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London Spitfire

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London Spitfire
The logo for London Spitfire features a stylized Supermarine Spitfire in a crest.
Founded9 March 2016
LeagueOverwatch League
RegionWest
Team historyCloud9
(2016–2017)
London Spitfire
(2017–present)
Based inLondon, United Kingdom
Colours     
OwnerJack Etienne
Head coachChristopher "ChrisTFer" Graham
General managerYsabel "Noukky" Müller
Affiliation(s)British Hurricane
Championships2018
Main sponsorMicrosoft
WebsiteOfficial website
Uniforms

London Spitfire is a professional Overwatch team representing the city of London, United Kingdom. The Spitfire compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region. Founded in 2017, London Spitfire is one of the league's twelve founding members and is the only professional Overwatch team representing a European city. The team is owned by Jack Etienne and the esports organization Cloud9, who also own British Hurricane, an academy team for the Spitfire that competed in Overwatch Contenders (OWC).

Lee "Bishop" Beom-joon was appointed the team's first head coach and guided London to claim the league's first stage championship in 2018. While the team parted ways with Bishop later that season, the team went on win the inaugural season Grand Finals.

Franchise history

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Team creation

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Formed in March 2016, London Spitfire originally started out as the Overwatch branch of American esports organisation Cloud9.[1] Under variations of the Cloud9 moniker, such as Cloud9 KONGDOO, they would go on to field rosters from multiple continents during their pre-OWL tenure.[2][3][4]

On 10 August 2017, Activision Blizzard announced that Cloud9 had purchased the London Overwatch League franchise; the franchise would be the first and only European team heading into the inaugural season.[5] Pete Vlastelica, an executive in Activision Blizzard's esports division, reported that several unnamed European companies were interested in purchasing the London rights to hold an Overwatch League franchise. Vlastelica noted, "Cloud9 may be a new name for some in the traditional sports world, but I can assure you they are not a niche or fringe player in esports. As we build this league, it was really important to us to combine the capabilities of owners from both traditional sports and the world of esports."[6] Jack Etienne, chief executive Cloud9, paid roughly $20 million (£15.4 million) for the franchise slot.[6] Etienne said that he chose the London slot because it is a "fantastic city with an amazing metro population [and] fantastic transportation to get people to events."[7]

On 1 November, the team revealed they would be called London Spitfire.[8][9] Shortly afterwards on 4 November, they disclosed their 12-player inaugural season roster, the maximum permitted, which would be entirely composed of South Korean players. The roster would mainly be an amalgamation of their current Cloud9 KONGDOO core and OGN's Overwatch APEX Season 4 champions GC Busan.[10][11]

Inaugural season champions: 2018

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The London Spitfire won the 2018 Grand Finals.
Main article: 2018 London Spitfire season

On 11 January, the Spitfire played their first regular season Overwatch League match in a 3–1 victory over the Florida Mayhem.[12] They would end Stage 1 of the 2018 Season with a 7–3 record, earning them the third and final spot in the Stage 1 Playoffs. The team then became the first-ever stage playoffs champions, after achieving victories over the Houston Outlaws, 3–1, and the New York Excelsior, 3–2.[13] In March, midway through Stage 2, the Spitfire parted ways with head coach Lee "Bishop" Beom-joon for undisclosed reasons.[14] The team finished Stage 2 with an improved 8–2 record and attained another stage playoffs berth. However, they fell short to the Philadelphia Fusion in a thrilling 2–3 semifinals series.[15] However, after Stage 2, the Spitfire failed to make another stage playoffs, going 5–5 in Stage 3 and 4–6 in Stage 4. The team ended the season with a 24–16 record, good for 5th place and a spot in the postseason.

