The Los Angeles Gladiators suffered their very first loss of Stage 2 at the hands of the Boston Uprising. In a hard fought battle, they were bested by the Uprising to destroy their perfect stage. The Gladiators will be looking to use this battle as fuel ahead of their playoff battle against the New York Excelsior. Los Angeles will take on New York on Friday at 8:00 PM EST.
Week 5 Recap:
Boston Uprising: 7-7 (3-4 in Stage 2)
The Boston Uprising are known for getting results against good teams. Week 5 was no exception. The Gladiators fell 3-1 against the Uprising, putting the hopes of a perfect season to rest. The Gladiators will hope that they will be able to learn from this match. They continued to lose on Hanamura, as they have the past few times that they have played there. The only map they won was Blizzard World, on which they looked solid. If the Gladiators can bounce back hard, they should be able to take down the Excelsior.
Stage Playoffs Preview:
New York Excelsior: 12-2 (5-2 in Stage 2)
The Excelsior are coming off of a tough stage for them. They fell to fifth place in the stage, and lost two games to the struggling Atlanta Reign. Atlanta won three games this stage; two against the Excelsior and one against the Washington Justice. The Gladiators are also coming fresh off of a loss. Los Angeles has played New York three times in their Overwatch League history; two losses and one win, all coming in the inaugural season. The Excelsior went unbeaten in Stage 1, falling in the first round of the Stage 1 Playoffs to the Seoul Dynasty. The Gladiators will be hoping to capitalize on the demoralized Excelsior, seeing as they failed to advance last Stage Playoffs, and lost to one of the league’s weakest teams. If the Gladiators can shake off the loss against Boston, and use the lessons they learned, they very well may defeat the Excelsior.
Fans should not expect a playoff appearance from Lane “Surefour” Roberts, especially if the Gladiators have to play on Hanamura. During Stage 2, the Gladiators have been substituting him in for a few games this stage, but it has not worked out the way they were planning. Expect the Gladiator’s new star player Gui-un “Decay” Jang to play every minute on stage, working to secure the victory.
Prediction: Gladiators 3-2 Excelsior
Player to Watch:
The player to watch in this game is Benjamin “BigGoose” Isohanni. When he joined the analysts at the desk, he spoke on how he wanted to face the Excelsior. He believes they are one of the best teams in the league, and was excited to go up against them. If BigGoose can play Lucio to the high level that he is known for, he can truly have an effect on this game.
Need More?
Follow me on Twitter @lilkhobs I would love to hear your thoughts.
Featured Image Courtesy of the Los Angeles Gladiators
Follow The Game Haus for more sports and esports coverage.
Twitter: TGH Esports
Facebook: The Game Haus
“From our Haus to Yours”