Toronto Defiant

Toronto Defiant is a Canadian professional Overwatch esports team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Defiant compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) and are a member of the league's Atlantic North Division.

Toronto Defiant
FoundedSeptember 7, 2018
LeagueOverwatch League
ConferenceAtlantic
DivisionNorth
Team historyToronto Defiant
(2018–present)
Based inToronto, Canada
ArenaRoy Thomson Hall[1]
Colors                   
OwnerChris Overholt
Head coachDavid "Lilbow" Moschetto
General managerJaesun "Jae" Won
Affiliation(s)Montreal Rebellion
Main sponsorBell Canada
Parent groupOverActive Media
WebsiteOfficial website
Uniforms

Founded in 2018, Toronto began play as one of eight expansion teams in 2019 and is one of two professional Overwatch teams based in Canada (the other, Vancouver Titans). The team is owned by OverActive Media, who also own Montreal Rebellion, an academy team for the Defiant that compete in Overwatch Contenders (OWC).

History

OWL Expansion

On September 7, 2018, Blizzard Entertainment announced that OverActive Media Group (OAM) had purchased a slot for a Toronto-based franchise.[2] On the same day, Splyce announced that they would be joining working with OAM to form and operate the unnamed Toronto team with Chris Overholt of OAM and Marty Strenczewilk of Splyce as the team owners.[3][4] Former CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee Chris Overholt was named the president and CEO of the franchise. "Who could have predicted what [esport] is and what this has become globally," Overholt said in an interview. "This thing is not set to explode, it's exploding and I think we're well positioned to take this on in Toronto and Canada."[5]

Three days later it was announced that Beom-joon "Bishop" Lee (이범준) would be the team's head coach.[6] On October 24, 2018, OAM and Splyce officially revealed the branding, name, and staff of the team. Bishop would be joined by General Manager Jaesun "Jae" Won, assistant coach Yun "Bubbly" Ho Cho (조윤호), strategic coach Dongwook "Don" Kim (김동욱), and analyst Dennis "Barroi" Matz.[7]

From October 27, 2018 to November 27, 2018, Toronto Defiant announced their players. envy and Neko were announced as the first two players. Shortly afterwards Ivy and Stellar joined, with Aid and Yakpung following. Finally, RoKy and Asher were announced as the final two members.[8]

Inaugural season
Main article: 2019 Toronto Defiant season

Toronto Defiant's first regular season OWL match was a 3–2 victory against the Houston Outlaws on February 15, 2019.[9] After posting a 5–2 record in Stage 1, the Defiant qualified for the Stage 1 Playoffs, but a 0–3 loss against the Shock eliminated the team in the quarterfinals.[10] The team failed to recreate the success they found in Stage 1 in the following stages, going 2–5, 0–7, and 1–6 in Stages 2, 3, and 4, respectively. A 2–3 loss to the Fusion on August 4 officially eliminated Toronto from postseason contention, and three days later, the team released head coach Lee "Bishop" Beom-joon.[11][12] Despite numerous roster changes throughout the season, the Defiant finished the season in 17th place overall with an 8–20 record.

Team identity

On October 24, 2018, the franchise name was revealed as the Toronto Defiant; the name "Defiant" was chosen to "represent the strength, character, and resiliency of Toronto." Branding work was done in partnership with the Overwatch League and OverActive’s agency of record Diamond Marketing. The logo and official colors were also released. The logo for Toronto Defiant displays the letter T inscribed in the letter D in the team's colours of red, black, white, and grey.[7]

