2020 Washington Justice season

The 2020 Washington Justice season was the second season of Washington Justice's existence in the Overwatch League. The Justice planned to host a league-high five homestand weekends in the 2020 season; the first three would take place at The Anthem, while the second two would be at the Entertainment and Sports Arena.[1] While the first two homestands at took place, all other homestand events were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020 Washington Justice season
Head coachSeetoh Jian Qing (rel. Jun 5)
Han Seung-jun
General managerAnalynn Dang
OwnerMark Ein
Arena(s)The Anthem
ConferenceAtlantic
DivisionSouth
RegionNorth America
Results
Record4–17 (.190)
Place
May MeleeKnockouts
Summer ShowdownQuarterfinals
Countdown CupKnockouts
Season PlayoffsNA Lower Finals
Total Earnings$255,000

On June 5, the Justice parted ways with head coach Seetoh "JohnGalt" Jian Qing.[2] On June 17, Washington promoted assistant coach Han "Sup7eme" Seung-jun to head coach.[3] After finishing the regular season with a 4–17 record, the Justice swept both the Vancouver Titans and Dallas Fuel in the North America play-in tournament to qualify to the season playoffs.[4] In their first match in the North America bracket, Washington squandered an early 2–0 lead over the San Francisco Shock and lost by a score of 2–3, sending them to the lower bracket.[5] The following day, on September 6, the Justice swept the third-seeded Paris Eternal, 3–0.[6] Washington continued their playoff run, taking down the fourth-seeded Florida Mayhem on September 11 and needing one more win to qualify for the Grand Finals Bracket.[7] However, the team fell to the top-seeded Philadelphia Fusion the following day by a score of 0–3, ending their playoff run.[8]

Preceding offseason

Organizational changes

In late September 2019, the Justice parted ways with their entire coaching staff from their inaugural season, including head coach Kim "WizardHyeong" Hyeong-seok.[9] The team signed Seetoh "JohnGalt" Jian Qing, who was an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Gladiators, as their new head coach in October.[10] Washington added two more coaches to their staff on November 8, with the hiring of former Hangzhou Spark assistant coach Han "Sup7eme" Seung-jun as a development coach and former XL2 Academy coach Lee "Wiz" Hae-joon as a strategic coach.[11][12] A month later, on December 5, the Justice signed former Houston Outlaws support player Chris "Bani" Banell as an assistant coach.[13]

Roster changes
Free agents
RolePlayerContract
status		Date signed2020 team
HandleName
DamageAdoGi-Hyeon ChonFree agent––
SupportArkYeon-Jun HongFree agentOctober 31Washington Justice[14]
SupportHyeonuHyeon-Woo JoFree agent––
TankJanusJoon-Hwa SongFree agent––
TankSansamHyang-Gi KimFree agent––
SupportSleepyNikola AndrewsFree agent––
Legend
  Re-signed/Retained by the Justice.
  Departed from the Justice.

The Justice enter the new season with six free agents, two players which they have the option to retain for another year, and three players under contract.[15] The OWL's deadline to exercise a team option is November 11, after which any players not retained will become a free agent. Free agency officially began on October 7.[16]

Acquisitions

The Justice's first offseason acquisition was on October 18, when they agreed to acquire main tank Gye "rOar" Chang-hoon from the Los Angeles Gladiators, pending approval from the league.[17] The team made their first signing on October 23 in flex DPS Lee "TTuba" Ho-sung.[18] On November 7, Washington signed former Boston Uprising flex support Kwon "AimGod" Min-seok.[19]

Departures

On October 7, the Justice announced that they would not re-sign free agents main tank Song "Janus" Joon-hwa, off-tank Kim "SanSam" Hyang-gi, DPS Chon "Ado" Gi-Hyeon, and support Jo "Hyeonu" Hyeon-woo.[20] Days later, they announced that the would not re-sign support Nikola "Sleepy" Andrews, and they would not exercise their option to retain flex support Mun "Gido" Gi-do.[21]