London lost their first postseason matchup against the Los Angeles Gladiators on 11 July by a score of 0–3, but the team turned it around the next two games against the Gladiators, winning in 3–0 sweeps in matches two and three and advancing the team to the semifinals.[16] London won both games against the Los Angeles Valiant in the semifinals, winning 3–0 in match one and 3–1 in match two.[17] London claimed the first Overwatch League championship after defeating the Philadelphia Fusion on 27 and 28 July by scores of 3–1 and 3–0, respectively.[18][19]

Quest for a second title: 2019–present

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The Spitfire filled their head coach vacancy in the 2019 offseason, signing Kim "Coach815" Kwangbok.[20] London began their 2019 season winning only three of their matches in Stage 1. The stage ended with a 0–3 loss to the Seoul Dynasty in week 5, causing the team to miss out on the Stage 1 Playoffs.[21] London found success in Stage 2, as the team posted a 6–1 record and qualified for the Stage 2 Playoffs; however, they were knocked out in the quarterfinals by the Hangzhou Spark after losing 1–3.[22] The Spitfire parted ways with head coach Kwang-bok "Coach815" Kim in the middle of Stage 3, leaving the team without a head coach.[23] A 0–4 loss to the Los Angeles Valiant in Stage 3 eliminated London from Stage 3 playoff contention as the team went on to post a 3–4 record for that stage. After a 4–3 win–loss record in Stage 4, London finished the regular season with a 16–12 record and qualified for the play-in tournament for a chance to make it to the 2019 season playoffs. London took down the Shanghai Dragons 4–3 in an OWL record eight-map series to qualify for the season playoffs.[24] In the first round, London was defeated by the New York Excelsior, 1–4, sending the team to the lower bracket.[25] A 0–4 loss to the San Francisco Shock ended the Spitfire's 2019 playoff run.[26]

In the offseason preceding the 2020 season, the Spitfire overhauled their roster, releasing nearly all of their players from the 2019 season and signing mostly rookies.[27][28] Additionally, the team promoted Hong "Agape" Cheol-yong as their head coach.[29] While the team planned to play in the United Kingdom for live homestands, the team relocated its training facility to New Jersey to minimize travel time to other cities.[30] However, after all live events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Spitfire relocated to Seoul, South Korea, to compete in league's Asia region.[31] London did not perform well in the 2020 season, finishing in 17th place in the overall standings.[32]

During the 2020 offseason, the organization completely rebuilt its team, dropping its entire roster and coaching staff.[33] Focusing on signing Western players and staff, London signed former Los Angeles Valiant coach Justin "Reprize" Hand as their new head coach.[34] They signed a team consisting players mostly from their Overwatch Contenders academy team British Hurricane — a team that had won every European Overwatch Contenders title in 2020.[35] The team also left South Korea to play remotely from the United States and Sweden to compete in the league's Western region.[33] After an 0–8 start to the season, head coach Justin "Reprize" Hand retired; assistant coach Mads "fischer" Jehg became the new head coach of the team thereafter.[36] London remained winless until their final match of the season, when they defeated the Vancouver Titans, to finish the season with a 1–15 record.[37]

Team identity

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On 1 November 2017, the London Spitfire brand was officially unveiled. The name and shield-like logo were selected to pay homage to the British military plane Supermarine Spitfire, whose use during World War II by the Royal Air Force (RAF) reflected the spirit of bravery the team hoped to identify with.[38][39] The team colours were also announced as blue and orange: blue inherited from parent organisation Cloud9, and orange in recognition of British Overwatch character Lena "Tracer" Oxton who was a former RAF pilot in the game's lore.[9][8]

The team has never played in the United Kingdom. In the first two seasons of the league, the Spitfire played matches at the Blizzard Arena in Burbank, California along with all other Overwatch League teams.[33] For 2020, the team planned to host two homestand events in the United Kingdom at Wembley Arena and the National Exhibition Centre,[40][41] and the team relocated to New Jersey in order to reduce the distance between them and the large pool of North American teams.[33] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all live matches in the 2020 season were cancelled, and the league moved to exclusively online play. The Spitfire, along with the Vancouver Titans, relocated to Seoul, South Korea that year to increase the number of teams competing in the leagues Asian region.[31] In 2021, their players and staff are playing and coaching remotely, with personnel situated in the United States and Europe.[33]

Sponsors

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In March 2018, London signed a one-year sponsorship deal with Logitech G gaming products. The deal included equipment and gear supply, as well as the team hosting the Logitech G logo on their jerseys.[42]

Personnel

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Current roster

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London Spitfire roster
Players Coaches
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: 30 October 2023.

