2021 Toronto Defiant season

The 2021 Toronto Defiant season will be the third season of Toronto Defiant's existence in the Overwatch League and the team's first under head coach Kim "KDG" Dong-gun.

2021 Toronto Defiant season
Head coachKim "KDG" Dong-gun
OwnerChris Overholt
RegionWest
Results
Record9–7 (.563)
Place
May MeleeRegional semifinals
June JoustDid not qualify
Summer ShowdownDid not qualify
Countdown CupRegional finals
Season PlayoffsDid not qualify
Total Earnings$0

Preceding offseason

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Roster changes

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Free agents
Position Handle Name 2021 team Date signed Notes
Damage Agilities Brady Girardi Los Angeles Valiant December 9[1] Option declined
Tank Beast Adam Denton Toronto Defiant November 6[2] Option declined
Support Kariv Bak Young-seo Guangzhou Charge November 10[3] Option declined
Support Kruise Harrison Pond Young and Beautiful (OWC) March 10[4]
Damage Logix Andreas Berghmans Toronto Defiant October 23[5]
Damage Mangachu Liam Campbell
Tank Nevix Andreas Karlsson Option declined
Tank Numlocked Sebastian Barton Option declined
Support Roky Park Joo-sung
Damage Surefour Lane Roberts Option declined
Damage Zykk Thomas Hosono Option declined
Legend
  Light green background indicates a player was re-signed by the Defiant.
  Light red background indicates a player departed from the Defiant.

The Defiant entered free agency with eleven free agents, seven of which became free agents due to the Defiant not exercising the option to retain the player for another year.[6]

Acquisitions

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The Defiant's first offseason acquisition was Park "Aztac" Jeong-su, a rookie support player coming off of an Overwatch Contenders Korea championship on team WSG Phoenix while on a loan from Uprising Academy, who was signed on November 17, 2020.[7] Two days later, they signed An "Ansoonjae" Soon-jae, another rookie support player previously playing for Contenders team Element Mystic.[8] On November 21, Toronto signed Kim "Sado" Su-min, a veteran tank player coming off of a season with the Philadelphia Fusion in which he was a top-five main tank player in the league.[9] Two days later, the Defiant acquired damage player Jeong "Heesu" Hee-su from the Philadelphia Fusion.[10] The following day, they signed Choi "Michelle" Min-hyuk, a "consistently impressive" veteran tank player coming off a 2020 Grand Finals season with the Seoul Dynasty.[11] The Defiant made one acquisition in December; on December 11, they signed "Na1st" Lee Ho-sung, a rookie damage player specializing in projectile heroes coming from Contenders team T1.[12] The team's final acquisition was Mun "Lastro" Jung-won, a support player who had recently been released from the Los Angeles Valiant, signing on February 10, 2021.[13]

Departures

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Nine of the Defiant's eleven free agents did not return, three of which signed with other teams, beginning with support player Bak "Kariv" Young-seo signing with the Guangzhou Charge on November 10, 2020.[3] On December 9, damage player Brady "Agilities" Girardi signed with the Los Angeles Valiant.[1] The team's final free agent to sign to another team was support player Harrison "Kruise" Pond, who signed with Overwatch Contenders team Young and Beautiful on March 10, 2021.[4] Four of the Defiant's free agents announced their retirements in the offseason: damage player Lane "Surefour" Roberts,[14] damage player Thomas "Zykk" Hosono,[15] tank player Sebastian "Numlocked" Barton,[16] and support player Park "Roky" Joo-sung.[17] Damage player Liam "Mangachu" Campbell and tank player Andreas "Nevix" Karlsson did not sign with a team in the 2020 offseason.

Regular season

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The Defiant began their 2021 season on April 17, playing against Canadian rivals Vancouver Titans in the May Melee qualifiers. They won their opener 3–1.[18] Despite starting their following match against the Atlanta Reign with a 0–2 deficit, Toronto defeated the Reign 3–2 to close the week undefeated.[19]

On May 25, the Defiant announced that it had three positive COVID-19 cases within the organization, including damage player Andreas "Logix" Berghmans. Two days later, they signed Luka "Aspire" Rolovic, a damage player from Overwatch Contenders team American Tornado, on a 30-day contract.[20]

Final roster

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2021 Toronto Defiant roster
Players Coaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality
Damage 22 Logix Berghmans, Andreas Belgium
Damage 12 Aspire Rolovic, Luka United States
Damage 10 Heesu Jeong Hee-su South Korea
Damage 18 Na1st Lee Ho-sung South Korea
Tank 9 SADO Kim Su-min South Korea
Tank 51 Michelle Choi Min-hyuk South Korea
Support 30 ANSOONJAE An Soon-jae South Korea
Support 77 Lastro Mun Jung-won South Korea
Support 10 Aztac Park Jeong-su South Korea
Head coach
  • Kim "KDG" Dong-gun

Legend:
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • (2W) Two-way player
  •   Substitute
  •   Injury / Illness
  

Latest roster transaction: June 21, 2021.

