British Hurricane was a British esports team for the video game Overwatch competing in Overwatch Contenders (OWC) and an academy team for the London Spitfire of the Overwatch League (OWL). The team was based in London, United Kingdom and played in the Europe region of OWC. Since inception, Hurricane won two regional and one interregional championships. In December 2021, the team announced that they would not be competing in future Contenders seasons.
 | |
| Founded | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Disbanded | 2021 |
| League | Overwatch Contenders |
| Division | Atlantic |
| Region | Europe |
| Team history | British Hurricane 2018–present |
| Based in | London, United Kingdom |
| Colours | Dark blue, light blue, white |
| Owner | Jack Etienne |
| General manager | Ysabel "Noukky" Müller |
| Affiliation(s) | London Spitfire |
| Regional titles |
|
| Interregional titles |
|
Franchise history
editOn 15 February 2018, the London Spitfire formally announced that their academy team for Overwatch Contenders Europe would be called the British Hurricane and revealed their all-European 2018 Season 1 squad.[1] Cloud9 owner Jack Etienne worked with Code Red Esports owner Paul "ReDeYe" Chaloner and popular Overwatch YouTuber Tom "Stylosa" Stewart on helping them target the British demographic for their roster.[2]
In their first season, the Hurricane took home the 2018 Season 1 European championship after defeating Team Gigantti 4–3 in the European Overwatch Contenders Grand Finals. Following, the team defeated North America Contenders Champions Fusion University in the 2018 Atlantic Showdown by a score of 3–1.[3] Hurricane struggled in 2018 Season 2 – only amassing one win – and was dropped down to Contenders Trials for Season 3, where they finished atop the rankings and joined Contenders 2018 Season 3.[4] They were able to qualify for the Season 3 playoffs but fell to Team Gigantti in the quarterfinals.[5]
British Hurricane had a dominant performance in 2019 Season 1, as the team went a perfect 7–0 in the European region, and made it to the Europe Grand Finals for the second time in two years.[6] However, they fell to the German-based team Angry Titans in the finals by a score of 1–4.[7] Due to their performance in Season 1, the team qualified for the 2019 Atlantic Showdown – a double-elimination interregional tournament. After defeating Lowkey Esports in Round 1 and losing to Team Envy in the bottom-half bracket, the team was eliminated by ATL Academy by a score of 0–3, placing 5th in the tournament.[8]
On 17 December 2021, Cloud9 announced that British Hurricane would cease operations at the end of 2021.[9]
Seasons overview
edit| Year | Season | Region | OWC regular season | Regional playoffs | Interregional events | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish[a] | Wins | Losses | Win % | ||||||
| British Hurricane | |||||||||
| 2018 | 1 | Europe | 1st | 4 | 1 | .800 | Winners | Atlantic Showdown – Winners | |
| 2 | Europe | 5th | 1 | 4 | .200 | None held | |||
| 3 | Europe | 3rd | 3 | 2 | .600 | Quarterfinals | |||
| 2019 | 1 | Europe | 1st | 7 | 0 | 1.000 | Runners-up | Atlantic Showdown – Lower Round 1 | |
| 2 | Europe | 4th | 3 | 4 | .429 | Semifinals | Did not qualify | ||
| 2020 | 1 | Europe | 1st | 12 | 0 | 1.000 | Winners | None held | |
| Regular season record | 30 | 11 | .732 | ||||||
| Playoff record | 9 | 3 | .750 | ||||||
- ^ Placements prior to 2019 reflect standings in the team's respective group and not the entire region.
OWL buyouts and promotions
editAll Overwatch Contenders players are eligible to be promoted by their affiliated Overwatch League team or signed to any other Overwatch League during specified non-blackout periods.[10]
2018
edit- DPS Finley "Kyb" Adisi was signed by expansion team Guangzhou Charge on 22 November.[11]
2021
edit- Tank Ilari "Vestola" Vestola was signed by Paris Eternal as their new starting off-tank on 2 June.[12]
- Support Oliver "Admiral" Vahar was promoted to the London Spitfire on 9 December.[13]
References
edit- ^ Marshall, Cass (15 February 2018). "Meet Spitfire's all-European Contenders team: British Hurricane". Heroes Never Die. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
- ^ Duwe, Scott (15 February 2019). "London Spitfire has revealed its Overwatch Contenders team, British Hurricane". Dot Esports. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- ^ Scott-Jones, Richard (15 May 2018). "British Hurricane are Overwatch Contenders Atlantic champions". PCGamesN. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- ^ Feng, Evie (30 October 2018). "Catch up on Contenders, the best Overwatch matches you probably missed". Heroes Never Die. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- ^ Cooney, Bill (9 January 2019). "Former Overwatch League pro shows off impressive Winston strategy". Dexerto. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- ^ Padilla, Brandon (1 May 2019). "Contenders Catch-Up: Playoffs Edition". The Game Haus. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- ^ Richardson, Liz (3 May 2019). "Angry Titans are Overwatch Contenders Europe's 2019 season one champions". Dot Esports. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- ^ Liang Jing-hao (5 June 2019). "Takeaways from the 2019 Overwatch Atlantic Showdown". NBC Sports Philadelphia. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- ^ "British Hurricane to Cease Operations at the End of 2021". Cloud9. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ Olmstead, Sydney (14 June 2018). "Blizzard Reveals Information About Overwatch League Offseason". VGR. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ Viana, Bhernardo (23 November 2018). "Guangzhou Charge signs an international roster for its debut in the Overwatch League". Dot Esports. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- ^ Czarnowski, Michael (2 June 2021). "Paris Eternal sign Vestola as new starting off-tank". Upcomer. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
- ^ London Spitfire [@Spitfire] (9 December 2021). ""A connecting flight is now arriving in the hangar - stand clear! From our @Hurricane squad, welcome @AdmiralRaptr to the London Spitfire! #AcesHigh🛩" (Tweet). Retrieved 9 December 2021 – via Twitter.