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.

2021 Los Angeles Valiant season
Head coachZhang "JpCat" Peng
OwnerNoah Whinston
RegionEast
Results
Record0–16 (.000)
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

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.[1]

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.[2] 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.[3]

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.[4]

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.[5] On February 1, 2021, tank player Rick "Gig" Salazar signed with Contenders team We Want OWL.[6] The team's final free agent damage player Caleb "McGravy" McGarvey announced his retirement in the offseason.[7]

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.[8] 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.[9]

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.[10] They were swept in their following match against the Philadelphia Fusion 0–3.[11]

Final roster
2021 Los Angeles Valiant roster
PlayersCoaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality
Damage 1 Molanran Liao Yang China
Damage 7 Krystal Cai Shilong China
Tank 3 Silver3 Han Haibo China
Tank 20 NvM Wen Yelin China
Tank 18 ShowCheng Cheng Yu China
Support 22 Highbee Zhang Zening China
Support 11 Wya Qi Haomiao China
Head coach
  • Zhang "JpCat" Peng
Legend:
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • (2W) Two-way player
  • Substitute player Substitute
  • Injured Injury / Illness
  

Latest roster transaction: 18 March 2021.

Standings
Pos Team 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
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
5 Hangzhou Spark 16 7 9 7 0.438 32 31 0 +1
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
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

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 the 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 the 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 the 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 the 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

References
  1. "2021 Player Contract Status". Overwatch League. October 21, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  2. Richardson, Liz (November 19, 2020). "Los Angeles Valiant signs off-tank Adam". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  3. Richardson, Liz (December 9, 2020). "Agilities returns to the Los Angeles Valiant". Dot Esports. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  4. O'Dwyer, Samuel (March 18, 2021). "Los Angeles Valiant announces its roster for the 2021 season". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  5. Revival [@TheRevivalGG] (December 9, 2020). "Revival Gauntlet 2020" (Tweet). Retrieved January 20, 2021 – via Twitter.
  6. We Want OWL [@owl_want] (February 1, 2021). "Na Open division team roster!" (Tweet). Retrieved February 2, 2021 – via Twitter.
  7. Michael, Cale (February 3, 2021). "McGravy retires from competitive Overwatch". Dot Esports. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  8. Czar, Michael (December 7, 2020). "KSF traded, signs to the Houston Outlaws". Daily Esports. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  9. Amenabar, Teddy (January 29, 2021). "OWL's L.A. Valiant releases entire roster, citing visa issues in relocation to China". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  10. Field Level Media (April 17, 2021). "Philadelphia Fusion open strong in Week 1 of Overwatch League". Gwinnett Prep Sports. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  11. O'Dwyer, Jack (April 19, 2021). "Overwatch League Week 1 Round-Up". MSN. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
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