2018 Philadelphia Fusion season
# 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

### League

| Pos | Div | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | PCT | MW | ML | MT | MD | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | ATL | New York Excelsior | 40 | 34 | 6 | 0.85 | 126 | 43 | 4 | +83 | Advance to season playoffs semifinals |
| 2 | PAC | Los Angeles Valiant | 40 | 27 | 13 | 0.68 | 100 | 64 | 7 | +36 | Advance to season playoffs semifinals |
| 3 | ATL | Boston Uprising | 40 | 26 | 14 | 0.65 | 99 | 71 | 3 | +28 | Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals |
| 4 | PAC | Los Angeles Gladiators | 40 | 25 | 15 | 0.63 | 96 | 72 | 3 | +24 | Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals |
| 5 | ATL | London Spitfire | 40 | 24 | 16 | 0.60 | 102 | 69 | 3 | +33 | Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals |
| 6 | ATL | Philadelphia Fusion | 40 | 24 | 16 | 0.60 | 93 | 80 | 2 | +13 | Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals |
| 7 | ATL | Houston Outlaws | 40 | 22 | 18 | 0.55 | 94 | 77 | 2 | +17 | |
| 8 | PAC | Seoul Dynasty | 40 | 22 | 18 | 0.55 | 91 | 78 | 3 | +13 | |
| 9 | PAC | San Francisco Shock | 40 | 17 | 23 | 0.43 | 77 | 84 | 5 | −7 | |
| 10 | PAC | Dallas Fuel | 40 | 12 | 28 | 0.30 | 58 | 100 | 7 | −42 | |
| 11 | ATL | Florida Mayhem | 40 | 7 | 33 | 0.18 | 42 | 120 | 5 | −78 | |
| 12 | PAC | Shanghai Dragons | 40 | 0 | 40 | 0.00 | 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 :