Roster
2020 Washington Justice roster
PlayersCoaches
RoleNo.HandleNameNationality
Damage 22 Stitch  Lee Chung-hee  South Korea 
Damage 18 Decay  Jang Gui-un  South Korea 
Damage 21 TTuba  Lee Ho-sung  South Korea 
Tank 37 rOar  Gye Chang-hoon  South Korea 
Tank 14 JJANU  Choi Hyeon-woo  South Korea 
Support 0 ArK  Hong Yeon-jun  South Korea 
Support 31 AimGod  Kwon Min-seok  South Korea 
Head coach
  • Han "Sup7eme" Seung-jun
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (2W) Two-way player
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injury/Illness

Latest roster transaction: September 1, 2020.

Transactions

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

  • On May 8, DPS Corey "Corey" Nigra and DPS Ethan "Stratus" Yankel retired.[22][23]
  • On May 16, the Justice signed DPS Lee "Stitch" Choong-hui and tank Choi "JJANU" Hyeon-woo on 14-day contracts.[24]
  • On May 22, the Justice signed tank Choi "JJANU" Hyeon-woo to a long-term contract.[25]
  • On June 1, the Justice signed DPS Lee "Stitch" Choong-hui to a long-term contract.[26]
  • On June 4, the Justice released tank Elliot "ELLIVOTE" Vaneryd.[27]
  • On August 12, the Justice signed DPS Jang "Decay" Gui-un.[28]
  • On September 1, the Justice released tank Lukas "LullSiSH" Wiklund.[29]

Standings
2020 Overwatch League North America standings
# Team Conference W BW L PCT P MR MD STK
Playoffs
1 Philadelphia Fusion ATL 19 5 2 .905 21 59–19–0 +40
2 San Francisco Shock PAC 18 7 3 .857 21 56–17–2 +39
3 Paris Eternal ATL 15 4 6 .714 21 50–31–0 +19
4 Florida Mayhem ATL 14 3 7 .667 21 48–30–0 +18
5 Los Angeles Valiant PAC 11 1 10 .524 21 41–41–0 ±0
Play-ins
6 Los Angeles Gladiators PAC 11 0 10 .524 21 43–39–5 +4
7 Atlanta Reign ATL 10 0 11 .476 21 43–35–0 +8
8 Dallas Fuel PAC 9 0 12 .429 21 35–44–0 -9
9 Toronto Defiant ATL 7 1 14 .333 21 32–48–0 -16
10[lower-alpha 1] Houston Outlaws ATL 6 0 15 .286 21 32–50–3 -18
11[lower-alpha 1] Vancouver Titans PAC 6 0 15 .286 21 23–48–0 -25
12 Washington Justice ATL 4 0 17 .190 21 21–54–1 -33
13 Boston Uprising ATL 2 0 19 .095 21 14–61–4 -47
Tiebreakers

  1. Houston placed ahead of Vancouver based on map differential.

Game log

Regular season
2020 game log (Regular season record: 4–17)
February–April: 2–8
May Melee qualifiers: 1–2
Summer Showdown qualifiers: 0–3
Countdown Cup qualifiers: 1–3
August: 0–1

Midseason tournaments
2020 midseason tournaments game log
May Melee: 0–1
Summer Showdown: 2–1
Countdown Cup: 0–1
Bonus wins awarded: 0

Postseason
2020 playoff game log
North America Play-ins: 2–0
North America Bracket: 3–2
Upper Round 1 September 05 Washington Justice 2 – 3 San Francisco Shock Online
11:00 pm UTC    
Lower Round 1 September 06 Washington Justice 3 – 0 Paris Eternal Online
9:00 pm UTC    
Lower Round 2 September 11 Washington Justice 3 – 1 Los Angeles Valiant Online
9:00 pm UTC    
Lower Round 3 September 12 Washington Justice 3 – 0 Florida Mayhem Online
9:00 pm UTC    
Lower Finals September 13 Washington Justice 0 – 3 Philadelphia Fusion Online
7:00 pm UTC    

