2019 Washington Justice season

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.

2019 Washington Justice season
Head coach	Kim Hyeong-seok
General manager	Analynn Dang
Owner	Mark Ein
Division	Atlantic
Results
Record	8–20 (.286)
Place	Atlantic: 8th League: 17th
Stage 1 Playoffs	Did not qualify
Stage 2 Playoffs	Did not qualify
Stage 3 Playoffs	Did not qualify
Season Playoffs	Did not qualify
Washington Justice 2020 →

Preceding offseason

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

The Justice's first regular season match was against the New York Excelsior on February 16; Washington lost the series 1–3.^[6] The team lost their first six matches of the season. Washington's final match of Stage 1 was against the Florida Mayhem on March 17; the Justice won 3–2, giving the franchise their first-ever win, and ended the stage with a 1–6 record.^[7] The following day, the Justice acquired support player Hong "ArK" Yeon-jun from New York Excelsior.^[8]

On April 19, in the middle of Stage 2, the Justice acquired support Nikola "Sleepy" Andrews from the San Francisco Shock.^[9] In Stage 2, the Justice again lost their first six matches. Their final match of Stage 2 was against the Boston Uprising. Washing took a 3–2 win and finished Stage 2 with a 1–6 record.^[10]

In Stage 3, week 2, the Justice faced the Hangzhou Spark on June 15. In the match, 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.^[11] The Justice lost all seven of their matches in Stage 3.^[12]

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.^[13] 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, ending their seven-game losing streak.^[14] The following week, 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 while playing as the hero Hanzo.^[15] The team continued to thrive under the 2-2-2 rule, going undefeated in their first four matches of the stage.^[16] The winning streak increased to five after defeating the Houston Outlaws on August 11.^[17] The Justice's first loss of the stage was on August 16 against the Atlanta Reign.^[18] The team's final match of the regular season was against the Paris Eternal two days later; Washington won 3–1.^[19]

Final roster

2019 Washington Justice roster
Players	Coaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality Damage 11 Corey Nigra, Corey United States Damage 27 Stratus Yankel, Ethan United States Damage 99 Ado Chon Gi-hyeon South Korea Tank 33 Sansam Kim Hyang-ki South Korea Tank 39 Janus Song Jun-hwa South Korea Tank 15 LullSiSH (I) Wiklund, Lukas Sweden Tank 28 ELLIVOTE (I) Vaneryd, Elliot Sweden Support 0 sleepy Andrews, Nikola United States Support 2 ArK Hong Yeon-jun South Korea Support 13 Gido Moon Gi-do South Korea Support 23 Hyeonu Cho Hyeon-woo South Korea	Head coach Kim Hyeong-seok
Legend: (I) Inactive (S) Suspended (2W) Two-way player Substitute Injury / Illness	Latest roster transaction: August 12, 2019.

Transactions

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

• On March 18, Justice acquired Hong "ArK Yeon-jun from New York Excelsior.^[20]
• On April 19, Justice acquired Nikola "Sleepy" Andrews from San Francisco Shock.^[9]
• On July 14, Justice signed Elliot "ELLIVOTE" Vaneryd and Lukas "LullSiSH" Wiklund.^[13]
• On August 12, Justice released Riley "Fahzix" Taylor.^[21]

Standings

Record by stage

Stage	Pld	W	L	Pct	MW	ML	MT	MD	Pos
1	7	1	6	.143	9	20	1	-11	18
2	7	1	6	.143	8	21	0	-13	18
3	7	0	7	.000	2	22	4	-20	19
4[a]	7	6	1	.857	20	9	1	+11	4
Overall	28	8	20	.286	39	72	6	-33	17
Qualified for playoffs •   Qualified for play-in tournament

