Vegas Eternal

The Vegas Eternal, formerly the Paris Eternal, is an American professional Overwatch esports team based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Eternal compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region. Founded in 2018, Paris Eternal began play as an OWL expansion team in 2019 and is one of two professional Overwatch teams based in Europe. The team is owned by Drew McCourt, owner of DM Esports, who also owns Eternal Academy, an academy team for the Eternal that competed in Overwatch Contenders. The team moved to Las Vegas prior to the 2023 season.

Vegas Eternal
The logo for Vegas Eternal displays a stylized Gallic rooster.
Founded7 September 2018
LeagueOverwatch League
RegionWest
Team history
  • Paris Eternal
    (2018–2022)
  • Vegas Eternal
    (2023–present)
Based inLas Vegas, Nevada
Colors     
OwnerDrew McCourt
Head coachDiana "Empress" W.
General managerKim "AVALLA" Kyoung-ey
Affiliation(s)Eternal Academy
WebsiteOfficial website
Uniforms

Franchise history

OWL expansion

On 7 September 2018, Activision Blizzard announced that DM Esports owner Drew McCourt (son of Frank McCourt owner of Olympique de Marseille) had purchased an expansion team based in Paris for Overwatch League's second season for more than $20 million.[1][2] On the investment of the franchise, McCourt noted, "Du point de vue d'investisseur à l'échelle mondiale dans le domaine du sport traditionnel, le développement de l'e-sport, et de l'Overwatch League notamment, est remarquable (translated: From a global investor's point of view in traditional sports, the development of e-sport, and the Overwatch League in particular, is remarkable)."[3]

On 8 November, the team held a launch party in which they revealed their team name as Paris Eternal, as well as their entirely European roster and coaches.[4][5]

Early years: 2019–present

On 16 February, Paris Eternal had its first regular season match against the defending 2018 OWL champions London Spitfire, in which Paris claimed a convincing 3–1 victory.[6] Paris ended Stage 1 with a 3–4 record and did not qualify for the Stage 1 Playoffs.[7] After Stage 1, head coach Julien "Daemon" Ducros left the team and was replaced by Félix "Féfé" Münch.[8][9] Paris ended the season with a disappointing 11–17 record, did not manage to yield a winning record in any stage, and did not qualify for any of the stage playoffs nor the season playoffs.[10]

On 24 October 2019, the Eternal signed former Element Mystic head coach Yun "Rush" Hee-won as their new head coach.[11] The Eternal relocated to New Jersey in efforts minimize travel time to the live matches in North America and Asia that were planned to take place throughout the season, while still expecting to play their home matches in Paris.[12] However, all live matches were canceled after the first few weeks of play, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] Competing in the league's newly formed North America region, Paris found more success in won their first tournament championship on 6 July 2020, after taking down the San Francisco Shock in the North America Summer Showdown finals.[14] Paris finished the regular season with 15 wins, 4 bonus wins from midseason tournaments, and 6 losses, claiming the third seed in the North America season playoffs.[15] However, a 0–3 loss to the Washington Justice on 6 September in the North America playoffs ended their season.[16]

Following the end of the 2020 season, all players and staff, other than general manager Kim "AVALLA" Kyoung-ey, were released or traded to other teams due to financial difficulties.[17] The Eternal fully rebuilt their roster, signing four veteran players and three rookies — all from Europe.[18] The team also brought on former Overwatch Contenders coach Zouheir "GetAmazed" Baba as their new head coach.[19] Competing in the league's Western region, formerly known as the North America region, the Paris Eternal players played their games remotely, with members scattered across a continent. The team struggled throughout the first half of the season, losing several players to retirement and failing to make it past the qualifiers in either of the two first tournament cycles. The Eternal reached the regional knockout stage for the first time in the season, after going 3–1 in the Summer Showdown qualifiers. However, they lost to the Washington Justice in the first round of the knockouts.[17] Paris failed to reach the season playoffs after losing to the Justice in the 2021 Overwatch League season#play-in tournament, finishing the season in eighth place in the West region.[20]

In the 2021 offseason, the Paris Eternal released three of their seven players and released head coach Zouheir "GetAmazed" Baba, promoting assistant coach Choi "JMac" Dae-han to the head coach position.[21]

Team identity

On 8 November 2018, the Eternal brand was officially unveiled. The team name alludes to the eternal flame that has burned under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris since 1921.[22] The logo depicts an infinity symbol inscribed within the Gallic rooster, France's national symbol. The team's colors were blue, burgundy, white, and gold, with the former three colors reflecting that of the French flag.[5] On 1 June 2022, it was announced that the team would be relocating to Las Vegas after the 2022 season.[23]

Personnel

Current roster
Vegas Eternal roster
PlayersCoaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality
Head coach
  • Vacant
Legend:
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • (2W) Two-way player
  • Substitute player Substitute
  • Injured Injury / Illness
  

Latest roster transaction: October 6, 2023.

