Vancouver Titans


Vancouver Titans is a professional Overwatch esports team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Titans compete in the Overwatch League as a member of the league's Pacific West Division.
Founded in 2018, the Vancouver Titans began play as one of eight expansion teams in 2019 and is one of two professional Overwatch teams in Canada. The team is owned by Canucks Sports & Entertainment, owners of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League and the Vancouver Warriors of the National Lacrosse League, and will play their home matches at Rogers Arena, which is also owned by Canucks Sports & Entertainment.
Hwang "paJion" Ji-sub was appointed the team's first head coach and, in his first season, guided Vancouver to three stage playoff appearances, including one stage championship, a Pacific Division title, and the 2019 Grand Finals, where the team lost to the San Francisco Shock.

History

OWL expansion

On September 7, 2018, Activision Blizzard announced that NHL's Vancouver Canucks ownership Aquilini Group had purchased a slot for the Vancouver-based franchise for a reported $30 million to $60 million. "Esports has seen extraordinary success and continues to be one of the fastest growing industries in the world," said Aquilini Group managing director Francesco Aquilini in a statement. "We can't wait to launch the team in Vancouver." On October 18, the team announced they had partnered with Canadian esports organization Luminosity Gaming to add esports expertise to the organization.
On December 1, a video revealed the Vancouver Titans' brand during the second intermission of a Vancouver Canucks game, concluding with "Today, we release the Titans." The team also announced that it had signed all eight members of the Korean Contenders Champions RunAway and Hwang "paJion" Ji-sub as the team's head coach.

Inaugural season

Vancouver started the season with a 4–0 sweep over the Shanghai Dragons. The team ended Stage 1 with a perfect 7–0 record and went on to win the Stage 1 Finals against the Shock. The Titans posted another perfect 7–0 record in Stage 2; however, they lost in the Stage 2 Finals against the Shock, which ended their Overwatch League record 19-game win streak. The team continued their regular season dominance by winning an Overwatch League record 19 consecutive games that was not snapped until in June 23, when the Los Angeles Valiant defeated the Titans. While they qualified for the Stage 3 playoffs, Vancouver was defeated by the Shanghai Dragons in the semifinals round. The Titans lost two more times in the regular season, against the Washington Justice and San Francisco Shock, to end the regular season with a league-best 25–3 record and the top seed in the season playoffs. Kim "Haksal" Hyo-jong and Lee "Twilight" Ju-seok were awarded the Role Star commendation for DPS and support, respectively; Haksal was also named the OWL Rookie of the year. Twilight and tank Choi "Jjanu" Hyeon-woo were finalists for the league's most valuable player award, but the Shock's Jay "sinatraa" Won won the award.
Vancouver faced the eighth-seeded Seoul Dynasty in the first round of the playoffs, winning 4–2 after claiming three straight map victories. Advancing to the first round of the winners bracket, the team took down the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Gladiators by a 4–2 score. In the Winners' Finals, Vancouver faced the New York Excelsior; the match went to seven maps, as the two teams traded map wins throughout. The Titans came out on top with a 4–3 victory to advance to the Grand Finals. The Titans season came to an end short, as they were swept 0–4 by the Shock in the Grand Finals.
In November 2019, the Vancouver Titans announced the departures of Park “Bumper” Sang-beom, Dong-eun "Hooreg" Lee, Jung-keun "Rapel" Kim, and Jang-hyeon "TiZi" Hwang.

2020 season

On November 27, 2019, the Vancouver Titans announced the new additions to the roster including Baek “Fissure” Chan-hyung and Ryu “Ryujehong” Je-hong.
For the 2020 season, the Overwatch League adopted the home/away format, where teams play at their home arenas called “homestands”.
The Titans first homestand titled “Force Fest: Homecoming” will be at the Rogers Arena on May 16 and 17, 2020. The second Vancouver Titans homestand will take place on July 4 and 5, 2020 with details yet to be announced.
On May 6, 2020, the Vancouver Titans parted ways with its entire remaining roster, including its coaches, after off tank Choi "JJANU" Hyeon-Woo and head coach Hwang "paJion" Ji-sub left the team on April 30, and coach Hwang "Andante" Jae-hong left on May 4. Officially, the reason was because of difficulties arising from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which had disrupted the Overwatch League's plans for homestands and led to the players returning to South Korea. Esports journalist Richard Lewis reported that the Titans had also struggled with marketing the team locally and helping the South Koreans adjust to living in Vancouver, despite a sizable Korean-Canadian community in the city. For example, team staff were not fluent in Korean, and often failed to provide interpreters or only provided interpreters unfamiliar with Overwatch at community events.

Team identity

On December 1, 2018, the Aquilini Group officially unveiled the Vancouver Titans brand. The name Titans is "indicative of the traits associated with the Sasquatch – a powerful, imposing, and mythical being." The logo features the Pacific Northwest folklore figure with a 'V' in the nose and a mountain range on the top of its head in the team's colours of blue, green, and white. The colours represent the greenery that surrounds the Pacific Ocean in the Vancouver area and are similar of that of the Vancouver Canucks' official colours. "In choosing our identity we wanted to introduce a team that would resonate with fans in the Pacific Northwest," Aquilini Group managing editor Francesco Aquilini said in a statement. "With a local feel and an experienced, skilled team, we are ready and can't wait to have the Titans compete at the highest level in esports."

Partnerships

2019 season

During the 2019 season, the Vancouver Titans announced partnerships with convenience store chain Circle K, recycling company Encorp, consumer electronics retailer Best Buy, and brewing company Bud Light. On August 7, 2019, the Vancouver Titans announced a partnership with Circle K on limited edition Froster Cups. The Froster cups featured players Hyojong “Haksal” Kim, Juseok “Twilight” Lee, Minsoo “SeoMinSoo” Seo, and Sangbeom “Bumper” Park. This partnership was the first of its kind for Canada with an esports team working with a national convenience store. In September 2019, Bud Light announced on Twitter that commemorative Bud Light cans will be coming to Vancouver to celebrate the Vancouver Titans making the Grand Finals of the Overwatch League. On November 14, 2020, Bud Light announced that the commemorative cans will be available for a limited time at the 1st Avenue Liquor store in Vancouver, BC, Canada on Friday, November 15, 2019.

2020 season

On January 14, 2020, the Vancouver Titans announced a multi-year partnership with gaming chair and desk manufacturer Arozzi North America.
On February 21, 2020, the Vancouver Titans announced a partnership with Adamas Esports Training + Performance. Adamas Esports Training + Performance is located inside of Fortius Sport & Health in Burnaby, BC and the official home of the Vancouver Titans during the 2020 season of the Overwatch League.

Personnel

Current roster

Head coaches

Awards and records

Seasons overview

Individual accomplishments

Rookie of the Year
Role Star selections
All-Star Game selections
All-Star Game head coaches