1. No stage playoffs were held for Stage 4.

League

Pos	Div	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PCT	MW	ML	MT	MD	Qualification
1	PAC	Vancouver Titans	28	25	3	0.893	89	28	0	+61	Advance to season playoffs (division leaders)
2	ATL	New York Excelsior	28	22	6	0.786	78	38	3	+40
3	PAC	San Francisco Shock	28	23	5	0.821	92	26	0	+66	Advance to season playoffs
4	PAC	Hangzhou Spark	28	18	10	0.643	64	52	4	+12
5	PAC	Los Angeles Gladiators	28	17	11	0.607	67	48	3	+19
6	ATL	Atlanta Reign	28	16	12	0.571	69	50	1	+19
7	ATL	London Spitfire	28	16	12	0.571	58	52	6	+6	Advance to play-ins
8	PAC	Seoul Dynasty	28	15	13	0.536	64	50	3	+14
9	PAC	Guangzhou Charge	28	15	13	0.536	61	57	1	+4
10	ATL	Philadelphia Fusion	28	15	13	0.536	57	60	3	−3
11	PAC	Shanghai Dragons	28	13	15	0.464	51	61	3	−10
12	PAC	Chengdu Hunters	28	13	15	0.464	55	66	1	−11
13	PAC	Los Angeles Valiant	28	12	16	0.429	56	61	4	−5
14	ATL	Paris Eternal	28	11	17	0.393	46	67	3	−21
15	PAC	Dallas Fuel	28	10	18	0.357	43	70	3	−27
16	ATL	Houston Outlaws	28	9	19	0.321	47	69	3	−22
17	ATL	Toronto Defiant	28	8	20	0.286	39	72	4	−33
18	ATL	Washington Justice	28	8	20	0.286	39	72	6	−33
19	ATL	Boston Uprising	28	8	20	0.286	41	78	2	−37
20	ATL	Florida Mayhem	28	6	22	0.214	36	75	5	−39

Source: The Overwatch League
Rules for classification: 1) winning percentage; 2) map differential; 3) head-to-head record; 4) head-to-head map differential