Head coaches

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Handle Name Seasons Record Notes Ref.
Bishop Beomjoon Lee 2018 10–4 (.714) Released after 14 games in 2018. [43][14]
Coach815 Kwangbok Kim 2019 12–9 (.571) Released after 21 games in 2019. [20][23]
Agape Hong Cheol-yong 2020 6–15 (.286) [29][32]
reprize Justin Hand 2021 0–8 (.000) Released after eight games in 2021. [34][36]
fischer Mads Jehg 2021 1–7 (.125) [36][44]
ChrisTFer Christopher Graham 2022–2023 21–19 (.525) [45]

Awards and records

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Seasons overview

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Season P W L W% Finish Playoffs
2018 40 24 16 .600 3rd, Atlantic OWL Champions, 2–0 (Fusion)
2019 28 16 12 .571 3rd, Atlantic Lost in Lower Round 1, 0–4 (Shock)
2020 21 6 15 .286 8th, Asia Did not qualify
2021 16 1 15 .063 11th, West Did not qualify
2022 24 14 10 .583 6th, West Lost in Lower Round 3, 1–3 (Spark)
2023 16 7 9 .438 8th, West Lost in Lower Final, 1–3 (Uprising)

Individual accomplishments

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Grand Finals MVP

All-Star Game selections

Academy team

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Main article: British Hurricane

On 15 February 2018, the Spitfire formally announced that their academy team for Overwatch Contenders Europe would be called the British Hurricane, and revealed their all-European Season One squad.[46] The team went to the first Atlantic Showdown, where they defeated Lowkey Esports before losing to Team Envy in the second round. They lost in the first round of the bottom half of the double-elimination bracket to ATL Academy, 3–0.