Head coaches
Handle Name Seasons Record Notes Ref.
Daemon Julian Ducros 2019 3–4 (.429) Released after seven games in 2019 [8][24]
Féfé Félix Münch 2019 8–13 (.381) [9][25]
Rush Yun Hee-won 2020 15–6 (.714) [11][18]
GetAmazed Zouheir Baba 2021 8–8 (.500) [19][21]
JMac Choi Dae-han 2022 1–23 (.042) [21][26]
Empress Diana W. 2023 0–16 (.000) [27]

Awards and records

Seasons overview
Season P W L W% Finish Playoffs
2019 28 11 17 .393 5th, Atlantic Did not qualify
2020 21 15 6 .714 2nd, North America Lost in NA Lower Round 1, 0–3 (Justice)
2021 16 8 8 .500 8th, West Did not qualify
2022 24 1 23 .042 13th, West Did not qualify
2023 16 0 16 .000 13th, West Did not qualify

Individual accomplishments

Role Star selections

  • SP9RK1E (Kim Yeong-han) – 2020
  • FDGoD (Brice Monsçavoir) – 2020

All-Star Game selections

  • Kruise (Harrison Pond) – 2019
  • BenBest (Benjamin Dieulafait) – 2020
  • SoOn (Terence Tarlier) – 2020
  • NiCOgdh (Nicolas Moret) – 2020
  • FDGoD (Brice Monsçavoir) – 2020

Academy team
Main article: Eternal Academy

On 27 February 2019, the Paris Eternal announced their Overwatch Contenders academy team as Eternal Academy.[28] After finishing with a 2–5 record in their first season, Eternal Academy became the first OWL academy team to fail to qualify for the next Contenders season; they finished Season 2 Trials in fourth place with a record of 2–3.[29][30] Six months later, on 13 December 2019, Eternal Academy announced that they would be competing in Contenders 2020 Season 1.[31]

References
  1. Carpenter, Nicole (7 September 2018). "It's official: All 8 new teams coming to Overwatch League have been revealed". Dot Esports. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  2. "Esport - Overwatch League : Un McCourt à Paris" [Esport - Overwatch League: A McCourt in Paris]. L'Equipe (in French). 7 September 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  3. "Overwatch League: six nouvelles franchises, dont une à Paris" [Overwatch League: six new franchises, including one in Paris]. La Croix (in French). AFP. 7 September 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  4. Abbas, Malcolm (8 November 2018). "Paris Eternal storm their way into the OWL". Dot Esports. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  5. "Introducing the Paris Eternal" (PDF). Overwatch League. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  6. "Fusion, Fuel, Defiant and more make Overwatch League roster moves". ESPN.com. 30 October 2019.
  7. August, Charlotte (17 March 2019). "Overwatch League Recap: Stage 1 | Week 5 | Day 1". ESTNN. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  8. Richardson, Liz (2 April 2019). "Paris Eternal head coach daemoN steps down". Dot Esports. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  9. Richardson, Liz (3 April 2019). "Paris Eternal promote Féfé to head coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  10. R., Olivia (15 September 2019). "Overwatch League standings at the end of the regular season". win.gg. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  11. Richardson, Liz (24 October 2019). "Paris Eternal sign SP9RK1E, add coaching staff". Dot Esports. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  12. Amenabar, Teddy (24 January 2020). "Paris Eternal, the city's Overwatch League team, will start its 2020 season based in ... New Jersey?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  13. "The state of the Overwatch League in 2020". ESPN. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  14. Richardson, Liz (5 July 2020). "Guangzhou Charge, Paris Eternal win Overwatch League Summer Showdown". Dot Esports. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  15. Richardson, Liz (31 August 2020). "Here are the Overwatch League 2020 playoff standings". Dot Esports. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  16. Jansen, Eric; Boykin, Nick (14 September 2020). "Digital Cinderella story | Washington Justice make Overwatch playoffs amid pandemic, team shakeup". WUSA-TV. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  17. Long, Brandon (14 July 2021). "With Nothing to Lose, Paris Eternal Have Defied Expectations". Hotspawn. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  18. Richardson, Liz (22 April 2021). "New light: Paris Eternal 2021 team preview". Dot Esports. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  19. Michael, Cale (22 December 2020). "Paris Eternal welcomes head coach GetAmazed". Dot Esports. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  20. Richardson, Liz (4 September 2021). "Washington Justice, Toronto Defiant advance in Overwatch League 2021 play-ins". Dot Esports. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  21. "Paris Eternal welcome back four players, promote 'JMac' to head coach". Reuters. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  22. Marshall, Cass (8 November 2018). "Paris Eternal unveils their Overwatch League branding". Heroes Never Die. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  23. McIntyre, Isaac (1 June 2022). "City of second chances: Paris Legion, Paris Eternal to relocate to Las Vegas in 2023". Dot Esports. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  24. Mary-Justice, Amelia (23 October 2018). "New Paris OWL roster includes SoOn, ShaDowBurn, more fan favorites". Inven Global. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  25. Lyons, Ben (16 October 2019). "Paris Eternal part ways with head coach Féfé". Gamereactor UK. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  26. Richardson, Liz (12 November 2022). "Overwatch League 2023 offseason trade tracker". Dot Esports. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  27. Paris Eternal [@ParisEternal] (25 November 2022). "Flying with us to Vegas, Welcome @ihearteggtart as the new head coach of Eternal" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. "Overwatch Contenders Paris Eternal Academy : composition, roster, logo". Millenium (in French). 27 February 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  29. Chen, Ethan (21 May 2019). "Paris Eternal releases Overwatch Contenders roster Eternal Academy". Daily Esports. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  30. Richardson, Liz (20 May 2019). "Eternal Academy drop roster after Contenders Trials". Dot Esports. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  31. Eternal Academy [@EternalAcademy] (13 December 2019). "We're pleased to announce that the Eternal Academy will be competing in the upcoming Contenders season!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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