title: 2018 Philadelphia Fusion season
text: # 2018 Philadelphia Fusion season
  
  The 2018 Philadelphia Fusion season was the first season of the Philadelphia Fusion's existence in the Overwatch League. The team finished with a regular season record of 24–16, which was the fifth best in the Overwatch League. Philadelphia had the same record as the London Spitfire, but London held the tiebreaker by map differential. Philadelphia qualified for the Stage 2 playoffs, in which they lost in the finals against the New York Excelsior. The team also qualified for the Season Playoffs, in which they lost in the Grand Finals against the London Spitfire.
  
  ## Preceding offseason
  
  On November 3, 2017, Fusion announced their inaugural season roster, consisting of the following players:
  
  * Lee "Carpe" Jae-hyeok
  * Simon "Snillo" Ekström
  * Georgii "ShaDowBurn" Gushcha
  * Josue "Eqo" Corona
  * Kim "SADO" Su-min
  * Joona "fragi" Laine
  * Alberto "Neptuno" González Molinillo
  * Park "DayFly" Jeong-hwan
  * Joseph "Joemeister" Gramano
  * Isaac "Boombox" Charles
  * Choi "Hotba" Hong-jun
  * Gael "Poko" Gouzerch
  
  Due to "player logistics issues," the Philadelphia Fusion did not participate in preseason play.
  
  ## Review
  
  ### Regular season
  
  Philadelphia's first regular season OWL match was a 3–2 victory against the Houston Outlaws on January 11. On January 25, Philadelphia upset the undefeated New York Excelsior, which marked New York's only loss in Stage 1. With a lack of preparation time heading into the regular season, the team struggled for form in Stage 1 and would only manage to notch 6 victories, missing the Stage 1 Playoffs.
  
  Using the stage-break to catch up on lost practice time and welcoming the arrival of Israeli DPS player Josue "Eqo" Corana, Stage 2 would prove to be a turning point for the team. After opening up the stage with back-to-back sweeps over the Boston Uprising and Florida Mayhem, the team would continue to impress and go on to achieve a much improved 3rd-place finish – good enough for a stage playoffs berth. During the Stage 2 Playoffs, the team surprised many after defeating heavily favored Stage 1 champions London Spitfire in the semi-finals, however a finals match-up with the New York Excelsior would prove a juggernaut too much as the Fusion would fall short in a hard-fought 5-map match.
  
  Heading into the final match of Stage 3 on May 5, the Fusion needed a win over the Los Angeles Valiant for a shot to claim the 4th seed in the Stage 3 playoff bracket. However, the Valiant proved too much to handle, as they defeated the Fusion by a score of 3–2 and claimed the 4th seed for their own.
  
  After Dallas Fuel's upset 3–1 win over the Los Angeles Valiant on June 15, Philadelphia needed a 4–0 sweep over the London Spitfire in order to make the Stage 4 Playoffs. While the Fusion were victorious in that matchup, they were only able to win by a score of 3–1 and subsequently, missed the Stage 4 Playoffs.
  
  ### Season playoffs
  
  Philadelphia Fusion claimed the 6th seed in the Season Playoffs on June 15, after Seoul Dynasty lost to the Los Angeles Gladiators. During the Post-Season Playoffs, Philadelphia Fusion first faced the Boston Uprising. After a dominant first game they lost the second one, forcing a tie-breaker game which Fusion managed to win. After that they faced the New York Excelsior, who were heavy favorites to win the Post-Season playoffs. Fusion upset them in the first game, winning 3–0 and then narrowly winning the second game 3–2, which sent them to the grand finals. In the Grand Finals they faced another underdog; the London Spitifire. The Spitfire however showed the potential their team had and beat the Fusion in a best-of-3-game series, winning 2–0.
  
  ## Standings
  
  ### League
  
  | Pos | Div | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | PCT | MW | ML | MT | MD | Qualification |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | ATL | New York Excelsior | 40 | 34 | 6 | 0.85 | 126 | 43 | 4 | +83 | Advance to season playoffs semifinals |
  | 2 | PAC | Los Angeles Valiant | 40 | 27 | 13 | 0.68 | 100 | 64 | 7 | +36 | Advance to season playoffs semifinals |
  | 3 | ATL | Boston Uprising | 40 | 26 | 14 | 0.65 | 99 | 71 | 3 | +28 | Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals |
  | 4 | PAC | Los Angeles Gladiators | 40 | 25 | 15 | 0.63 | 96 | 72 | 3 | +24 | Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals |
  | 5 | ATL | London Spitfire | 40 | 24 | 16 | 0.60 | 102 | 69 | 3 | +33 | Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals |
  | 6 | ATL | Philadelphia Fusion | 40 | 24 | 16 | 0.60 | 93 | 80 | 2 | +13 | Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals |
  | 7 | ATL | Houston Outlaws | 40 | 22 | 18 | 0.55 | 94 | 77 | 2 | +17 | |
  | 8 | PAC | Seoul Dynasty | 40 | 22 | 18 | 0.55 | 91 | 78 | 3 | +13 | |
  | 9 | PAC | San Francisco Shock | 40 | 17 | 23 | 0.43 | 77 | 84 | 5 | −7 | |
  | 10 | PAC | Dallas Fuel | 40 | 12 | 28 | 0.30 | 58 | 100 | 7 | −42 | |
  | 11 | ATL | Florida Mayhem | 40 | 7 | 33 | 0.18 | 42 | 120 | 5 | −78 | |
  | 12 | PAC | Shanghai Dragons | 40 | 0 | 40 | 0.00 | 21 | 141 | 2 | −120 | |
  
