2020 Paris Eternal season

2020 Paris Eternal season
Head coachYun "Rush" Hee-won
General managerMichael De Wit
OwnerDrew McCourt
ConferenceAtlantic
DivisionNorth
RegionNorth America
Results
Record15–6 (.714)
Place
May MeleeQuarterfinals
Summer ShowdownChampions
Countdown CupSemifinals
Season PlayoffsNA Lower Round 1
Total Earnings$165,000

The 2020 Paris Eternal season was the second season of Paris Eternal's existence in the Overwatch League and their first under head coach Yun "Rush" Hee-won. The Eternal planned to host three homestand weekends in the 2020 season at Zénith Paris in Paris, France,[1] but all homestand matches were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 24 October, the Eternal signed former Element Mystic head coach Yun "Rush" Hee-won as their new head coach. The Eternal won their first ever tournament championship on 6 July after taking down the San Francisco Shock in the Summer Showdown finals.[2] Paris finished the regular season with 15 wins, 4 bonus wins from midseason tournaments, and 6 losses to claim the third seed in the North America season playoffs; however, a 0–3 loss to the Washington Justice on 6 September in the North America playoffs ended their season.[3]

Preceding offseason

[edit]

Organizational changes

[edit]

In October 2019, Paris Eternal parted ways with Felix "Féfé" Munch, who joined the team as their head coach midway through their inaugural season, assistant coach Kyle "KyKy" Souder, and manager Alban "Albless" de la Grange.[4] The team signed Kim "NineK" Beom-hoon, former assistant coach of the San Francisco Shock, as a coach two days later, although the team did not specify whether he would serve as the team's head coach or assistant coach.[5] On 24 October, the Eternal announced the acquisition of the former Element Mystic head coach Yun "Rush" Hee-won as their new head coach. In addition, the team also picked up former Shanghai Dragons and Element Mystic assistant coach Jeong "Levi" Chung-Hyeok and former Toronto Defiant support player Go "Aid" Jae-yoon as assistant coaches.[6] On 10 December, Eternal signed former Washington Justice coach Kyoung-Ey "AVALLA" Kim as their assistant general manager.[7]

Roster changes

[edit]

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

Acquisitions

[edit]

The Eternal's first offseason acquisition was on 24 October, when they signed former Element DPS player Mystic Kim "SP9RK1E" Young-han, one of the most sought after free agents of the offseason. SP9RK1E will not be eligible to play until 31 May 2020, when he turns 18.[6] The following day, the team picked up two more former Element Mystic players in DPS Jung "Xzi" Kihyo and tank Choi "Hanbin" Han-bin.[10] On 23 November, Paris signed former Hangzhou Spark tank player Jeong "NoSmite" Da-Un.[11] The team signed tank player Eoghan "Smex" O'Neill from Montreal Rebellion on 3 December.[12] Paris rounded out their roster on 7 January with the signing of support player Brice "FDGod" Monsçavoir.[13]

Departures

[edit]

On 23 October, the Eternal announced that they would not exercise their option to retain DPS George "ShaDowBurn" Gushcha, DPS Karol "Danye" Szcześniak, main tank Roni "lhcloudy" Tiihonen, and off-tank Finnbjörn "Finnsi" Jónasson for the upcoming season.[14]

Roster

[edit]
2020 Paris Eternal roster
Players Coaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality
Damage 10 NiCOgdh Moret, Nicolas France
Damage 99 SoOn Tarlier, Terrence France
Damage 1 Sp9rk1e Jung Ki-hyo South Korea
Damage 11 Xzi Kim Yeong-han South Korea
Tank 17 BenBest Dieulafait, Benjamin France
Tank 3 NoSmite Jeong Da-un South Korea
Tank 19 Hanbin Choi Han-been South Korea
Tank 20 Smex (I) O'Neill, Eoghan United Kingdom
Support 27 FDGod Monsçavoir, Brice France
Support 31 Fielder Kwon Joon South Korea
Head coach
  • Yun "Rush" Hee-won

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

Latest roster transaction: 7 May 2020.

