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SPACE
Halpern in 2018
No. 16 – Los Angeles Gladiators
RoleTank
GameOverwatch
LeagueOverwatch League
Personal information
NameIndy Halpern
Born (2000-03-28) March 28, 2000 (age 24)
NationalityAmerican
Career information
Playing career2017–present
Team history
2017Arc 6
2017Cloud9[a]
2018–2019Los Angeles Valiant
2020–presentLos Angeles Gladiators
Career highlights and awards

Indy Halpern (born March 28, 2000), better known by his online alias SPACE, is an American professional Overwatch player in the Overwatch League (OWL). He began his career in 2017, playing with teams such as Arc 6 and Cloud9 in late 2017. Halpern signed with the Los Angeles Valiant of the OWL ahead of the league's inaugural season. After two seasons with the Valiant, he signed with the Los Angeles Gladiators.

Halpern has won two midseason playoff titles—one in 2018 and one in 2021. He is a three-time OWL All-Star and was awarded with a Role Star commendation in 2021. Outside of the OWL, Halpern played in the 2018 Overwatch World Cup (OWWC) and won the 2019 Overwatch World Cup as a member of Team USA.

Early life

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Halpern was born on March 28, 2000, to his mother Diane Mella and father Mike Halpern.[1][2] From around age 7–8 until 14, he was a child model for companies such as Gap, Ralph Lauren, and Nike.[3] Growing up, Halpern lived with his mother and grandmother on the Upper East Side of New York City, while attending Léman Manhattan Preparatory School in Lower Manhattan on a scholarship. However, being far away from where he grew up, as well as the commute to Lemen, was difficult for him, so his mother transferred him to Life Sciences, a public school on the Upper East Side. Halpern regularly skipped classes at Life Sciences to go home and play Overwatch, which led to him nearing academic probation at school. Performing well on the competitive mode in Overwatch, he dropped out of school to pursue a career as a professional Overwatch player, although he planned to take online classes to get his GED.[2]

Halpern was featured in CBS News' 2018 documentary Esports: The Price of the Grind.[4]

Professional career

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Early career

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Halpern was a member of esports team Arc 6 in 2017.[5] Later that year, esports organization Cloud9 picked up Halpern as a fill-in for Overwatch Contenders Europe Season One.[5][2]

Los Angeles Valiant

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Halpern played for the Valiant from 2018 to 2019.

Ahead of the inaugural season of the Overwatch League, Halpern signed with the Los Angeles Valiant.[6] At the time of signing, he was underage and was not eligible to play until March 2018.[1] Halpern made his professional debut on April 4, 2018, right after the midpoint of the season, and immediately make an impact with the team. His first match was against the Seoul Dynasty; the Valiant won, 4–0, and Halpern was named the player of the match.[7][8] The Valiant hit their stride after that match, going 7–3 in Stage 3, qualifying for their first stage playoffs in the process, and subsequently, went 9–1 in Stage 4 and won the Stage 4 finals against the New York Excelsior.[9] Additionally, the team made a deep run into the 2018 playoffs.[10][11] Halpern was selected as a reserve for the 2018 Overwatch League All-Star Game and 2019 Overwatch League All-Star Game.[12][13]

In October 2019, The Valiant announced that they had parted ways with Halpern.[14]

Los Angeles Gladiators

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Halpern signed with the Los Angeles Gladiators ahead of the 2020 season.[15] He was selected as All-Star in 2020, marking the third consecutive year that he received the commendation.[16] Halpern picked up his second OWL midseason tournament title in 2021, after the Gladiators defeated the Chengdu Hunters in the Countdown Cup finals.[17] At the end of the 2021 season, he received a Role Star commendation, an award given to the top players in each role.[18]

National team career

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After his first year in the OWL, Halpern was selected as a member of Team USA in the 2018 Overwatch World Cup (OWWC).[19] In the group stage, Team USA finished as the top seed, advancing them to the knockout round.[20] Team USA fell to Team United Kingdom in the quarterfinals, 1–3.[21]

The following year, Halpern was again selected to play for Team USA in the 2019 Overwatch World Cup.[22] Team USA went undefeated in the group stage to advance to the knockouts, where they defeated Sweden, the United Kingdom, and South Korea to advance to the OWWC finals.[23] The US team swept Team China in the finals, 3–0, giving the US their first OWWC title.[24]

Notes

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  1. ^ Stand-in.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b Lingle, Samuel (April 6, 2018). "Los Angeles Valiant thrash new look Shanghai Dragons". Dot Esports. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Khan, Imad (May 12, 2018). "Los Angeles Valiant star SPACE earns mom's approval". ESPN. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  3. ^ Gao, Emerald (May 11, 2021). "AFK: Space Talks Denim Life, Child Modeling, and Life In Moderation". Overwatch League. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  4. ^ "Esports: The price of the grind". CBS News. December 21, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Alonzo, Damian (October 18, 2017). "Why Mercy's recent overhaul made her too powerful". PC Gamer. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  6. ^ Marshall, Cass; Goslin, Austen (January 18, 2018). "Meet the teams for the inaugural season of the Overwatch League". Heroes Never Die. Polygon. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  7. ^ Rand, Emily (April 18, 2018). "Space Case: Meet the 18 year old tank player revitalizing the LA Valiant". Heroes Never Die. Polygon. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  8. ^ Tahan, Chelsey (April 4, 2018). "Los Angeles Valiant slam the Seoul Dynasty in a 4-0 sweep". Overwatch Wire. USA Today. Archived from the original on April 8, 2018.
  9. ^ "2019 Team Preview: Los Angeles Valiant". Overwatch League. January 28, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  10. ^ Mejia, Ozzie (June 17, 2018). "Los Angeles Valiant Win Overwatch League Stage 4 Finals". Shack News. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  11. ^ Garst, Aron (February 9, 2019). "LA Valiant value chemistry over Overwatch League meta". ESPN. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  12. ^ Mejia, Ozzie (July 10, 2018). "Blizzard Names 2018 Overwatch League All-Star Game Reserves". Shack News. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  13. ^ Tucker, Kevin (May 8, 2019). "Blizzard announces Overwatch League 2019 All-Stars Reserves". Shack News. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  14. ^ Esguerra, Tyler (October 23, 2019). "Los Angeles Valiant release SPACE, Agilities, and KariV". Dot Esports. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  15. ^ "Overwatch League moves: Valiant shake up team, Fusion extend Carpe". ESPN. Reuters. February 21, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  16. ^ "Overwatch League announces All-Star teams". Reuters. Field Level Media. September 17, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  17. ^ Garst, Aron (September 14, 2021). "After a season of growth, the Gladiators are reaching their potential". Upcomer. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  18. ^ Richardson, Liz (September 24, 2021). "Overwatch League reveals 2021 Role Stars". Dot Esports. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  19. ^ Byers, Preston (July 4, 2018). "Team USA reveals its 2018 Overwatch World Cup roster". Dot Esports. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  20. ^ Geracie, Nick (September 12, 2018). ""Only playing one hero is kind of an advantage." -Space of Team USA on the current meta". Inven Global. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  21. ^ Byers, Preston (November 2, 2018). "Team USA eliminated from Overwatch World Cup by Team UK". Dot Esports. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  22. ^ Richardson, Liz (October 31, 2019). "Overwatch World Cup profile: Team United States". Dot Esports. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  23. ^ "Team USA go undefeated, advance to semifinals at Overwatch World Cup". ESPN. Reuters. November 2, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  24. ^ Wolf, Jacob (November 3, 2019). "Team USA finally claims gold at Overwatch World Cup". ESPN. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
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