| SPACE | |
|---|---|
 Halpern in 2018 | |
| No. 16 – Los Angeles Gladiators | |
| Role | Tank |
| Game | Overwatch |
| League | Overwatch League |
| Personal information | |
| Name | Indy Halpern |
| Born | (2000-03-28)March 28, 2000 (age 25) |
| Nationality | American |
| Career information | |
| Playing career | 2017–present |
| Team history | |
| 2017 | Arc 6 |
| 2017 | Cloud9[a] |
| 2018–2019 | Los Angeles Valiant |
| 2020–present | Los Angeles Gladiators |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Indy Halpern (born March 28, 2000), better known by his online aliasSPACE, is an American professionalOverwatch player in theOverwatch League (OWL). He began his career in 2017, playing with teams such as Arc 6 andCloud9 in late 2017. Halpern signed with the Los AngelesLos Angeles Valiant of the OWL ahead of the league'sinaugural season. After two seasons with the Valiant, he signed with theLos 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 the2018 Overwatch World Cup (OWWC) and won the2019 Overwatch World Cup as a member of Team USA.
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 achild model for companies such asGap,Ralph Lauren, andNike.[3] Growing up, Halpern lived with his mother and grandmother on theUpper East Side ofNew York City, while attendingLéman Manhattan Preparatory School inLower 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 theUpper East Side. Halpern regularly skipped classes at Life Sciences to go home and playOverwatch, which led to him nearing academic probation at school. Performing well on thecompetitive mode inOverwatch, he dropped out of school to pursue a career as a professionalOverwatch player, although he planned to take online classes to get hisGED.[2]
Halpern was featured inCBS News' 2018 documentaryEsports: The Price of the Grind.[4]
Halpern was a member of esports team Arc 6 in 2017.[5] Later that year, esports organizationCloud9 picked up Halpern as a fill-in forOverwatch Contenders Europe Season One.[5][2]
Ahead of the inaugural season of theOverwatch League, Halpern signed with theLos 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 theSeoul 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 inStage 4 and won the Stage 4 finals against theNew York Excelsior.[9] Additionally, the team made a deep run into the2018 playoffs.[10][11] Halpern was selected as a reserve for the2018 Overwatch League All-Star Game and2019 Overwatch League All-Star Game.[12][13]
In October 2019, The Valiant announced that they had parted ways with Halpern.[14]
Halpern signed with theLos Angeles Gladiators ahead of the 2020 season.[15] He was selected asAll-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 theChengdu Hunters in theCountdown Cup finals.[17] At the end of the 2021 season, he received a Role Star commendation, an award given to the top players in eachrole.[18]
After his first year in the OWL, Halpern was selected as a member of Team USA in the2018 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 the2019 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]
