2019 Atlanta Reign season

2019   Atlanta Reign season
Head coach	Brad Rajani
General manager	Paul Hamilton
Owner	Atlanta Esports Ventures
Division	Atlantic
Results
Record	16–12 (.571)
Place	Atlantic: 2nd League: 6th
Stage 1 Playoffs	Quarterfinals
Stage 2 Playoffs	Did not qualify
Stage 3 Playoffs	Did not qualify
Season Playoffs	Lower Round 2
Total Earnings	$325,000
Atlanta Reign 2020  →

The 2019 Atlanta Reign season was the first season of the Atlanta Reign's existence in the Overwatch League as one of eight expansion franchises added for the 2019 season.

The Reign's first ever regular season OWL match resulted in a 4–0 victory against Florida Mayhem on February 15. Atlanta finished Stage 1 with a 4–3 record and secured a spot in the Stage 1 playoffs, but a 1–3 loss in the quarterfinals by the Philadelphia Fusion ended their playoff run. Prior to Stage 2, multiple roster changes took place, including the retirement of Daniel "dafran" Francesca. The Reign struggled throughout Stages 2 and 3, posting a combined 5–9 record and no stage playoff appearances. The team hit their stride in Stage 4, when the league implemented a 2-2-2 role lock. A 4–0 victory over the Boston Uprising on August 25 gave the Reign a perfect 7–0 record in Stage 4, a 16–12 record for the season, and the sixth seed in the season playoffs.

Atlanta's first playoff match resulted with a 4–3 victory over the San Francisco Shock on September 6. However, the team fell 2–4 to the New York Excelsior the following match, sending them to the lower bracket. A 0–4 loss to the Hangzhou Spark in the following match ended the Reign's playoff run.

Preceding offseason

On September 9, 2018, Atlanta announced the hiring of former San Francisco Shock head coach Brad "Sephy" Rajani as the team's head coach. ^[1] On October 28, 2018, the Reign announced their full roster, consisting of eight players. It did not include any player that had previously competed in the Overwatch League; instead, the team signed the following players from various Overwatch Contenders scenes: ^{[2] [3]}

• Jun "Erster" Jeong,
• Ilya "NLaaeR" Koppalov,
• Daniel "dafran" Francesca,
• Blake "Gator" Scott,
• Hyeonjun "Pokpo" Park,
• Donghyung "Daco" Seo,
• Steven "Kodak" Rosenberger, and
• Petja "Masaa" Kantanen.

On November 7, initial roster signee Daniel "dafran" Francesa announced via Twitter that he would be leaving the Overwatch League; however, the resignation was short-lived, as just two days later, dafran decided to remain a member of the Atlanta Reign. ^[4] On February 11, Reign promoted Dusttin "Dogman" Bowerman from ATL Academy. ^[5]

Regular season

Support player Dogman at The Novo in Los Angeles

The Reign's first regular season OWL match was against the Florida Mayhem on February 15; Atlanta swept Florida 4–0. ^[6] The Reign 3–1 to finished Stage 1 with a 4–3 record and claimed the fifth seed in the Stage 1 playoffs. ^[7] In the quarterfinals, Atlanta lost to the Philadelphia Fusion, 1–3. ^[8]

Multiple roster changes occurred prior to the beginning of Stage 2. Five days after Reign's Stage 1 playoff loss, Dafran announced that he was, again, officially retiring from the Overwatch League and became a streamer for the Reign. ^[9] On March 31, the team announced that British main support player Daniel "FunnyAstro" Hathaway had been signed to the Atlanta Reign and ATL Academy on a two-way contract. ^[10] Two days later, the team announced that American DPS player Andrej "babybay" Francisty had been transferred to the Reign from the San Francisco Shock. ^[11] On April 3, Atlanta acquired off-tank player Nathan "frd" Goebel from the Los Angeles Gladiators academy team Gladiators Legion. ^[12] Atlanta finished Stage 2 with a 3–4 record, giving the team an overall record if 7–7, and did not qualify for the Stage 2 playoffs. ^[13]

In Stage 3, the Reign headed to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta to host the "Atlanta Reign Homestand Weekend". Their first match at the homestand was against the Toronto Defiant on July 6. Dogman and Babybay put on strong offensive performances in the match, as Atlanta went on to win the match 3–1, giving the team their first win of Stage 3. ^[14] The next day, Atlanta faced the Florida Mayhem. The Reign closed out Stage 3 on a high note, sweeping the Mayhem 4–0 to post a perfect record in front of their home crowd in Atlanta. ^[15]

Atlanta claimed a perfect 7–0 record in Stage 4, giving the team a 16–12 record for the season. Additionally, the team's +19 map differential put them just ahead of the London Spitfire, who had the same record, in the regular season standings to give them the sixth seed in the season playoffs. ^[16]

Homestand Weekend

Stage 3 featured the Atlanta Reign Homestand Weekend at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.