Transactions

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Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2020 regular season:

  • On May 27, the Defiant signed damage player Luka "Aspire" Rolovic on a 30-day contract.[20]
  • On June 21, tank player Adam "Beast" Denton retired.[21]

Standings

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Pos Team Pld W L Pts PCT MW ML MT MD Qualification
1 Dallas Fuel 16 11 5 17 0.688 40 26 3 +14 Advance to season playoffs
2 Los Angeles Gladiators 16 11 5 14 0.688 41 21 0 +20
3 Atlanta Reign 16 11 5 13 0.688 41 21 0 +20
4 San Francisco Shock 16 12 4 12 0.750 43 24 2 +19 Advance to play-ins
5 Houston Outlaws 16 11 5 11 0.688 34 24 3 +10
6 Washington Justice 16 9 7 9 0.563 29 26 2 +3
7 Toronto Defiant 16 9 7 9 0.563 31 31 0 0
8 Paris Eternal 16 8 8 8 0.500 32 32 2 0
9 Boston Uprising 16 7 9 7 0.438 27 31 1 −4
10 Florida Mayhem 16 5 11 6 0.313 26 38 2 −12
11 London Spitfire 16 1 15 1 0.063 12 47 1 −35
12 Vancouver Titans 16 1 15 1 0.063 10 45 0 −35
Source: The Overwatch League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) winning percentage (including tournaments); 3) regular season wins; 4) regular season map differential

Game log

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Regular season

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2021 game log
May Melee
Qualifier match 1 April 17 Toronto Defiant 3 1 Vancouver Titans Online
3:00 pm EDT    Details
2 Busan 1
3 Eichenwalde 2
1 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 2
2 Hanamura 1
Qualifier match 2 April 18 Toronto Defiant 3 2 Atlanta Reign Online
6:00 pm EDT    Details
0 Nepal 2
2 Blizzard World 3
3 Dorado 2
2 Temple of Anubis 1
2 Busan 0
Qualifier match 3 April 30 Toronto Defiant 0 3 Washington Justice Online
6:00 pm EDT    Details
0 Oasis 2
0 Temple of Anubis 2
0 Blizzard World 1
Qualifier match 4 May 01 London Spitfire 1 3 Toronto Defiant Online
4:30 pm EDT    Details
1 Lijiang Tower 2
3 Volskaya Industries 2
1 King's Row 2
2 Havana 3
Regional semifinals May 02 Toronto Defiant 0 3 Florida Mayhem Online
3:00 pm EDT    Details
0 Ilios 2
1 Temple of Anubis 2
1 King's Row 2

June Joust
Qualifier match 1 May 21 Paris Eternal 1 3 Toronto Defiant Online
3:00 pm EDT    Details
0 Busan 2
3 Eichenwalde 1
2 Dorado 3
1 Temple of Anubis 2
Qualifier match 2 May 22 Toronto Defiant 0 3 Boston Uprising Online
6:00 pm EDT    Details
0 Ilios 2
2 Numbani 3
3 Rialto 4
Qualifier match 3 May 29 San Francisco Shock 3 1 Toronto Defiant Online
4:30 pm EDT    Details
2 Oasis 0
1 Junkertown 2
2 Hanamura 1
3 Hollywood 1
Qualifier match 4 May 30 Toronto Defiant 1 3 Houston Outlaws Online
3:00 pm EDT    Details
2 Lijiang Tower 1
0 Rialto 3
0 Volskaya Industries 2
0 Numbani 3

Summer Showdown
Qualifier match 1 June 26 Florida Mayhem 2 3 Toronto Defiant Online
4:30 pm EDT    Details
1 Ilios 2
2 Hollywood 1
3 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 1
2 Hanamura 3
0 Lijiang Tower 2
Qualifier match 2 June 27 Toronto Defiant 3 0 Vancouver Titans Online
6:00 pm EDT    Details
2 Oasis 1
3 Eichenwalde 0
2 Route 66 0
Qualifier match 3 July 09 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 0 Toronto Defiant Online
4:30 pm EDT    Details
2 Lijiang Tower 1
5 Temple of Anubis 4
1 Eichenwalde 0
Qualifier match 4 July 10 Toronto Defiant 1 3 Dallas Fuel Online
4:30 pm EDT    Details
0 Busan 2
1 Volskaya Industries 2
2 King's Row 1
1 Junkertown 3