  ## Game log
  
  ### Regular season
  
  2018 game log (Regular season record: 24–16) :
  
  Stage 1 (6–4)
  
  1
  
  January 11
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  3
  
  2
  
  Houston Outlaws
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  2
  
  January 13
  
  London Spitfire
  
  4
  
  0
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  3
  
  January 17
  
  San Francisco Shock
  
  1
  
  2
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  4
  
  January 18
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  2
  
  3
  
  Los Angeles Gladiators
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  5
  
  January 25
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  3
  
  2
  
  New York Excelsior
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  6
  
  January 26
  
  Shanghai Dragons
  
  2
  
  3
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  7
  
  January 31
  
  Los Angeles Valiant
  
  4
  
  0
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  8
  
  February 01
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  4
  
  0
  
  Dallas Fuel
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  9
  
  February 08
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  0
  
  4
  
  Boston Uprising
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  10
  
  February 10
  
  Florida Mayhem
  
  2
  
  3
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA :
  
  Stage 2 (7–3)
  
  11
  
  February 22
  
  Boston Uprising
  
  0
  
  4
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  12
  
  February 24
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  4
  
  0
  
  Florida Mayhem
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  13
  
  March 01
  
  Houston Outlaws
  
  2
  
  3
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  14
  
  March 03
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  0
  
  4
  
  London Spitfire
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  15
  
  March 08
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  1
  
  3
  
  Seoul Dynasty
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  16
  
  March 09
  
  New York Excelsior
  
  3
  
  1
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  17
  
  March 15
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  4
  
  0
  
  Shanghai Dragons
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  18
  
  March 17
  
  Dallas Fuel
  
  0
  
  4
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  19
  
  March 21
  
  Los Angeles Gladiators
  
  1
  
  3
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  20
  
  March 23
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  3
  
  2
  
  Los Angeles Valiant
  
  Burbank, CA :
  
  Stage 3 (5–5)
  
  21
  
  April 05
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  2
  
  3
  
  Boston Uprising
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  22
  
  April 07
  
  Florida Mayhem
  
  1
  
  3
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  23
  
  April 12
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  3
  
  2
  
  Houston Outlaws
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  24
  
  April 14
  
  London Spitfire
  
  2
  
  3
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  25
  
  April 19
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  2
  
  3
  
  New York Excelsior
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  26
  
  April 20
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  1
  
  3
  
  San Francisco Shock
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  27
  
  April 26
  
  Seoul Dynasty
  
  3
  
  2
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  28
  
  April 28
  
  Shanghai Dragons
  
  2
  
  3
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  29
  
  May 02
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  3
  
  1
  
  Dallas Fuel
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  30
  
  May 05
  
  Los Angeles Valiant
  
  3
  
  2
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA :
  
  Stage 4 (6–4)
  
  31
  
  May 17
  
  Boston Uprising
  
  1
  
  3
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  32
  
  May 19
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  4
  
  0
  
  Florida Mayhem
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  33
  
  May 24
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  4
  
  0
  
  Shanghai Dragons
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  34
  
  May 26
  
  Dallas Fuel
  
  3
  
  1
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  35
  
  May 30
  
  New York Excelsior
  
  4
  
  0
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  36
  
  May 31
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  1
  
  3
  
  Los Angeles Gladiators
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  37
  
  June 07
  
  San Francisco Shock
  
  1
  
  2
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  38
  
  June 08
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  3
  
  2
  
  Seoul Dynasty
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  39
  
  June 14
  
  Houston Outlaws
  
  3
  
  1
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  40
  
  June 16
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  3
  
  1
  
  London Spitfire
  
  Burbank, CA :
  
  ### Playoffs
  
  2018 playoff game log :
  
  Stage 2 Playoffs (1–1)
  
  Semifinals
  
  March 25
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  3
  
  2
  
  London Spitfire
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  Finals
  
  March 25
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  2
  
  3
  
  New York Excelsior
  
  Burbank, CA :
  
  Season Playoffs (4–3)
  
  Quarterfinals Match 1
  
  July 11
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  3
  
  1
  
  Boston Uprising
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  Quarterfinals Match 2
  
  July 13
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  1
  
  3
  
  Boston Uprising
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  Quarterfinals Match 3
  
  July 13
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  3
  
  1
  
  Boston Uprising
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  Semifinals Match 1
  
  July 18
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  3
  
  1
  
  New York Excelsior
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  Semifinals Match 2
  
  July 21
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  3
  
  2
  
  New York Excelsior
  
  Burbank, CA
  
  Grand Finals Match 1
  
  July 27
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  1
  
  3
  
  London Spitfire
  
  Brooklyn, NY
  
  Grand Finals Match 2
  
  July 28
  
  Philadelphia Fusion
  
  0
  
  3
  
  London Spitfire
  
  Brooklyn, NY :
  
  