The Los Angeles Valiant appear to be struggling with their disappointing Stage 2 record.
Overwatch League’s first homestead weekend was another failure for the Valiant, who left the Texas tournament with a 0-2 record. Shortly after, the Valiant announced that they were parting ways with assistant coach Shin “Dongsu” Dong-soo.
“We have mutually parted ways with Assistant Coach Dongsu Shin. We thank Dongsu for his contributions to the Valiant and wish him the best for the future,” Valiant tweeted.
Dongsu joined the Valiant in February, just before Stage 1, along with Mike “Packing10” Szklanny.
The Los Angeles Valiant were expected to play well this season after their overall 18-23-1 record from last year. But the Valiant ended Stage 1 with a shocking 0-7 record. At that point, the Immortal’s LA-based team parted ways with coach Moon Byung-chul, leaving Packing10 to take over head coach duties. They also brought on Marvin “Promise” Schroder, formerly an assistant coach for the Florida Mayhem, the following month.
Valiant general manager Michael Schwartz, thanked Moon for his contributions, wishing him the best in the “next stage of his career.” But OWL fans were already starting to wonder if the Valiant was breaking under the continuing pressure.
Luckily for the Los Angeles Valiant, things have started to look up. The team broke its losing streak in a week two match against Atlanta Reign. They then picked up a second win the following week, defeating the Washington Justice. It was starting to seem like the major staff turnover was having a positive effect.
That’s when the Dallas Fuel Ultimate Weekend event took place. The 0-2 record from that weekend seemed to leave the Valiant in a panic once again.
While Overwatch League fans have continued to speculate that the Valiant’s constant coaching changes are a sign of failure, the Valiant appear to have no problem with shuffling staff around.
Despite having a fairly successful first season, the Valiant seemed to have an unstable roster. On January 5, the team announced a new head coach, Henry “Cuddles” Coxall. But by February 19, Cuddles had left the team. That’s when they brought in Moon.
In April of 2018, Christopher “GrimReality” Schaefer left the player roster to join the coaching staff. But that only lasted until September. Meanwhile, the Valiant constantly shook up the team’s main roster with trades, transfers, and releases coming multiple times each month during the inaugural OWL season.
There are currently three spots remaining in the Stage 2 playoffs. With a 2-4 record, the Valiant still have the opportunity to qualify.
The Los Angeles Valiant will fight for a spot against the Chengdu Hunters on May 4.
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