Countdown Cup
Qualifier match 1 August 06 London Spitfire 1 3 Toronto Defiant Online
3:00 pm EDT    Details
1 Ilios 2
1 Rialto 0
1 Temple of Anubis 2
2 Numbani 3
Qualifier match 2 August 07 Toronto Defiant 3 0 Washington Justice Online
6:00 pm EDT    Details
2 Lijiang Tower 0
2 Havana 1
2 Hanamura 1
Qualifier match 3 August 12 Paris Eternal 2 3 Toronto Defiant Online
3:00 pm EDT    Details
1 Oasis 2
2 Volskaya Industries 3
6 King's Row 5
3 Route 66 2
1 Nepal 2
Qualifier match 4 August 14 San Francisco Shock 3 1 Toronto Defiant Online
6:00 pm EDT    Details
1 Busan 2
2 Hanamura 1
2 Numbani 0
Regional semifinals August 15 Paris Eternal 2 3 Toronto Defiant Online
3:00 pm EDT    Details
2 Lijiang Tower 1
0 Volskaya Industries 1
1 Blizzard World 2
3 Rialto 2
1 Oasis 2
Regional finals August 15 Toronto Defiant 1 3 Atlanta Reign Online
6:15 pm EDT    Details
1 Busan 2
3 Volskaya Industries 3
3 King's Row 5
1 Route 66 0
1 Oasis 2

2021 season schedule

Postseason

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2021 playoff game log
West Play-ins
Semifinals September 4 Boston Uprising 0 3 Toronto Defiant Online
5:30 pm EDT    Details
1 Busan 2
1 Temple of Anubis 2
1 King's Row 3
Finals September 5 Toronto Defiant 0 3 San Francisco Shock Online
3:00 pm EDT    Details
0 Oasis 2
1 Volskaya Industries 2
0 Numbani 3

References

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  1. ^ a b Czar, Michael (December 10, 2020). "Agilities returns to the Los Angeles Valiant". Daily Esports. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  2. ^ Richardson, Liz (November 6, 2020). "Toronto Defiant re-signs main tank Beast". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Howard, Brandon (November 12, 2020). "Guangzhou Charge Add KariV, Mandu". TheGamer. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Young and Beautiful [@YaB_OW] (March 10, 2021). "Here are the players that will be representing Young and Beautiful in EU Contenders this 2021 season" (Tweet). Retrieved March 10, 2021 – via Twitter.
  5. ^ McMahon, Mallory (October 23, 2020). "Toronto Defiant Sign Logix for 2021 Season". The Game Haus. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  6. ^ "2021 Player Contract Status". Overwatch League. October 21, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  7. ^ Richardson, Liz (November 17, 2020). "Toronto Defiant signs flex support Aztac". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  8. ^ Michael, Cale (November 19, 2020). "Toronto Defiant signs ANSOONJAE". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  9. ^ Johnson, Xavier (November 21, 2020). "Toronto Defiant signs former Fusion tank SADO". Dot Esports. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  10. ^ Richardson, Liz (November 23, 2020). "Toronto Defiant acquires former Fusion DPS Heesu". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  11. ^ Richardson, Cale (November 24, 2020). "Toronto Defiant signs off-tank Michelle". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  12. ^ Czar, Michael (December 12, 2020). "Flex DPS Na1st signs to the Toronto Defiant". Daily Esports. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  13. ^ Field Level Media (February 10, 2020). "Defiant sign former Valiant support Lastro". Reuters. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  14. ^ Michael, Cale (February 3, 2021). "Sentinels signs former Overwatch League pro Surefour as a content creator". Dot Esports. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  15. ^ Michael, Cale (January 17, 2021). "ZYKK retires from Overwatch to pursue VALORANT". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  16. ^ Field Level Media (January 21, 2021). "Numlocked announces retirement from OWL". Reuters. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  17. ^ Joo-sung Park [@OW_RoKY] (November 9, 2020). "Player retirement and new challenge" (Tweet). Retrieved January 29, 2021 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ Field Level Media (April 17, 2021). "SP9RK1E leads Fuel past Gladiators in Overwatch Week 1". Reuters. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  19. ^ Waltzer, Noah; Field Level Media (April 18, 2021). "Houston upsets San Francisco, improves to 2-0 in wild Sunday". Gwinnet Prep Sports. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  20. ^ a b Richardson, Liz (May 27, 2021). "Toronto Defiant adds DPS Aspire on 30-day contract". Dot Esports. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  21. ^ Toronto Defiant [@TorontoDefiant] (June 21, 2021). "We are saying goodbye to Adam as he retires from professional Overwatch" (Tweet) – via Twitter.