2020 Los Angeles Valiant season (original) (raw)

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The 2020 Los Angeles Valiant season was the third season of Los Angeles Valiant's existence in the Overwatch League and their first full season under head coach Mike "Packing10" Szklanny. The Valiant planned host two homestand events in the 2020 season at The Novo,[1] but all homestand matches were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On August 22, the Valiant clinched a spot in the season playoffs with a win over the Vancouver Titans.[2] In the first round of the North America bracket, Los Angeles defeated the Florida Mayhem by a score of 3–2.[3] The following day, the Valiant were swept by the Philadelphia Fusion in the second round of the upper bracket, sending them to the lower bracket.[4] A 1–3 loss to the Washington Justice in the subsequent round eliminated the Valiant from the playoffs.[5]

Preceding offseason

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Organizational changes

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After releasing head coach Moon Byung-chul the previous season, assistant coach Mike "Packing10" Szklanny was named the team's interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Packing10 was officially named the team's full-time head coach in early September 2019.[6] The following month, the Valiant added former Boston Uprising assistant coach Jordan "Gunba" Graham as an assistant coach. Gunba was an assistant coach for the Valiant in 2018.[7]

The Valiant enter the new season with no free agents, three players which they have the option to retain for another year, and five players under contract.[8] The OWL's deadline to exercise a team option is November 11, after which any players not retained will become a free agent. Free agency officially began on October 7.[9]

The Valiant's first acquisitions of the offseason were announced on October 31, with the signings of main tank Song "Dreamer" Sang-lok from the Sydney Drop Bears, flex DPS Damon "Apply" Conti, support Owen "Slur" Warner from Samsung Morning Stars, and support Mun "Lastro" Jung-won from Skyfoxes.[10] On January 7, the Valiant revealed two more additions in main tank Rick "GiG" Salazar and support Park "RaiN" Jae-ho in a skit video for the team's new color scheme.[11] A week later, on January 16, the team announced the signing of damage player Kai "KSP" Collins.[12]

The Valiant made their first offseason moves on October 23, releasing DPS Brady "Agilities" Girardi, trading off-tank [Indy "SPACE" Halpern](/wiki/Indy%5F%22SPACE%22%5FHalpern "Indy "SPACE" Halpern") to the Los Angeles Gladiators, and trading flex support Park "KariV" Young-seo to the Toronto Defiant.[13] In mid-November, Los Angeles announced that they had parted ways with main tank Russell "FCTFCTN" Campbell.[14] On December 12, support player Scott "Custa" Kennedy announced that he was retiring from professional Overwatch play to join the Overwatch League as an analyst.[15] Prior to the start of the season, Owen "Slur" Warner silently departed with the team after it was revealed that he had previously used a racial slur. He later changed his name to Provide to distance himself from his past.[16]

2020 Los Angeles Valiant roster
Players	Coaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality Damage 12 Shax Nielsen, Johannes Denmark Damage 23 KSP Collins, Kai United Kingdom Damage 27 KSF Frandanisa, Kyle United States Damage 19 Apply Conti, Damon United States Tank 1 Dreamer Song Sang-lok South Korea Tank 13 McGravy McGarvey, Caleb United States Tank 3 GiG Salazar, Rick United States Support 9 Lastro Mun Jung-won South Korea Support 77 RaiN Park Jae-ho South Korea	Head coach Mike "Packing10" Szklanny
Legend: (I) Inactive (S) Suspended (2W) Two-way player Substitute Injury / Illness	Latest roster transaction: January 27, 2020.

Source: The Overwatch League
Rules for classification: 1) Wins plus bonus wins 2) winning percentage (excluding bonus wins); 3) map differential; 4) head-to-head record; 5) head-to-head map differential

Midseason tournaments

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1. ^ Hurych, Amanda (August 27, 2019). "Dates and tickets announced for 2020 Los Angeles Valiant homestand at The Novo". AXS. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
2. ^ Alford, Aaron (August 24, 2020). "Gladiators Take Battle for L.A. While Valiant Take Fifth Seed". Hotspawn. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
3. ^ Field Level Media (September 6, 2020). "Trio of 5-map thrillers highlight wild day at OWL playoffs". Reuters. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
4. ^ Richardson, Liz (September 6, 2020). "Paris Eternal, Los Angeles Gladiators eliminated from Overwatch League playoffs". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
5. ^ Richardson, Liz (September 11, 2020). "Atlanta Reign, Los Angeles Valiant eliminated in latest Overwatch League playoff matches". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
6. ^ Richardson, Liz (September 4, 2019). "Los Angeles Valiant promote Packing10 to head coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
7. ^ Scrubasaurus (October 24, 2019). "Gunba returns to the Valiant's coaching staff". Over.gg. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
8. ^ Morello, Matt (July 30, 2019). "2020 Team Needs and Player Contract Status". Overwatch League. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
9. ^ Richardson, Liz (October 4, 2019). "Overwatch League reveals player contract status for entire league". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
10. ^ "Valiant, Defiant, Justice make moves in Overwatch League". ESPN. Reuters. October 31, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
11. ^ Samples, Rachel (January 7, 2020). "Los Angeles Valiant confirm color change, officially welcome RaiN and GiG ahead of 2020 Overwatch League season". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
12. ^ Richardson, Liz (January 15, 2020). "Los Angeles Valiant officially adds KSP to roster". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
13. ^ Esguerra, Tyler (October 23, 2019). "Los Angeles Valiant release SPACE, Agilities, and KariV". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
14. ^ Peres, Pedro (November 12, 2019). "Los Angeles Valiant release FCTFCTN". Dot Esports. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
15. ^ "Custa retires, will join Jake on OWL talent team". ESPN. Reuters. December 12, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
16. ^ "Slur apologises for his past actions, confirms in his Twitter header that he is no longer with the LA Valiant and is now a free agent". Owen 'Slur' Warner. January 23, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.