Stage 3 saw the "Atlanta Reign Homestand Weekend" – the second of three Overwatch League "Homestand Weekends" of the 2019 season. The two-day event, which took tale place at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, Georgia on July 6–7, featured four matches per day among eight Overwatch League teams. ^[17] The Homestand, which saw a sold-out crowd of 2,700 attendees for both days, was smaller than the Dallas Fuel Homestand, as the Allen Event Center in Dallas, Texas. ^[18] Sponsors for the event included Bud Light and Atlanta-based company Coca-Cola. In reference to the League's plan to hold matches in the 2020 season locally, Activision-Blizzard Esports Leagues President & CEO Pete Vlastelica said, "It's showing us the model can work. If these were just fun events that fans were attending because they love the Overwatch game, it would be less exciting. But what we saw in Dallas (in April) and are seeing here is these are home events. At the Dallas event, when the Dallas team took the stage, the whole crowd of 4,500 people started screaming, 'Let’s go Dallas.' … That gives us a lot of optimism going into next season to see the demand for these events to fill pretty nice sized arenas." ^[19]

Playoffs

Atlanta opened the double-elimination season playoffs with a match against the third-seeded San Francisco Shock on September 6. The two teams traded blows throughout the entirety of the match, with Atlanta winning maps one, three, and five, and San Francisco winning maps two, four, and six. For the final map of the series, the Reign sent the match to Rialto, while the Shock opted to attack first. On their attack, the Shock managed to reach the first two checkpoints, but the Reign held them from completing the map as the cart stopped at the choke near the end of the map. On defense, San Francisco yielded the first two checkpoints to Atlanta. With about 30 seconds remaining on their attack and the payload only a few meters away from the Shock's distance pushed, the Reign engaged the Shock at the choke; Atlanta's DPS, and former Shock player, Andrej "babybay" Francisty eliminated San Francisco's main tank Yoo "smurf" Myeong-hwan, who was the only Shock player preventing the payload from advancing. With all of the other Shock players focused on other engagements, none of them were near the payload, and the cart rolled forward far enough for Atlanta to take the map claim a 4–3 victory. ^[20]

Moving on the first round of the winners' bracket, the Reign next faced the second-seeded New York Excelsior two days later. New York jumped to a quick lead, winning on Busan and King's Row in the first to matches, but Atlanta closed the gap after the match break, claiming a win on Hanamura. For map four, New York selected Rialto, and while the Reign nearly took that map to even the score, excellent defensive Bastion play by New York's Park "Saebyeolbe" Jong-ryeol ensured that the Reign would fall short. ^[21] The Reign selected Lijiang Tower for map five and won it in two rounds, again closing the gap. However, the Excelsior closed out the series with a win on Numbani. The 2–4 loss sent the Reign to the lower bracket. ^[22]

Atlanta's next match was against the forth-seeded Hangzhou Spark on September 12 in the second round of the lower bracket. Like their two previous matches, the Spark jumped out to an early 1–0 lead after winning on Busan. For map two, the Reign selected Numbani – a map that the Reign had performed historically well on. After both teams completed the map on their respective attacks, the map went to overtime rounds. With only one minute in the time bank, the Spark rolled on their second attack, completing the map second time; Atlanta failed to complete the same feat and took the map loss. The Spark carried their momentum into the following to maps, winning them both, as the Reign were swept, 4–0, ending their playoff run. ^[23]

Final roster

2019 Atlanta Reign roster
Players	Coaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality Damage   10 Erster  Jeong Joon  South Korea  Damage   13 babybay  Francisty, Andrej   United States  Damage   25 NLaaeR  Koppalov, Ilya   Russia  Tank   1 Gator (TW)  Scott, Blake   United States  Tank   4 frd  Goebel, Nathan   United States  Tank   6 Pokpo  Park Hyeon-jun  South Korea  Tank   7 Daco  Seo Dong-hyung  South Korea  Support   11 Dogman  Bowerman, Dusttin   United States  Support   19 FunnyAstro (TW)  Hathaway, Daniel   United Kingdom  Support   66 Masaa  Kantanen, Petja   Finland	Head coach Brad Rajani
Legend: (I) Inactive (S) Suspended (2W) Two-way player Substitute Injury / Illness	Latest roster transaction: June 10, 2019.

