The Shock continue easing into Stage 4 and 2-2-2 with another short week in Week 2. After rumbling over some routers last week successfully, they’ll look to do the same this week against a much tougher opponent in the Gladiators.
Week 1 Review
Shock 3-1 Dynasty
The hyped #RouterRumble went, again, in the way of the Shock. Looking very different than they have in the past, playing a variety of different players from the roster. The Dynasty, despite that, could not pull off the victory, looking equally disheveled in the new role locked world that the league lives in. With strong performances from the Shock’s long-benched players like Myeong-hwan “smurf” Yoo, they were able to pull off a relatively easy 3-1 victory.
Week 2 Preview
Los Angeles Gladiators (14-9)
The Gladiators have been a force to be reckoned with all season long and had a hot start to the 2-2-2 Stage 4. They took down the NYXL in convincing fashion, which makes them a formidable foe for the Shock who have little data backing them up so far.
This one should be close, however, the Shock may end up dropping this series while they continue to solidify their identity in 2-2-2. If this matchup were coming later in the stage, perhaps there would be a different outcome. With the apparent grueling schedule of Team USA prep, many of the Shock players have also been splitting time between the two in a serious way. This paired with the lack of identity seems too much to overcome for the Shock, who should still be able to keep the series close.
Prediction: Shock 2-3 Gladiators
Player to Watch: Myeong-hwan “smurf” Yoo
If smurf continues to play for MVP candidate Matthew “super” DeLisi, he will have to continue playing at a very high level. Super has been criticized for being a Reinhardt one-trick in the past, however, he clearly has the skill set to play a larger variety of tank heroes. Will super be able to keep up and adapt his game to stay consistently starting or will smurf’s synergy with Hyo-bin “ChoiHyoBin” Choi be enough to keep him starting? Keep an eye on this question this week.
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