The 2019 Washington Justice season was the first season of Washington Justice's existence in the Overwatch League as one of eight expansion franchises added for the 2019 season. The Justice struggled throughout the first three stages of the season, posting a 2–19 record in the first 21 games. However, the Justice flourished after the League's implementation of an enforced 2-2-2 role lock for Stage 4, as the team lost only one match in their final seven games to finish the season in 17th place with an 8–20 record.
On September 12, Washington announced the signing of former New York Excelsior coach Kim "WizardHyeong" Hyeong-seok as the team's head coach.[1] Eight days later, Washington signed Molly "AVALLA" Kim as an analyst; AVALLA is the first female coach to be signed in the history of the Overwatch League.[2] Justice announced its inaugural season starting roster between September and December, consisting of the following players:[3][4][5]
Song "Janus" Junhwa,
Kim "Sansam" Hyang-ki,
Ethan "Stratus" Yankel,
Corey "Corey" Nigra,
Chon "Ado" Gi-hyeon,
Moon "Gido" Gi-do,
Riley "Fahzix" Taylor, and
Cho "Hyeonu" Hyeon-woo.
Regular season[]
Stage 1[]
The Justice's first regular season match was against the New York Excelsior on February 16. Washington fell to a quick 0–2 deficit after losing on Ilios and King's Row, but the team was subsequently able to full-hold New York on the third map, Horizon Lunar Colony, en route to winning the map; however, the Justice lost on last map, Rialto, to lose the series 1–3.[6] The next week, the Justice first took on the 2018 championsLondon Spitfire. Washington came out strong, winning the first two maps to go up 2–0 going into halftime. They would not be able to close out the match, as Washington yielded the next three consecutive maps fall 2–3.[7]
The team's next match was against the Philadelphia Fusion on February 28. After winning the first map, Ilios, the Justice lost three maps in a row to fall in the series by a score of 1–3.[8] Two days later, the team took on the San Francisco Shock. Washington was dominated throughout the entirety of the match – even yielding the fastest completion time on Numbani in OWL history[9] – and was swept 0–4.[10] Washington faced the Seoul Dynasty a week later. An uncoordinated effort led the team to losing the first three maps, guaranteeing a match loss, but they were able to win the final map, Dorado, to lose the series 1–3.[11]
In the final week of Stage 1, the Justice first took on the Paris Eternal on March 16. Washington fell in the first map, Busan, and was able to force a tie on King's Row to enter halftime down 0–1. Washington struck back after halftime, winning Volskaya Industries, but they failed to stop Paris from completing Dorado on their attack and was unable to doing the same, leading to a 1–2 loss in the match.[12] Washington's final match of Stage 1 was against the Florida Mayhem a day later. Washington took the first two maps of the game, but Florida snagged the following two maps, forcing the match to a fifth tiebreaker map. Justice was able to take the final map, giving the franchise their first victory, and ending the stage with a 1–6 record.[13]
Stage 2[]
Following their final match of Stage 1, the Justice acquired support player Hong "ArK" Yeon-jun from New York Excelsior.[14]
The Justice opened Stage 2 with a match against the Toronto Defiant on April 5. Washington failed to get a single point on both Lijiang Tower and Hanamura to enter halftime down 0–2. A loss on Blizzard World solidified the loss; they picked up a win on Junkertown to lose the match by a 1–3 scoreline.[15] Two days later, Washington faced the Chengdu Hunters. In response to Chengdu's unconventional compositions, the Justice also veered away from the typical triple tank, triple support composition. The match saw an Overwatch League record 27-of-30 heroes played for more than a minute across the four maps. Washington was only able to find one map win in the series, as they fell by a score of 1–3.[16]
In week two, the Justice took on the undefeated New York Excelsior on April 11. Washington failed to find a map win in the series and were swept 0–4 for the second time of the season. Two days later, the team faced the Atlanta Reign. The Justice fell on Busan and full-held Atlanta on the second map, Paris, en route to tying the series 1–1 heading into halftime. Washington failed to win on Eichenwalde and, despite much stronger showing on Rialto, they could not secure win on the final map, leading to a 1–3 loss.[17]
On April 19, the Justice acquired support Nikola "Sleepy" Andrews from the San Francisco Shock.[18] Just hours following the signing, Washington faced the Los Angeles Valiant, who also only had one win in the season. Surprisingly, Sleepy saw playtime in the match despite having only minimal practice with the team. Washington failed to secure a win, as they fell to the Valiant by a 1–3 scoreline.[19]