Transactions

Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2019 regular season:

• On March 28, Daniel "dafran" Francesca retired. ^[9]
• On March 29, Reign signed Daniel "FunnyAstro" Hathaway. ^[10]
• On April 2, Reign acquired Andrej "Babybay" Francisty from San Francisco Shock. ^[11]
• On April 3, Reign signed Nathan "frd" Goebel. ^[12]
• On June 10, Reign moved Steven "Kodak" Rosenberger to ATL Academy. ^[24]

Standings

Record by stage

Stage	Pld	W	L	Pct	MW	ML	MT	MD	Pos
1	7	4	3	.571	18	12	0	+6	5
2	7	3	4	.429	14	17	0	-3	11
3	7	2	5	.286	14	17	0	-3	15
4 [lower-alpha 1]	7	7	0	1.000	23	4	1	+19	1
Overall	28	16	12	.571	69	50	1	+19	6
Qualified for playoffs •  Qualified for play-in tournament

1. No stage playoffs were held for Stage 4.

League

2019 Overwatch League standings v t e
#	Team	Division	W	L	PCT	P	MR	MD
Division leaders
1	Vancouver Titans	PAC	25	3	.893	28	89–28–0	+61
2	New York Excelsior	ATL	22	6	.786	28	78–38–3	+40
Wild cards
3	San Francisco Shock	PAC	23	5	.821	28	92–26–0	+66
4	Hangzhou Spark	PAC	18	10	.643	28	64–52–4	+12
5	Los Angeles Gladiators	PAC	17	11	.607	28	67–48–3	+19
6	Atlanta Reign	ATL	16	12	.571	28	69–50–1	+19
Play-in tournament
7	London Spitfire	ATL	16	12	.571	28	58–52–6	+6
8	Seoul Dynasty	PAC	15	13	.536	28	64–50–3	+14
9	Guangzhou Charge	PAC	15	13	.536	28	61–57–1	+4
10	Philadelphia Fusion	ATL	15	13	.536	28	57–60–3	-3
11	Shanghai Dragons	PAC	13	15	.464	28	51–61–3	-10
12	Chengdu Hunters	PAC	13	15	.464	28	55–66–1	-11
Did not qualify for playoffs
13	Los Angeles Valiant	PAC	12	16	.429	28	56–61–4	-5
14	Paris Eternal	ATL	11	17	.393	28	46–67–3	-21
15	Dallas Fuel	PAC	10	18	.357	28	43–70–3	-27
16	Houston Outlaws	ATL	9	19	.321	28	47–69–3	-22
17	Toronto Defiant	ATL	8	20	.286	28	39–72–4	-33
17	Washington Justice	ATL	8	20	.286	28	39–72–6	-33
19	Boston Uprising	ATL	8	20	.286	28	41–78–2	-37
20	Florida Mayhem	ATL	6	22	.214	28	36–75–5	-39
Tiebreakers [lower-alpha 1]
The first tiebreaker for teams of the same record is map differential.

