Los Angeles Gladiators: Stage 1 Week 1 Preview

Welcome to the first Los Angeles Gladiators team preview. We will be doing this weekly before all the games start in order to make sure you are caught up and ready for the games. As we prepare for the first week it is time that we preview what we expect out of the Gladiators in their Week 1 matchups. #ShieldsUP

Seoul Dynasty: 0-0-0

The third match of the opening day of Overwatch League 2019 Season. Each of these teams will be looking to start the season off strong and make a statement in Week 1. The Dynasty made moves during the offseason, releasing five players and bringing in five players. This matchup with feature former Gladiators main tank Chan-hyung “Fissure” Baek. It will be his first time playing against the Gladiators since Stage 1, when he was with the London Spitfire.

Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

This game will be a test to see if both of these rosters can come together after making significant changes. The Gladiators lost to the Vancouver Titans 2-1 while the Dynasty took a 2-1 win over Hangzhou Spark in the Community Countdown. Both of these games were random heroes.

If the Gladiators want to take the win against Seoul, then main tank player Chang-hoon “rOar” Gye will have to be on the top of his game. The biggest hole the Gladiators had to fill in the offseason was at main tank, and rOar will need to stand out immediately. The Gladiators will have an edge at the off tank role, with two solid players in Hyung-seok “Bischu” “Aaron” Kim and Jun-woo “Void” Kang.

Prediction: LAG 3-2 SEO

Fun fact:

The Gladiators faced the Dynasty four times last season, finishing with a 2-2 record. The Gladiators have won the latest two meetings between the teams.

San Francisco Shock: 0-0-0

In both teams second matchup of Week 1, the Los Angeles Gladiators will take on their neighbors to the North, the San Francisco Shock. The Shock were busy in the offseason, releasing four players and bringing in four. They have a high volume of DPS players, but struggled with consistency last season. The Shock will have just come off of playing the Dallas Fuel.

2018-04-18 / Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

The Gladiators went 3-1 versus the Shock last season, and are looking to improve that to 4-1. Many analysts predict that the Shock will be one of the teams to look out for this season. In The Game Haus’s preseason power rankings, they were placed eighth. The Gladiators want to be the Kings of California, and taking the Shock down is the first step.  

This matchup will see some highly skilled DPS players face off. The Gladiators already had the likes of Lane “Surefour” Roberts and João Pedro “Hydration” Goes Telles, and brought in Gui-un “Decay” Jang from Kongdoo Panthera. Chris “Puckett” Puckett named Decay as his Rookie of the Year candidate on the Overwatch League 2019 predictions. However, the Shock already had a solid DPS lineup, and brought more in during the offseason. Andrej “babybay” Francisty, Jay “sinatraa” Won, Min-ho “Architect” Park, Dong-jun “Rascal” Kim and Nam-joo “Striker” Kwon are their DPS players. No one is sure which of these players will start, or how the rotation will go. Expect some highlight reel plays out of both teams in this matchup.

Prediction: LAG 3-1 SFS

Fun Fact:

The San Francisco Shock are the only team with 12 members heading into the Overwatch League season. They have five DPS players, four tank players, and three support players.

The Overwatch League returns Thursday, Feb. 14. The London Spitfire will face the Philadelphia Fusion in a rematch of the finals, followed by the New York Excelsior taking on the Boston Uprising. The Gladiators versus Dynasty match happens third, and the Shanghai Dragons take on the Hangzhou Spark for the last match of the day.

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Featured Image Courtesy of the Los Angeles Gladiators

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