References
  1. Byrum, Tyler (July 16, 2019). "Overwatch League coming to The Anthem and the Entertainment and Sports Arena". NBC Sports Washington. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  2. Washington Justice [@washjustice] (June 5, 2020). "Today we say thank you and goodbye to JohnGalt as he steps away from the Justice to further his education" (Tweet). Retrieved October 13, 2020 – via Twitter.
  3. Richardson, Liz (June 17, 2020). "Washington Justice promotes Sup7eme to head coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  4. Weyrich, Matt (September 11, 2020). "Washington Justice Pull Off Series of Upsets in Overwatch Playoffs". NBC Washington. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  5. Richardson, Liz (September 5, 2020). "Hangzhou Spark, Chengdu Hunters eliminated in Overwatch League playoffs". Dot Esports. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  6. Field Level Media (September 6, 2020). "Fusion, Shock hold form at OWL NA playoffs". Reuters. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  7. Weyrich, Matt (September 12, 2020). "Washington Justice Pull to Within One Win of Grand Finals in South Korea". NBC Washington. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  8. Jansen, Eric; Boykin, Nick (September 14, 2020). "Digital Cinderella story | Washington Justice make Overwatch playoffs amid pandemic, team shakeup". WUSA9. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  9. "Washington Justice part ways with coaching staff". ESPN. ESPN. September 30, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  10. Howard, Brandon (October 10, 2019). "Washington Justice Find New Head Coach". TheGamer. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  11. Field Level Media (November 8, 2019). "Justice hire 'Wiz' as strategic coach". Gwinett Prep Sports. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  12. Scrubasaurus (November 8, 2019). "Sup7eme joins Washington Justice". over.gg. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  13. Richardson, Liz (December 5, 2019). "Washington Justice add Bani as coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  14. "Valiant, Defiant, Justice make moves in Overwatch League". ESPN. Reuters. October 31, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  15. Morello, Matt (July 30, 2019). "2020 Team Needs and Player Contract Status". Overwatch League. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  16. Richardson, Liz (October 4, 2019). "Overwatch League reveals player contract status for entire league". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  17. Richardson, Liz (October 18, 2019). "Washington Justice acquire rOar from Los Angeles Gladiators". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  18. Richardson, Liz (October 23, 2019). "TTuba joins Washington Justice". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  19. "Justice round out Overwatch League roster with AimGod". ESPN. Reuters. November 7, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  20. Richardson, Liz (October 7, 2019). "Washington Justice release 4 players". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  21. Richardson, Liz (October 11, 2019). "Washington Justice release Sleepy and Gido". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  22. Gott, Jared (May 9, 2020). "Washington Justice Star Corey Retires From OWL To Pursue VALORANT". TheGamer. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  23. Richardson, Liz (May 8, 2020). "Washington Justice DPS Stratus leaves competition for content creation role". Dot Esports. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  24. Long, Bradley (May 16, 2020). "Washington Justice Sign Stitch and JJANU". Hotspawn. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  25. Peres, Pedro (May 22, 2020). "Washington Justice signs JJANU to long-term contract, promotes PRE to GM". Dot Esports. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  26. Castelot, Ophelie (June 1, 2020). "Overwatch League: Washington Justice Signs Stitch To Long Term Contract". ESTNN. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  27. Weiss, Adelaide (June 4, 2020). "Washington Justice parts ways with off-tank ELLIVOTE". Dot Esports. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  28. Wolf, Jacob (August 12, 2020). "Decay signs with Washington Justice". ESPN. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  29. Peres, Pedro (September 1, 2020). "Washington Justice parts ways with LullSiSH following visa issues". Dot Esports. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
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