage 66 blasé Tsang, Jeffrey United States
Damage 10 Shax Nielsen, Johannes Denmark
Tank 11 Hadi Bleinagel, Hadi Daniel Germany
Tank 2 Molf1g Djernes, Mikkel Denmark
Support 9 Kellex Keller, Kristian Denmark
Support 55 Ripa Toivanen, Riku Finland
Head coach
  • Mads "fischer" Jehg

Legend:
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • (2W) Two-way player
  •   Substitute
  •   Injury / Illness
  

Latest roster transaction: 7 February 2021.

Standings

edit
Pos Team Pld W L Pts PCT MW ML MT MD Qualification
1 Dallas Fuel 16 11 5 17 0.688 40 26 3 +14 Advance to season playoffs
2 Los Angeles Gladiators 16 11 5 14 0.688 41 21 0 +20
3 Atlanta Reign 16 11 5 13 0.688 41 21 0 +20
4 San Francisco Shock 16 12 4 12 0.750 43 24 2 +19 Advance to play-ins
5 Houston Outlaws 16 11 5 11 0.688 34 24 3 +10
6 Washington Justice 16 9 7 9 0.563 29 26 2 +3
7 Toronto Defiant 16 9 7 9 0.563 31 31 0 0
8 Paris Eternal 16 8 8 8 0.500 32 32 2 0
9 Boston Uprising 16 7 9 7 0.438 27 31 1 −4
10 Florida Mayhem 16 5 11 6 0.313 26 38 2 −12
11 London Spitfire 16 1 15 1 0.063 12 47 1 −35
12 Vancouver Titans 16 1 15 1 0.063 10 45 0 −35
Source: The Overwatch League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) winning percentage (including tournaments); 3) regular season wins; 4) regular season map differential

Game log

edit

Regular season

edit
2021 game log
May Melee
Qualifier match 1 23 April Los Angeles Gladiators 3 0 London Spitfire Online
8:30 pm GMT    Details
2 Busan 0
3 Havana 1
2 Volskaya Industries 1
Qualifier match 2 25 April Houston Outlaws 3 0 London Spitfire Online
7:00 pm GMT    Details
2 Oasis 0
2 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 1
2 Hanamura 1
Qualifier match 3 30 April Boston Uprising 3 2 London Spitfire Online
7:00 pm GMT    Details
2 Ilios 1
1 Temple of Anubis 2
3 Blizzard World 2
0 Dorado 1
2 Lijiang Tower 1
Qualifier match 4 1 May London Spitfire 1 3 Toronto Defiant Online
8:30 pm GMT    Details
1 Lijiang Tower 2
3 Volskaya Industries 2
1 King's Row 2
2 Havana 3

June Joust
Qualifier match 1 21 May London Spitfire 1 3 Florida Mayhem Online
8:30 pm GMT    Details
0 Ilios 2
5 Numbani 4
2 Rialto 3
3 Volskaya Industries 4
Qualifier match 2 23 May Atlanta Reign 3 0 London Spitfire Online
7:00 pm GMT    Details
2 Lijiang Tower 0
3 Eichenwalde 2
3 Dorado 1
Qualifier match 3 28 May London Spitfire 0 3 Dallas Fuel Online
7:00 pm GMT    Details
0 Nepal 2
1 Junkertown 3
2 Hanamura 3
Qualifier match 4 29 May Houston Outlaws 3 0 London Spitfire Online
7:00 pm GMT    Details
2 Oasis 0
3 Dorado 2
3 Temple of Anubis 2

Summer Showdown
Qualifier match 1 25 June London Spitfire 1 3 Paris Eternal Online
7:00 pm GMT    Details
2 Busan 0
0 Hollywood 1
1 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 3
1 Hanamura 2
Qualifier match 2 26 June London Spitfire 2 3 San Francisco Shock Online
7:00 pm GMT    Details
2 Oasis 1
1 Eichenwalde 3
2 Route 66 1
1 Temple of Anubis 2
1 Nepal 2
Qualifier match 3 8 July Atlanta Reign 3 0 London Spitfire Online
7:00 pm GMT    Details
2 Ilios 1
3 Volskaya Industries 2
1 King's Row 0
Qualifier match 4 9 July Washington Justice 3 0 London Spitfire Online
7:00 pm GMT    Details
2 Lijiang Tower 0
1 Temple of Anubis 0
3 Eichenwalde 2

Countdown Cup
Qualifier match 1 6 August London Spitfire 1 3 Toronto Defiant Online
7:00 pm GMT    Details
1 Ilios 2
1 Rialto 0
1 Temple of Anubis 2
2 Numbani 3
Qualifier match 2 7 August Dallas Fuel 3 1 London Spitfire Online
7:00 pm GMT    Details
2 Nepal 0
0 Route 66 3
3 Volskaya Industries 3
3 King's Row 0
2 Busan 1
Qualifier match 3 13 August London Spitfire 0 3 Paris Eternal Online
7:00 pm GMT    Details
0 Busan 2
0 Hanamura 2
0 Numbani 2
Qualifier match 4 14 August London Spitfire 3 2 Vancouver Titans Online
7:00 pm GMT    Details
2 Lijiang Tower 0
1 Temple of Anubis 2
1 Blizzard World 2
3 Rialto 2
2 Oasis 0

2021 season schedule

References

edit
  1. ^ Field Level Media (16 October 2020). "London Spitfire announce 'Noukky' as new GM". Reuters. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  2. ^ Richardson, Liz (12 November 2020). "London Spitfire adds Reprize as head coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  3. ^ "2021 Player Contract Status". Overwatch League. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  4. ^ Michael, Cale (26 December 2020). "London Spitfire signs blasé ahead of 2021 Overwatch League season". Dot Esports. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  5. ^ Field Level Media (4 January 2021). "London Spitfire add Ripa to roster". Reuters. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  6. ^ Lyons, Ben (6 January 2021). "London Spitfire sign Kellex, Hadi and Molf1g". Gamereactor UK. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  7. ^ Field Level Media (6 January 2021). "London Spitfire announce additions of Hybrid, SparkR". Reuters. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  8. ^ O'Dwyer, Samuel (8 February 2021). "London Spitfire signs former LA Valiant DPS Shax". Dot Esports. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Overwatch League free agency 2021 -- signings, rosters and schedules". ESPN. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  10. ^ London Spitfire [@Spitfire] (17 November 2020). "Another really tough day for us at the Spitfire as we announce the release of..." (Tweet). Retrieved 19 January 2021 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ London Spitfire [@Spitfire] (21 November 2020). "An incredibly tough morning for the team as we farewell..." (Tweet). Retrieved 19 January 2021 – via Twitter.
  12. ^ Lyons, Ben (5 January 2021). "London Spitfire add Ripa, part ways with Fuze". Gamereactor UK. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  13. ^ Castelot, Ophelie (21 May 2021). "Overwatch: London Spitfire Changes Head Coach". ESTNN. Retrieved 22 May 2021.