Transactions

[edit]

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

  • On 2 April, support Damien "HyP" Souville retired.[15]
  • On 2 May, the Eternal transferred support Harrison "Kruise" Pond to the Toronto Defiant.[16]
  • On 2 May, the Eternal signed support Joon "Fielder" Kwon.[17]
  • On 7 May, support Luís "Greyy" Perestrelo retired.[18]

Standings

[edit]
Pos Con Team Pld W BW L PCT MW ML MT MD Qualification
1 ATL Philadelphia Fusion 21 19 5 2 0.905 59 19 0 +40 Advance to playoffs
2 PAC San Francisco Shock 21 18 7 3 0.857 56 17 2 +39
3 ATL Paris Eternal 21 15 4 6 0.714 50 31 0 +19
4 ATL Florida Mayhem 21 14 3 7 0.667 48 30 0 +18
5 PAC Los Angeles Valiant 21 11 1 10 0.524 41 41 0 0
6 PAC Los Angeles Gladiators 21 11 0 10 0.524 43 39 5 +4 Advance to play-ins
7 ATL Atlanta Reign 21 10 0 11 0.476 43 35 0 +8
8 PAC Dallas Fuel 21 9 0 12 0.429 35 44 0 −9
9 ATL Toronto Defiant 21 7 1 14 0.333 32 48 0 −16
10 ATL Houston Outlaws 21 6 0 15 0.286 32 50 3 −18
11 PAC Vancouver Titans 21 6 0 15 0.286 23 48 0 −25
12 ATL Washington Justice 21 4 0 17 0.190 21 54 1 −33
13 ATL Boston Uprising 21 2 0 19 0.095 14 61 4 −47
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


Game log

[edit]

Regular season

[edit]
2020 game log (Regular season record: 15–6)
February–April: 5–4
1 8 February Toronto Defiant 3 1 Paris Eternal New York City, NY
7:00 pm CET     Hammerstein Ballroom
Hosted by New York Excelsior
0 Lijiang Tower 2
4 Eichenwalde 3
3 Horizon Lunar Colony 2
3 Havana 0
2 9 February London Spitfire 0 3 Paris Eternal New York City, NY
7:00 pm CET     Hammerstein Ballroom
Hosted by New York Excelsior
0 Nepal 2
3 King's Row 4
1 Hanamura 2
3 22 February Paris Eternal 3 1 Washington Justice Washington, DC
1:00 am CET     The Anthem
Hosted by Washington Justice
2 Ilios 1
1 Temple of Anubis 2
2 Junkertown 1
3 Blizzard World 2
4 1 March Paris Eternal 3 1 Atlanta Reign Houston, TX
9:00 pm CET     Revention Music Center
Hosted by Houston Outlaws
2 Busan 1
3 King's Row 1
1 Hanamura 2
3 Dorado 2
5 7 March Paris Eternal 0 3 Houston Outlaws Washington, DC
11:00 pm CET     The Anthem
Hosted by Washington Justice
1 Oasis 2
0 Havana 1
1 Eichenwalde 2
6 8 March Paris Eternal 3 2 Philadelphia Fusion Washington, DC
9:00 pm CET     The Anthem
Hosted by Washington Justice
2 Ilios 0
3 Junkertown 2
0 Blizzard World 1
1 Hanamura 2
2 Oasis 1
7 5 April Paris Eternal 3 1 Houston Outlaws Online
8:00 pm UTC    
8 11 April Paris Eternal 2 3 Philadelphia Fusion Online
8:00 pm UTC    
9 17 April Paris Eternal 0 3 Florida Mayhem Online
11:00 pm UTC    

May Melee qualifiers: 2–1
10 3 May Paris Eternal 2 3 Philadelphia Fusion Online
7:00 pm UTC    
11 9 May Paris Eternal 3 1 Los Angeles Gladiators Online
7:00 pm UTC    
12 17 May Paris Eternal 3 0 Dallas Fuel Online
7:00 pm UTC    

Summer Showdown qualifiers: 2–1
13 13 June Paris Eternal 3 2 Boston Uprising Online
7:00 pm UTC    
14 20 June Paris Eternal 0 3 San Francisco Shock Online
7:00 pm UTC    
15 28 June Paris Eternal 3 1 Los Angeles Valiant Online
7:00 pm UTC    