Personnel

Current roster
Toronto Defiant roster
PlayersCoaches
RoleNo.HandleNameNationalityPrevious team
Damage 22 Logix  Berghmans, Andreas   Belgium  Montreal Rebellion 
Damage 51 Mangachu  Campbell, Liam   Canada  Revival 
Damage 9 Agilities  Girardi, Brady   Canada  Los Angeles Valiant 
Damage 10 zYKK  Hosono, Thomas   France  Third Impact 
Damage 4 Surefour  Roberts, Lane   Canada  Los Angeles Gladiators 
Tank 3 Beast  Denton, Adam   United States  Fusion University 
Tank 28 numlocked  Barton, Seb   United Kingdom  Montreal Rebellion 
Tank 6 Nevix  Karlsson, Andreas   Sweden  San Francisco Shock 
Support 7 RoKy  Park Joo-seong  South Korea  O2 Team 
Support 18 Kruise  Pond, Harrison   United Kingdom  Paris Eternal 
Support 8 KariV  Park Young-seo  South Korea  Los Angeles Valiant 
Head coach
  • David "Lilbow" Moschetto
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (TW) Two-way player
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injury/Illness

Latest roster transaction: June 3, 2020.

Head coaches
Toronto Defiant head coaches
Handle Name From To Span Ref.
Bishop Lee Beom-joon September 10, 2018 August 7, 2019 331 days [13][12]
Féfé Félix Münch October 16, 2019 April 14, 2020 181 days [14]
Lilbow David Moschetto April 14, 2020 70 days [15]

Awards and records

Seasons overview
Season P W L W% MW ML MT MD Pos. (league) Pos. (conf.) Playoffs Earnings
2019 28820.28639724-3317th7thNot eligible$25,000
2020 1459.3572531-615th8thTBD$0

Individual accomplishments

All-Star Game selections

  • Neko (Park Se-Hyun) – 2019

Academy team
Main article: Montreal Rebellion

On February 14, 2019, Overactive Media partnered with Mirage Sport Électronique to launch Toronto Defiant's official academy team in Montreal to compete in Overwatch Contenders. "We are really excited about partnering with Yannick and his team to launch the first pro esports franchise in Quebec," Overholt said in an interview. "Today is about continuing our commitment to growing esports nationwide, and expanding our Toronto Defiant fanbase in Quebec and across Eastern Canada."[16] On February 19, the franchise announced that the team would be known as the Montreal Rebellion.[17]

References
  1. Loung, Steven (August 20, 2019). "Roy Thomson Hall to host Toronto Defiant homestand weekends in 2020". Sportsnet. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  2. "The Overwatch League™ Signs Six More Teams". Business Wire. September 7, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  3. Rand, Emily (September 7, 2018). "Overwatch League reveals Toronto, Paris, and four other new franchises". ESPN. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  4. "Launching An Overwatch League 2019 Expansion Franchise". Splyce. September 7, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  5. Heroux, Devin (September 7, 2018). "From Olympics to esports: Former COC boss to run new Toronto Overwatch franchise". CBC Sports. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  6. Toronto Defiant [@TorontoDefiant] (September 10, 2018). "Equal parts mentor, visionary, and legend" (Tweet). Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via Twitter.
  7. "Toronto Defiant Launces as Canada's Newest Professional Esports Team" (PDF). Overwatch League. October 24, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  8. O'Brien, Joe (November 28, 2018). "Toronto Defiant finalize roster with the addition of an Overwatch League veteran". Dexerto. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  9. Custodio, Yuri (February 16, 2019). "Overwatch League's Toronto Defiant Debut in "Stellar" Fashion". ESTNN. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  10. Czar, Michael (March 23, 2019). "Overwatch League Stage 1 Playoff Recap: Fusion and Shock dominate". Daily Esports. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  11. Heinish, Sascha (August 5, 2019). "Toronto Defiant unable to scrim because of ownership imposed media event". Upcomer. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  12. Richardson, Liz (August 7, 2019). "Toronto Defiant release head coach Bishop". Dot Esports. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  13. Carpenter, Nicole (September 10, 2018). "Former London Spitfire coach Bishop joins Toronto's Overwatch League team". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  14. Richardson, Liz (October 16, 2019). "Paris Eternal head coach goes to Toronto Defiantc". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  15. Killion, Brad (April 14, 2020). "Toronto Defiant Head Coach Retires". The Game Haus. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  16. Fitch, Adam (February 15, 2019). "OverActive Media launches Montreal academy team". Esports Insider. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  17. "Toronto Defiant Overwatch academy team to be known as the Montreal Rebellion". CTV News Montreal. The Canadian Press. February 19, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
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