References

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  1. ^ Flander, Danan (9 March 2016). "Top Overwatch Team Joins Cloud9". Cloud9.gg. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  2. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (14 August 2017). "Cloud9 picks up Laser Kittenz roster ahead of Overwatch Contenders". Dot Esports. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  3. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (21 September 2017). "Cloud9 signs South Korean Overwatch team KongDoo Panthera". Dot Esports. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  4. ^ Jeong, Seong-mo; Paek, Ji-eun (20 September 2017). "KongDoo Panthera and Cloud9 signs a naming rights sponsorship, now 'Cloud9 KONGDOO'". Inven Global. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  5. ^ Handrahan, Matthew (10 August 2017). "Overwatch League adds first UK franchise". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  6. ^ a b Kelion, Leo (10 August 2017). "Overwatch League strikes London deal". BBC News. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  7. ^ Barrett, Ben (10 August 2017). "Cloud9 will be London's Overwatch League team but no local stadium until after 2018". PCGamesN. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  8. ^ a b Carpenter, Nicole (1 November 2017). "Cloud9's Overwatch League team is the London Spitfire". Dot Esports. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  9. ^ a b Dwan, Hannah (1 November 2017). "London's esports representation in the Overwatch League has been revealed: meet London Spitfire". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  10. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (4 November 2017). "London Spitfire reveals its 12-man South Korean roster". Dot Esports. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  11. ^ Nguyen, Steven (21 October 2017). "GC Busan completes Royal Road at APEX". ESPN. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  12. ^ Craffey, Liam (15 January 2018). "Fusion, Spitfire, Excelsior snag wins on Day 2 of Overwatch League". ESPN. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  13. ^ Waltzer, Noah (11 February 2018). "London Spitfire beats Houston, New York to win Overwatch League Stage 1 playoffs". ESPN. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  14. ^ a b Woodward, Ben (7 March 2018). "London Spitfire Parts Ways With Bishop". Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  15. ^ Craffey, Liam (26 March 2018). "Stage 2 semifinal". ESPN. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  16. ^ "Spitfire shuts down LA Gladiators, advances to OWL semis". ESPN. 14 July 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  17. ^ Lingle, Samuel (20 July 2018). "London Spitfire sweep Los Angeles Valiant, will play in OWL finals". Dot Esports. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  18. ^ Waltzer, Noah (28 July 2018). "London Spitfire wins inaugural Overwatch League title". ESPN. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  19. ^ Bright, Ryan (28 July 2018). "London Spitfire duo master Philadelphia Fusion to claim first Overwatch League title". NBC Sports. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  20. ^ a b Carpenter, Nicole (3 September 2018). "London Spitfire hires storied, long-tenured coach with multi-game experience". Dot Esports. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  21. ^ August, Charlotte (17 March 2019). "Overwatch League Recap | Stage 1 | Week 5 | Day 1". ESTNN. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  22. ^ Amos, Andrew (9 May 2019). "San Francisco Shock and Hangzhou Spark advance to Overwatch League stage 2 semifinals". Dot Esports. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  23. ^ a b Heinisch, Sascha (24 July 2019). "London Spitfire releases Coach815". Upcomer. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  24. ^ Richardson, Liz (31 August 2019). "London Spitfire and Seoul Dynasty advance to Overwatch League 2019 season playoffs". Dot Esports. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  25. ^ "Reign upset Shock to advance in Overwatch League playoffs". ESPN. Reuters. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  26. ^ Richardson, Liz (7 September 2019). "Seoul Dynasty and London Spitfire eliminated from Overwatch League playoffs". Dot Esports. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  27. ^ Howard, Brandon (23 November 2019). "London Spitfire Announce Eight Man Roster". The Gamer. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  28. ^ "London Spitfire add four for 2020 season". ESPN. 27 December 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  29. ^ a b Nomis, John (15 January 2020). "Introducing the 2020 London Spitfire". London Spitfire. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  30. ^ Amenabar, Teddy (7 February 2020). "Long travel, logistical issues, coronavirus crisis combine to pressure test Overwatch League's vision". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  31. ^ a b Duwe, Scott (25 March 2020). "London Spitfire relocate to South Korea for upcoming Overwatch League matches". Dot Esports. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  32. ^ a b Richardson, Liz (1 October 2020). "London Spitfire drops entire coaching staff". Dot Esports. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  33. ^ a b c d e Amenabar, Teddy (10 February 2021). "The OWL's London Spitfire are hoping to go big by going home". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  34. ^ a b Richardson, Liz (12 November 2020). "London Spitfire adds Reprize as head coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  35. ^ Richardson, Liz (23 April 2021). "Eye of the Hurricane: London Spitfire 2021 team preview". Dot Esports. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  36. ^ a b c Castelot, Ophelie (21 May 2021). "Overwatch: London Spitfire Changes Head Coach". ESTNN. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  37. ^ "Gladiators sweep Outlaws in key Countdown Cup qualifier". Reuters. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  38. ^ MacGregor, Collin (1 November 2017). "Overwatch League: London Spitfire Officially Announced". Heavy.com. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  39. ^ Hood, Vic (1 November 2017). "London's Overwatch team picks Spitfire logo to honour "spirit of bravery under fire"". Eurogamer. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  40. ^ Bishop, Sam (6 November 2019). "London Spitfire home matches are in London and Birmingham". GameReactor UK. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  41. ^ Koh, Bobby; Blizzard Entertainment (27 November 2019). "London Spitfire Reveals the NEC Birmingham as venue for second Homestand weekend". London Spitfire. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  42. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (2 March 2018). "London Spitfire signs gear sponsorship deal with Logitech G". Dot Esports. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  43. ^ "Bishop confirms move to Cloud9 as Head Coach". over.gg. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  44. ^ Scharnagle, Jessica (6 October 2021). "London Spitfire drops 6 players ahead of 2022 Overwatch League season". Dot Esports. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  45. ^ Richardson, Liz (12 October 2021). "Philadelphia Fusion, London Spitfire hire new head coaches". Dot Esports. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  46. ^ Marshall, Cass (15 February 2018). "Meet Spitfire's all-European Contenders team: British Hurricane". Heroes Never Die. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
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