Game log

2019 game log (Regular season record: 8–20)
Stage 1 (1–6) 1 February 16 Washington Justice 1 – 3 New York Excelsior Burbank, CA    Recap Blizzard Arena 0 Ilios 2 0 King's Row 1 1 Horizon Lunar Colony 0 1 Rialto 2 2 February 21 Washington Justice 2 – 3 London Spitfire Burbank, CA    Recap Blizzard Arena 2 Busan 1 3 Numbani 2 2 Horizon Lunar Colony 4 2 Rialto 3 0 Nepal 2 3 February 28 Washington Justice 1 – 3 Philadelphia Fusion Burbank, CA    Recap Blizzard Arena 2 Ilios 1 1 Hollywood 2 3 Temple of Anubis 4 1 Route 66 3 4 March 02 San Francisco Shock 4 – 0 Washington Justice Burbank, CA    Recap Blizzard Arena 2 Nepal 1 3 Numbani 2 2 Temple of Anubis 0 3 Route 66 1 5 March 09 Seoul Dynasty 3 – 1 Washington Justice Burbank, CA    Recap Blizzard Arena 2 Busan 0 4 Hollywood 3 3 Temple of Anubis 2 3 Dorado 4 6 March 16 Washington Justice 1 – 2 Paris Eternal Burbank, CA    Recap Blizzard Arena 0 Busan 2 3 King's Row 3 3 Volskaya Industries 2 2 Dorado 3 7 March 17 Washington Justice 3 – 2 Florida Mayhem Burbank, CA    Recap Blizzard Arena 2 Nepal 1 3 Hollywood 2 4 Volskaya Industries 5 4 Dorado 5 2 Ilios 1
Stage 2 (1–6) 8 April 05 Washington Justice 1 – 3 Toronto Defiant Burbank, CA 5:45 pm PST    Recap Blizzard Arena 0 Lijang Tower 2 0 Hanamura 1 2 Eichenwalde 3 3 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 2 9 April 07 Washington Justice 1 – 3 Chengdu Hunters Burbank, CA 5:15 pm PST    Recap Blizzard Arena 0 Oasis 2 1 Temple of Anubis 0 0 King's Row 1 3 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 4 10 April 11 New York Excelsior 4 – 0 Washington Justice Burbank, CA 5:30 pm PST    Recap Blizzard Arena 2 Lijiang Tower 0 3 Hanamura 2 3 Eichenwalde 1 3 Junkertown 2 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 Los Angeles Valiant 3 – 1 Washington Justice Burbank, CA 7:00 pm PST    Recap Blizzard Arena 2 Oasis 0 3 Temple of Anubis 4 3 King's Row 2 3 Rialto 0 13 May 03 Shanghai Dragons 3 – 1 Washington Justice Burbank, CA 8:30 pm PST    Recap Blizzard Arena 2 Busan 0 2 Paris 1 0 Blizzard World 1 2 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 1 14 May 05 Washington Justice 3 – 2 Boston Uprising Burbank, CA 1:30 pm PST    Details Blizzard Arena 0 Lijiang Tower 2 0 Temple of Anubis 2 2 Blizzard World 1 4 Rialto 3 2 Busan 1
Stage 3 (0–7) 15 June 09 Washington Justice 0 – 3 Dallas Fuel Burbank, CA 3:30 pm PST    Details Blizzard Arena 0 Oasis 2 4 Volskaya Industries 4 2 Eichenwalde 3 0 Havana 3 16 June 15 Washington Justice 0 – 3 Hangzhou Spark Burbank, CA 12:00 noon PST    Details Blizzard Arena 0 Ilios 2 1 Paris 1 0 Hollywood 3 0 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 3 17 June 16 Washington Justice 0 – 4 Los Angeles Gladiators Burbank, CA 5:15 pm PST    Details Blizzard Arena 0 Nepal 2 0 Horizon Lunar Colony 2 0 Numbani 1 1 Havana 3 18 June 22 London Spitfire 2 – 1 Washington Justice Burbank, CA 12:00 noon PST    Details Blizzard Arena 1 Nepal 2 2 Paris 2 4 Numbani 3 4 Dorado 3 19 June 28 Houston Outlaws 3 – 0 Washington Justice Burbank, CA 9:00 pm PST    Details Blizzard Arena 2 Oasis 0 4 Volskaya Industries 4 3 Eichenwalde 2 1 Dorado 0 20 July 06 Philadelphia Fusion 3 – 1 Washington Justice Atlanta, GA 10:15 am PST    Details Cobb Energy Center 1 Ilios 2 3 Horizon Lunar Colony 2 3 Hollywood 1 3 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 2 21 July 07 Washington Justice 0 – 4 Guangzhou Charge Atlanta, GA 11:00 am PST    Details Cobb Energy Center 1 Nepal 2 0 Volskaya Industries 2 0 Eichenwalde 3 2 Watchpoint: Gibraltar 3
Stage 4 (6–1) 22 July 26 Toronto Defiant 1 – 3 Washington Justice Burbank, CA 4:00 pm PST    Details Blizzard Arena 1 Busan 2 2 Temple of Anubis 1 1 Blizzard World 2 2 Havana 3 23 August 01 Florida Mayhem 2 – 3 Washington Justice Burbank, CA 5:45 pm PST    Details Blizzard Arena 2 Busan 1 2 Volskaya Industries 0 1 King's Row 2 0 Havana 3 0 Ilios 2 24 August 04 Vancouver Titans 0 – 4 Washington Justice Burbank, CA 3:30 pm PST    Details Blizzard Arena 0 Ilios 2 1 Volskaya Industries 2 3 Hollywood 4 0 Havana 3 25 August 09 Boston Uprising 1 – 3 Washington Justice Burbank, CA 4:00 pm PST    Details Blizzard Arena 1 Lijiang Tower 2 1 Temple of Anubis 2 2 Blizzard World 1 1 Route 66 2 26 August 11 Washington Justice 3 – 2 Houston Outlaws Burbank, CA 1:45 pm PST    Details Blizzard Arena 1 Lijiang Tower 2 2 Hanamura 1 1 King's Row 2 3 Route 66 2 2 Busan 1 27 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 28 August 18 Paris Eternal 1 – 3 Washington Justice Burbank, CA 1:45 pm PST    Details Blizzard Arena 1 Ilios 2 1 Hanamura 2 6 King's Row 5 1 Junkertown 2