After a week off from play, the Justice took on the Shanghai Dragons on May 3. Washington fell on Paris and Blizzard World to enter halftime down 0–2. Following, the Justice were able to full-hold the Dragons on Blizzard World to claim the map win but, subsequently, fell on Watchpoint: Gibraltar to lose the series 1–3.[20] Their final match of Stage 2 was against the Boston Uprising two days later. Boston jumped out to a quick 2–0 lead heading into halftime, but Washington came back following, winning three maps in a row to win the match 3–2 and claim their only win in Stage 2.[21] Again, the Justice would end the stage with a 1–6 record, bringing their overall record to 2–12.[22]
Stage 3[]
Washington's first match of Stage 3 was against the Dallas Fuel on June 9. While the Justice fell convincingly in map one, Oasis, the team was able to force a draw on map two, Volskaya Industries, to head into halftime down 0–1. Washington failed to stop Dallas from completing their attack on Eichenwalde, leading to a map loss, and was full-held on Havana to ultimately lose the match 0–3.[23]
The following week, the Justice faced the Hangzhou Spark on June 15. After loss and a tie in the first two maps, Washington was handed one of the most dominant map losses in the history of the Overwatch League on Hollywood, as the team only secured two eliminations in the entire map.[24] The team went on to lose 0–3 against the Spark. The following day, Washington took on the Los Angeles Gladiators. The Justice failed to secure a single map in the match, extending that streak to twelve maps, as they were swept 0–4.[25]
In their only match of week three, Washington took on the London Spitfire. After winning the first map, Nepal, Washington and London tied on Paris. Up 1–0 in the match, the Justice could not turn the lead into a victory, as they dropped both maps three and four take a 1–2 loss.[26] The Justice had only one match in week four, as well, against the Houston Outlaws on June 28. After losing the first map and tying on the second, the Justice lost the final two to lose the match by a 0–3 scoreline.[27]
For the final week of Stage 3, Washington headed to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta to play at the "Atlanta Reign Homestand Weekend". Their first match at the homestand was against the Philadelphia Fusion on July 6. Both teams mirrored each other's composition throughout the match, but the Justice were unable to come out on top, as the game ended with a 1–3 loss for Washington.[28] The following day, the team took on the Guangzhou Charge. The stage ended on a low note for they Justice, as they were swept 0–4 by the Charge to give Washington a winless Stage 3 record.[28]
Stage 4[]
Prior to the start of Stage 4, which would include the implementation of an enforced 2-2-2 role lock by the League, the Justice signed tanks Elliot "ELLIVOTE" Vaneryd and Lukas "LullSiSH" Wiklund from the Dallas Fuel's academy team Team Envy.[29]
The Justice's first match of Stage 4 was against the Toronto Defiant on July 26; Washington came out of the match with a 3–1 victory.[30] The following week, Washington took on the Florida Mayhem on August 1. The Mayhem jumped out to a quick 2–0 lead, but the Justice rallied back and took the following three maps to complete a reverse sweep and win the match 3–2.[31] The win gave the Justice their first ever winning streak. Three days later, the team took on the league-leading Vancouver Titans. In a major upset, the Justice handed the Titans their first ever 0–4 loss and only their second loss in the entire regular season. DPS Corey "Corey" Nigra led the Justice throughout the match and broke the Overwatch League record for critical hit accuracy on Hanzo.[32]
Looking to continue their dominance in the new 2-2-2 meta, Washington next took on the Boston Uprising on August 9. Fueled by the continued stellar play from DPS Corey, the red-hot Justice proved too much to handle, as they took down Boston by a score of 3–1.[33] Two days later, the team faced the Houston Outlaws. After the teams split the first four maps, the match went to a fifth tiebreaker map. The Justice came out on top and won the match 3–2 to continue their undefeated Stage 4 record.[34]
The following week, the Justice faced the Atlanta Reign, who was also undefeated in Stage 4, on August 16. Washington lost the first map, Busan, and came out with a tie on the second map, Hanamura, to enter halftime down 0–1. Washington struck back on Hollywood, full-holding Atlanta on their attack, to tie the series heading into Junkertown. The Justice failed to win map four and lost the series 1–2.[35] The team's final match of the regular season was against the Paris Eternal two days later. The Justice ended the 2019 season on a high note by defeating the Eternal by a score of 3–1.[36]
^Renie, Jakehttps://thegamehaus.com/esports/overwatch-shanghai-dragons-vs-washington-justice-5-4-pending/2019/05/04/ (May 4, 2019). "Overwatch: Shanghai Dragons vs Washington Justice". The Game Haus. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
Injury / Illness
