There are 20 teams that compete in the Overwatch League. Each team is looking to sway potential fans towards their team. With eight new expansion teams, as well as the 12 Inaugural Season teams, how are fans to choose a team to support? The Los Angeles Gladiators are just one of the teams that fans can choose from. They have many attributes that draw fans in, including players, colors, location and results. Here is a look into why you should be a Gladiators fan.
Courtesy of the Los Angeles Gladiators
A main reason for any fan to support a team is if they like or follow a certain player or players. For many, especially those who use Twitch often, Lane “Surefour” Roberts was a reason that fans followed the Gladiators. The other DPS players for the Gladiators are João Pedro “Hydration” Goes Telles and Gui-un “Decay” Jang. The Finnish support trio includes Jonas “Shaz” Suovaara, Benjamin “BigGoose” Isohanni and Riku “Ripa” Toivanen. Finally, making up the tank line, you have Hyung-seok “Bischu” “Aaron” Kim and Jun-woo “Void” Kang, who play off-tank. Chang-hoon “rOar” Gye and Byung-ho “Panker” Lee make up the main tank line.
Many of the players, including Surefour and BigGoose, stream on Twitch. This helps the players gain a following and can influence the fans to support their Overwatch League team. Along with their previous following, Overwatch fans who play a specific Hero may want to follow someone who plays that Hero. BigGoose is known for his Lucio, while Hydration for his projectile Heroes such as Doomfist and Pharah.
Finally, fans of Contenders teams may want to continue to follow their favorite teams former players that have moved up to the Overwatch League. Void, Decay and rOar all played for KongDoo Panthera in Korean Contenders. Fans of KongDoo may want to keep up with their former players by following the Gladiators.
Courtesy of the Overwatch League
Last year, before the first season of the Overwatch, many fans who were new to the competitive Overwatch scene did not know what team to support. One of the factors that many fans chose to pledge their allegiance with was the team colors.
The Los Angeles Gladiators have a great color set. Purple, white and black. The logo on their home jersey is outlined in the white, which is an improvement to last years jersey.
Overwatch fans that enjoy their teams colors can purchase skins for each of the Heroes in game. For $5 each, fans can get both the home and away skins for one character. Fans of the Gladiators may want to grab the Reinhardt skin, as the Gladiators often use the #ShieldsUP as a team hashtag.
The Inaugural Season of the Overwatch League was hosted completely in Los Angeles. This makes the Gladiators one of two teams that plays in their home city, alongside the Valiant. This gives the Gladiators home field advantage, and allow fans that are based in the city to be close to their team. Also, it gives a sense of pride to the fan that their team represents their city. For those who do not live in that city, it could give them an excuse to visit, as well.
For the upcoming season of the Overwatch League, almost every game will be played in Los Angeles. For the third season of the Overwatch League, the plan is that each team will reside in their city, and teams will travel.
Courtesy of the Los Angeles Gladiators
Finally, a reason that fans may support a team is their performance. The Gladiators finished in fourth place in the overall standings, going 25-15 with a +24 map differential. For some fans, they want to follow a team that does well. Some fans will still follow a team that does poorly. For example, the Shanghai Dragons went 0-40, but still have a solid fanbase. The Gladiators, especially towards the latter half of the season, started to click and win more games. This excited their fan base, and gets fans excited to follow the team.
The Overwatch League returns on Feb. 14. The Los Angeles Gladiators open up their campaign against the Seoul Dynasty. The Gladiators will also play the San Francisco Shock in the opening week of the Overwatch League. Fans are not sure what comp the Gladiators will play. Whether it be GOATS or Dive, fans will be excited to see their favorite team back in action.
Follow me on Twitter @lilkhobs I would love to hear your thoughts.
Featured Image Courtesy of the the Los Angeles Gladiators
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