Countdown Cup qualifiers: 4–0
16 17 July Paris Eternal 3 0 Vancouver Titans Online
7:00 pm UTC    
17 19 July Paris Eternal 3 0 Toronto Defiant Online
7:00 pm UTC    
18 26 July Paris Eternal 3 0 Los Angeles Gladiators Online
7:00 pm UTC    
19 1 August Paris Eternal 3 1 Washington Justice Online
7:00 pm UTC    

August: 2–0
20 15 August Paris Eternal 3 2 Atlanta Reign Online
7:00 pm UTC    
21 23 August Paris Eternal 3 1 Dallas Fuel Online
7:00 pm UTC    

Midseason tournaments

[edit]
2020 midseason tournaments game log
May Melee: 1–1
Knockouts 23 May Paris Eternal 3 2 Boston Uprising Online
1:00 am UTC    
Quarterfinals 24 May Paris Eternal 2 3 Los Angeles Valiant Online
1:00 am UTC    

Summer Showdown: 4–0
Knockouts 3 July Paris Eternal 3 1 Dallas Fuel Online
7:00 pm UTC    
Quarterfinals 4 July Paris Eternal 3 1 Vancouver Titans Online
7:00 pm UTC    
Semifinals 5 July Paris Eternal 3 2 San Francisco Shock Online
9:20 pm UTC    
Finals 6 July Paris Eternal 4 3 Philadelphia Fusion Online
12:00 midnight UTC    

Countdown Cup: 1–1
Quarterfinals 9 August Paris Eternal 3 1 Los Angeles Valiant Online
1:00 am UTC    
Semifinals 9 August Paris Eternal 1 3 Philadelphia Fusion Online
7:00 pm UTC    

Bonus wins awarded: 4

Postseason

[edit]
2020 playoff game log
North America Bracket: 0–2
Upper Round 1 6 September Paris Eternal 2 3 Atlanta Reign Online
1:00 am UTC    
Lower Round 1 6 September Paris Eternal 0 3 Washington Justice Online
9:00 pm UTC    

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Hayward, Andrew (21 August 2019). "Update: Five More OWL Teams Confirm Homestand Venues". The Esports Observer. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  2. ^ Richardson, Liz (5 July 2020). "Guangzhou Charge, Paris Eternal win Overwatch League Summer Showdown". Dot Esports. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  3. ^ Holt, Kris (9 September 2020). "One Of The Overwatch League's Worst Teams Is Suddenly Good Enough To Win It All". Forbes. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Overwatch League moves: Valiant shake up team, Fusion extend Carpe". ESPN. Reuters. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  5. ^ Richardson, Liz (18 October 2019). "Paris Eternal add NineK as coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  6. ^ a b Richardson, Liz (24 October 2019). "Paris Eternal sign SP9RK1E, add coaching staff". Dot Esports. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  7. ^ Shepard, Kate (10 December 2019). "Avalla joins the Paris Eternal as Assistant GM". The Game Haus. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  8. ^ Morello, Matt (30 July 2019). "2020 Team Needs and Player Contract Status". Overwatch League. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  9. ^ Richardson, Liz (4 October 2019). "Overwatch League reveals player contract status for entire league". Dot Esports. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  10. ^ Martinello, Eva (25 October 2019). "Former Element Mystic players Xzi and Hanbin join Paris Eternal". Dot Esports. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  11. ^ Richardson, Liz (23 November 2019). "Paris Eternal add NoSmite". Dot Esports. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  12. ^ "Overwatch League's Paris Eternal add Smex to 2020 roster". ESPN. Reuters. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  13. ^ Peres, Pedro (7 January 2020). "Paris Eternal sign FDGod". Dot Esports. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  14. ^ Richardson, Liz (23 October 2019). "Paris Eternal release 4 players". Dot Esports. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  15. ^ Richardson, Liz (2 April 2020). "HyP leaves Paris Eternal, retires from competitive Overwatch". Dot Esports. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  16. ^ Samples, Rachel (2 May 2020). "Kruise parts ways with Paris Eternal, signs with Toronto Defiant". Dot Esports. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  17. ^ Castelot, Ophilie (2 May 2020). "Overwatch: Paris Eternal welcome flex Support Fielder". ESTNN. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  18. ^ Richardson, Liz (7 May 2020). "Flex support Greyy leaves Paris Eternal, retires from Overwatch". Dot Esports. Retrieved 15 October 2020.