The 2018 Seoul Dynasty season was the first season of the Seoul Dynasty's existence in the Overwatch League. The team finished with a regular season record of 22–18, placing them eighth overall, behind the Houston Outlaws due to tiebreakers, who had the same record. Seoul did not qualify for any of the Stage Playoffs and did not qualify for the Season Playoffs.
Preceding offseason
On August 21, 2017, the team announced the acquisition of the players and coaching staff of Korean Overwatch esports team Lunatic-Hai, which consisted of the following players:[1]
- Kim "EscA" In-jae
- Ryu "ryujehong" Je-hong
- Yang "tobi" Jin-mo
- Kim "zunba" Joon-hyeok
- Moon "gido" Gi-do
- Gong "Miro" Jin-hyuk
In September, the team signed an additional coach in veteran Kim "nuGget" Yo-han.[2] In late October, they revealed 3 additional players to their Seoul-based roster, Kim "Fleta" Byung-sun, Byeon "Munchkin" Sang-beom, and Koo "xepheR" Jae-mo.[3][4] On October 27, the addition of Choi "Wekeed" Seok-woo was broadcast in the Dynasty's roster preview video.[5] The final two members for the inaugural season, Chae "Bunny" Jun-hyeok and Kim "KuKi" Dae-kuk, were revealed by Blizzard in November.[6] Before the season started, Kim "EscA" In-jae retired.[7]
Review
Regular season
The Dynasty began the first stage of the regular season well, winning their first five games. However, after key losses to New York Excelsior, London Spitfire, and Los Angeles Valiant they fell out of Stage 1 playoff contention and finished the stage in fifth place, sparking discussions about a disappointing start to the season for a team favored to win it.[8] They went on to finish fourth in the second stage as well, once again missing the stage playoffs.[9] After the stage playoffs were expanded to include the team in fourth place, the Dynasty were predicted to be able to clinch a playoff spot thanks to their consistent fourth-place finishes in the prior stages, though their inability to defeat the top placing teams in the league brought up concerns over team management. With a rocky start to the third stage, coverage for the Dynasty shifted towards continued failure, with an article by ESPN's Emily Rand stating "Seoul's dynasty is already starting to crumble."[10]
They once again failed to reach the playoffs in both the third and fourth stages of the regular season, going 5–5 in Stage 3 and 3–7 in Stage 4. Falling further behind the top teams in map differential.[11] After finishing all four stages with worsening map scores, starting the first stage with a map differential of +9 and ending the last stage with a map differential of -6, the Dynasty fell out of season playoffs contention and finished the season in eighth place overall with a record of 22–18, a far cry from the expected and predicted success.[12]
In response to their inability to clinch a playoff spot, the team underwent large coaching and staffing changes in July.[13]
Final roster
2018 Seoul Dynasty roster |
Players | Coaches |
Role | No. | Handle | Name | Nationality | Damage | 0 | Wekeed | Choi Seok-woo | South Korea | Damage | 1 | Fleta | Kim Byung-sun | South Korea | Damage | 27 | Munchkin | Byeon Sang-beom | South Korea | Tank | 3 | Miro | Gong Jin-hyuk | South Korea | Tank | 11 | KuKi | Kim Dae-kuk | South Korea | Support | 7 | tobi | Yang Jin-mo | South Korea | Support | 9 | Gambler | Heo Jin-woo | South Korea | Flex | 5 | zunba | Kim Joon-hyuk | South Korea | Flex | 13 | Gido | Moon Gi-do | South Korea | Flex | 14 | ryujehong | Ryu Je-hong | South Korea | Flex | 39 | xepheR | Koo Jae-mo | South Korea | | - Head coach
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Legend: - (I) Inactive
- (S) Suspended
- (2W) Two-way player
Substitute Injury / Illness | Latest roster transaction: March 30, 2018. |
Transactions
Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2018 regular season:
- On February 26, Dynasty signed Heo "Gambler" Jin-woo.[14]
- On March 30, Dynasty transferred Chae "Bunny" Jun-hyeok to Los Angeles Valiant.[15]
Standings
Record by stage
Stage | Pld | W | L | Pct | MW | ML | MT | MD | Pos |
|
1 | 10 | 7 | 3 | .700 | 25 | 16 | 2 | +9 | 5 |
2 | 10 | 7 | 3 | .700 | 25 | 16 | 0 | +9 | 4 |
3 | 10 | 5 | 5 | .500 | 22 | 21 | 1 | +1 | 8 |
4 | 10 | 3 | 7 | .300 | 19 | 25 | 0 | -6 | 10 |
Overall | 40 | 22 | 18 | .550 | 91 | 78 | 3 | +13 | 8 |
|
Qualified for playoffs |
League
Source: The Overwatch League
Rules for classification: 1)
winning percentage; 2) map differential; 3) head-to-head map differential; 4) head-to-head record
Game log
Preseason
Regular season
2018 game log (Regular season record: 22–18) |
1 | January 10 | Dallas Fuel | 1 | – | 2 | Seoul Dynasty | Burbank, CA | | |
13 | February 28 | Seoul Dynasty | 3 | – | 1 | Dallas Fuel | Burbank, CA | | |
23 | April 11 | Dallas Fuel | 2 | – | 3 | Seoul Dynasty | Burbank, CA | | |
|
References
- ^ Kim, Kyeong-beom; Lee, Jaeic (22 August 2017). "Lunatic-Hai to represent Seoul in OWL: "We'll lift up the trophy for OWL just as we did for APEX."". Inven Global. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
- ^ Carpenter, Nicole (13 September 2017). "Seoul-based Overwatch League franchise signs seasoned coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
- ^ Carpenter, Nicole (16 October 2017). "Team Seoul adds three players to its Overwatch League roster". Dot Esports. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
- ^ 박, 상진 (15 October 2017). "오버워치 리그 서울팀, '플레타-제퍼-먼치킨' 추가 영입". 포모스 (fomos) (in Korean). Retrieved 8 July 2018.
- ^ "A Preview of Our Full Roster Reveal". Seoul Dynasty. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2018 – via YouTube.
- ^ Entertainment, Blizzard (4 November 2017). "THESE ARE YOUR OVERWATCH LEAGUE TEAM ROSTERS". Overwatch League. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
- ^ Jae Jeon, Young (November 27, 2017). "From Overwatch to PUBG: A conversation with EscA". ESPN.
- ^ "Seoul Dynasty Fall from Overwatch League Stage 1 Playoff Contention". 10 February 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
- ^ "Overwatch League: Day 2 of Stage 2 Playoff Weekend Seoul Gets Upset". 2018-03-23.
- ^ "Seoul's dynasty is already starting to crumble". ESPN. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
- ^ "New York Excelsior crush Seoul Dynasty, clinch stage 3 playoff berth". 2018-04-28.
- ^ "Overwatch: The Fall of the Dynasty: Will Seoul end OWL Season 1 like this?".
- ^ "Seoul Dynasty undergo coaching and staff changes ahead of Season Two". Retrieved 6 August 2018.
- ^ Carpenter, Nicole (February 26, 2019). "Seoul Dynasty bolsters Overwatch League roster with the addition of Gambler". Dot Esports.
- ^ Brathwaite, Brandon (March 31, 2018). "LA Valiant Acquire Bunny From Seoul Dynasty". DBLTAP. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
Seoul Dynasty |
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- Founded in 2017
- Based in Seoul, South Korea
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Ownership | - Owner
- Kevin Chou
- Parent group
- Gen.G
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Category Commons |