Game log

Regular season

2019 game log (Regular season record: 16–12)
Stage 1 (4–3) 1 February 15 Atlanta Reign 4 – 0 Florida Mayhem Burbank, CA     Recap Blizzard Arena 2 Ilios 0 2 Hollywood 1 5 Volskaya Industries 4 2 Route 66 1 2 February 17 Philadelphia Fusion 3 – 2 Atlanta Reign Burbank, CA     Recap Blizzard Arena 1 Nepal 2 2 King's Row 1 4 Volskaya Industries 5 2 Dorado 1 2 Ilios 1 3 February 22 Atlanta Reign 3 – 1 Toronto Defiant Burbank, CA     Recap Blizzard Arena 1 Busan 2 2 Numbani 1 6 Horizon Lunar Colony 4 3 Dorado 0 4 March 02 Paris Eternal 0 – 4 Atlanta Reign Burbank, CA     Recap Blizzard Arena 0 Ilios 2 1 Hollywood 3 0 Temple of Anubis 2 2 Route 66 3 5 March 07 Atlanta Reign 0 – 4 Los Angeles Gladiators Burbank, CA     Recap Blizzard Arena 0 Busan 2 3 King's Row 4 1 Temple of Anubis 2 0 Rialto 3 6 March 16 Atlanta Reign 2 – 3 Chengdu Hunters Burbank, CA     Recap Blizzard Arena 0 Nepal 2 4 Numbani 3 0 Horizon Lunar Colony 1 3 Rialto 2 0 Busan 2 7 March 17 Houston Outlaws 1 – 3 Atlanta Reign Burbank, CA     Recap Blizzard Arena 1 Ilios 2 2 King's Row 1 0 Horizon Lunar Colony 1 2 Rialto 3
Stage 1 Playoffs Quarterfinals March 22 Atlanta Reign 1 – 3 Philadelphia Fusion Burbank, CA 6:00 pm PST     Recap Blizzard Arena 2 Ilios 1 1 King's Row 2 3 Volskaya Industries 4 1 Route 66 2
Stage 2 (3–4) 8 April 04 Boston Uprising 3 – 2 Atlanta Reign Burbank, CA 5:35 pm PST     Recap Blizzard Arena 1 Lijang Tower 2 1 Temple of Anubis 2 3 Eichenwalde 2 4 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 3 3 Busan 2 9 April 07 Atlanta Reign 0 – 4 London Spitfire Burbank, CA 1:45 pm PST     Recap Blizzard Arena 0 Oasis 2 1 Temple of Anubis 2 3 Blizzard World 4 3 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 4 10 April 12 Los Angeles Valiant 3 – 2 Atlanta Reign Burbank, CA 4:00 pm PST     Recap Blizzard Arena 2 Lijiang Tower 0 2 Paris 3 0 Blizzard World 1 3 Junkertown 2 2 Busan 1 11 April 14 Atlanta Reign 3 – 1 Washington Justice Burbank, CA 1:30 pm PST     Recap Blizzard Arena 2 Busan 0 0 Paris 1 2 Eichenwalde 1 4 Rialto 3 12 April 19 New York Excelsior 1 – 3 Atlanta Reign Burbank, CA 4:00 pm PST     Recap Blizzard Arena 0 Busan 2 2 Temple of Anubis 3 3 King's Row 4 4 Rialto 3 13 April 21 Atlanta Reign 1 – 3 Guangzhou Charge Burbank, CA 4:30 pm PST     Recap Blizzard Arena 0 Busan 2 7 Hanamura 6 7 King's Row 8 0 Rialto 3 14 May 04 Atlanta Reign 3 – 2 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 1:30 pm PST     Recap Blizzard Arena 2 Oasis 1 3 Hanamura 4 2 Blizzard World 1 2 Junkertown 3 2 Lijang Tower 0
Stage 3 (2–5) 15 June 06 San Francisco Shock 3 – 2 Atlanta Reign Burbank, CA 4:00 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena 1 Ilios 2 1 Paris 0 1 Hollywood 2 5 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 4 2 Oasis 0 16 June 08 Vancouver Titans 3 – 1 Atlanta Reign Burbank, CA 1:45 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena 2 Nepal 0 2 Paris 3 1 Hollywood 0 6 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 5 17 June 14 Shanghai Dragons 3 – 2 Atlanta Reign Burbank, CA 5:45 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena 0 Oasis 2 5 Volskaya Industries 4 4 Numbani 5 2 Havana 1 2 Nepal 0 18 June 15 Seoul Dynasty 4 – 0 Atlanta Reign Burbank, CA 1:45 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena 2 Oasis 1 5 Volskaya Industries 4 3 Eichenwalde 2 3 Dorado 2 19 June 22 Atlanta Reign 2 – 3 Philadelphia Fusion Burbank, CA 1:45 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena 2 Nepal 1 1 Horizon Lunar Colony 2 0 Numbani 2 2 Havana 1 0 Ilios 2 20 July 06 Toronto Defiant 1 – 3 Atlanta Reign Atlanta, GA 12:00 noon PST     Details Cobb Energy Center 0 Oasis 2 1 Volskaya Industries 0 3 Eichenwalde 4 2 Dorado 3 21 July 07 Florida Mayhem 0 – 4 Atlanta Reign Atlanta, GA 12:45 pm PST     Details Cobb Energy Center 1 Ilios 2 2 Horizon Lunar Colony 3 1 Eichenwalde 3 1 Dorado 2
Stage 4 (7–0) 22 July 27 Atlanta Reign 3 – 1 Hangzhou Spark Burbank, CA 5:15 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena 2 Ilios 0 2 Temple of Anubis 1 2 King's Row 3 1 Route 66 0 23 August 03 Atlanta Reign 4 – 0 Paris Eternal Burbank, CA 12:00 noon PST     Details Blizzard Arena 2 Ilios 1 3 Temple of Anubis 2 3 Hollywood 2 5 Route 66 4 24 August 04 Atlanta Reign 3 – 1 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 12:00 noon PST     Details Blizzard Arena 2 Lijiang Tower 0 2 Hanamura 3 1 Blizzard World 0 3 Route 66 2 25 August 16 Washington Justice 1 – 2 Atlanta Reign Burbank, CA 4:00 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena 1 Busan 2 1 Hanamura 1 1 Hollywood 0 2 Junkertown 3 26 August 18 London Spitfire 0 – 4 Atlanta Reign Burbank, CA 12:00 noon PST     Details Blizzard Arena 0 Busan 2 0 Hanamura 2 0 Blizzard World 3 2 Havana 3 27 August 24 Atlanta Reign 3 – 1 Dallas Fuel Los Angeles, CA 2:00 pm PST     Details The Novo 2 Busan 0 4 Volskaya Industries 5 3 King's Row 2 2 Havana 1 28 August 25 Atlanta Reign 4 – 0 Boston Uprising Los Angeles, CA 1:45 pm PST     Details The Novo 2 Lijiang Tower 0 2 Volskaya Industries 1 3 King's Row 2 3 Junkertown 2

