Washington Justice

Washington Justice is an American professional Overwatch esports team based in Washington, D.C. The Justice compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as member of the league's Atlantic South Division.

Washington Justice
Founded2018
LeagueOverwatch League
ConferenceAtlantic
DivisionSouth
Team historyWashington Justice
(2018–present)
Based inWashington, D.C.,
United States
Arena
Colors     
OwnerMark Ein
Head coachHan "Sup7eme" Seung-jun
General managerAaron "PRE" Heckman[1]
Main sponsorEvents DC
WebsiteOfficial website
Uniforms

Founded in 2018, Washington Justice began play as one of eight expansion teams in 2019. The team is owned by Washington Kastles owner Mark Ein, who founded Washington Esports Ventures to purchase the franchise. They will play their home matches at The Anthem in Southwest Waterfront, Washington, D.C. and the Entertainment and Sports Arena in the St. Elizabeths Hospital East Campus.[2]

Franchise history

OWL expansion

On September 7, 2018, Activision Blizzard announced that Washington Esports Ventures, a venture led by businessman and Washington Kastles owner Mark Ein, had purchased an expansion team based in Washington, D.C. for Overwatch League's second season.[3][4] "Esports is far and away the fastest growing platform in the world of sports," Ein said in an interview. "Most traditional sports are declining or flat. Esports is exploding. The growth, by any measure—participation and viewership—is showing significant double-digit growth."[5]

On September 12, Washington announced the signing of former New York Excelsior coach Kim "WizardHyeong" Hyeong-seok as the team's head coach.[6] 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.[7]

On November 29, the team revealed they would be called Washington Justice.[8]

Early years: 2019–present

Washington Justice's first regular season OWL match was on February 16, 2019 against the New York Excelsior in which Washington lost 1–3.[9] The Justice's first victory did not come until the last match of Stage 1, when on March 17, the team defeated the Florida Mayhem by a score of 3–2, giving Washington a Stage 1 record of 1–6.[10] The Justice struggled throughout the first three stages of the season, posting a 2–19 record in the first 21 games. However, Washington 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.[11]

In the team's 2020 season, the Justice parted ways with head coach Seetoh "JohnGalt" Jian Qing on June 5, 2020.[12] On June 17, Washington promoted assistant coach Han "Sup7eme" Seung-jun to head coach.[13] After finishing the 2020 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.[14] 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.[15] The following day, on September 6, the Justice swept the third-seeded Paris Eternal, 3–0.[16] 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.[17] However, the team fell to the top-seeded Philadelphia Fusion the following day by a score of 0–3, ending their playoff run.[18]

Team identity

On November 29, 2018, the franchise name was revealed as the Washington Justice; the name "Justice" represents the teams core values. "Justice is a universal value and the perfect name for a franchise that we hope will inspire and unite both our Washington area community and fans around the globe", said owner Mark Ein. "There is no region in the world that attracts more people to serve the cause of justice in government, philanthropy, academia, military service, and the private sector than Washington. In fact, DC's official city motto is 'Justitia Omnibus,' which translates to 'Justice for All.' As a team representing the broader DMV region, it was important that our team identity reflects a value that unifies all of our community members, representing the full diversity of backgrounds and beliefs."[8] The team's logo is a red, white, and blue striped shield, representing the American flag, with the Washington Monument centered in a subtle W at the bottom.[8]

Personnel

Roster
Washington Justice roster
PlayersCoaches
RoleNo.HandleNameNationality
Damage 1 Jerry  Min Tae-hee  South Korea 
Damage 17 Decay  Jang Gui-un  South Korea 
Damage 21 TTuba  Lee Ho-sung  South Korea 
Tank Mag  Kim Tae-sung  South Korea 
Tank 19 Fury  Kim Jun-ho  South Korea 
Tank 11 Ria  Park Seong-wook  South Korea 
Support Closer  Jung Won-sik  South Korea 
Support 23 BeBe  Yoon Hui-chang  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: November 22, 2020.

Head coaches
Washington Justice head coaches
Handle Name From To Span Ref.
WizardHyeong Kim Hyeong-seok September 12, 2018 September 30, 2019 1 year, 18 days [6][19]
JohnGalt Seetoh Jian Qing October 8, 2019 June 5, 2020 241 days [20][21]
Sup7eme Han Seung-jun June 17, 2020 231 days [1]

Awards and records

Seasons overview
Season P W L W% MW ML MT MD Pos. (league) Pos. (conf.) Playoffs Earnings
2019 28820.28639726-3317th8thNot eligible$0
2020 21417.19021541-3319th9thNA Lower Final$255,000

Individual accomplishments

Role Star selections

  • Corey (Corey Nigra) – 2019

All-Star Game selections

  • ArK (Hong Yeon-jun) – 2019
  • Decay (Jang Gui-un) – 2020

References
  1. Richardson, Liz (June 17, 2020). "Washington Justice promotes Sup7eme to head coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  2. Byrum, Tyler (July 16, 2019). "Overwatch League coming to The Anthem and the Entertainment and Sports Arena". NBC Sports Washington. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  3. Wolf, Jacob (September 4, 2018). "Sources: Overwatch League to add D.C. and Hangzhou, China, teams". ESPN. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  4. "OVERWATCH LEAGUE TO OPEN 2019 SEASON WITH 20 TEAMS". Overwatch League. Blizzard Entertainment. September 7, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  5. Soong, Kelyn (September 20, 2018). "The Esports Revolution Has Arrived in D.C." Washington City Paper. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  6. Carpenter, Nicole (September 12, 2018). "Washington, D.C. Overwatch League team signs Janus, WizardHyeong". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  7. Carpenter, Nicole (September 20, 2018). "Washington, DC signs Overwatch League's first female coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  8. Washington Esports Ventures (November 29, 2018). "Washington, D.C. Overwatch League Team Unveils Name and Logo Ahead of 2019 Season" (PDF). Overwatch League. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  9. Carpenter, Nicole (February 17, 2019). "Washington Justice shows spark of hope in tough opening loss to NYXL". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  10. Fossett, Wyatt (March 17, 2019). "Washington Justice Earn First Win in the Overwatch League". Twin Galaxies. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  11. Holt, Kris (August 29, 2019). "Overwatch League's latest big change is great for viewers". Engadget. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  12. 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.
  13. Richardson, Liz (June 17, 2020). "Washington Justice promotes Sup7eme to head coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  14. Weyrich, Matt (September 11, 2020). "Washington Justice Pull Off Series of Upsets in Overwatch Playoffs". NBC Washington. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  15. Richardson, Liz (September 5, 2020). "Hangzhou Spark, Chengdu Hunters eliminated in Overwatch League playoffs". Dot Esports. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  16. Field Level Media (September 6, 2020). "Fusion, Shock hold form at OWL NA playoffs". Reuters. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  17. Weyrich, Matt (September 12, 2020). "Washington Justice Pull to Within One Win of Grand Finals in South Korea". NBC Washington. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  18. Jansen, Eric; Boykin, Nick (September 14, 2020). "Digital Cinderella story | Washington Justice make Overwatch playoffs amid pandemic, team shakeup". WUSA9. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  19. Richardson, Liz (September 30, 2019). "Washington Justice drop entire coaching staff". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  20. Richardson, Liz (October 8, 2019). "Washington Justice add JohnGalt as head coach". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  21. 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.
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