Playoffs

2019 playoff game log
Season Playoffs (1–2) First round September 6 Atlanta Reign 4 – 3 San Francisco Shock Burbank, CA 7:00 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena 2 Busan 1 0 Numbani 3 1 Horizon Lunar Colony 0 2 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 3 2 Lijiang Tower 0 5 King's Row 6 6 Rialto 5 Winners Round 1 September 8 Atlanta Reign 2 – 4 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA 3:00 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena 1 Busan 2 4 King's Row 5 2 Hanamura 1 1 Rialto 2 2 Lijiang Tower 0 2 Numbani 3 Losers Round 2 September 12 Atlanta Reign 0 – 4 Hangzhou Spark Burbank, CA 4:00 pm PST     Details Blizzard Arena 0 Busan 2 4 Numbani 6 2 Temple of Anubis 3 3 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 4

Awards

On May 8, Dusttin "Dogman" Bowerman was named as a reserve for the 2019 Overwatch League All-Star Game. ^[25]

References

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2. Carpenter, Nicole. "Controversial streamer Dafran signed to Atlanta Reign Overwatch League roster". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
3. "dafran rounds out Atlanta Reign's OWL roster". ESPN. October 29, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
4. "Atlanta Reign's dafran rejoins Overwatch roster". ESPN. Reuters. November 9, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
5. Genova, Vincent (February 11, 2019). "OWL: Atlanta Reign troll fans with roster signing announcement". Dexerto. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
6. August, Charlotte (February 16, 2019). "Overwatch Esports: Overwatch League Day 2 Recap". ESTNN. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
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8. Czar, Michael (March 23, 2019). "Overwatch League Stage 1 Playoff Recap: Fusion and Shock dominate". Daily Esports. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
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13. Field Level Media (May 6, 2019). "Shock complete perfect OWL Stage 2, Spark reach playoffs". Gwinnett Prep Sports. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
14. Fossett, Wyatt (July 6, 2019). "Atlanta Reign Get First Win of Stage 3 in Front of Home Crowd". Twin Galaxies. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
15. Shelp, Malik (July 9, 2019). "Atlanta Reign's Homestand was as Good as the First". ESTNN. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
16. "Reign cap perfect Stage 4, clinch top-six playoff spot". ESPN. Reuters. August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
17. Patry, Justin (April 22, 2019). "Atlanta Reign Homestand Weekend tickets now available". WSB-TV . Retrieved July 4, 2019.
18. Wolf, Jacob (July 7, 2019). "Atlanta Homestand adds to the city's historic gaming pedigree". ESPN. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
19. Stern, Adam (July 8, 2019). "Overwatch League Gets Sellout For Second "Homestand" Weekend". Sports Business Daily. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
20. Bennet, Connor (October 5, 2019). "Overwatch: Atlanta Reign win huge upset after SF Shock 'C9' at OWL Playoffs". Dexerto. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
21. Gemignani, Mike (September 9, 2019). "Overwatch League Playoffs: Dynasty and Spitfire Done". Hotspawn. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
22. "Vancouver, New York reach OWL winners final". ESPN. Reuters. September 8, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
23. Gemignani, Mike (13 September 2019). "Overwatch League Playoff: Spark and Shock Advance". Hotspawn. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
24. Sample, Rachel (June 10, 2019). "Kodak steps down from Atlanta Reign, joins ATL Academy". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
25. Chillerón, Lucas (May 8, 2019). "OWL All-Star event lineup finally complete with reserve players announced". Daily Esports. Retrieved June 10, 2019.