RESULTS: Los Angeles Gladiators Pull Off Upset Against London Spitfire

The Los Angeles Gladiators came into today's match with a record of 7-8 and in 8th place in the Overwatch League. Coming off of a 4-0 victory over their cross town rivals in the Los Angeles Valiant earlier in the week, the Gladiators were flying high coming into their second match of Week 3. The London Spitfire came into today's match with a 11-4 record and in 3rd place in the league. The Spitfire were coming off of a 4-0 win over the Boston Uprising yesterday and were looking to grab their 12th win of the season against Los Angeles. Here is a short breakdown of how the match went.

Volskaya Industries was the first map of the match. Both London and Los Angeles came out firing on all cylinders for their attack rounds, as both teams would capture both control points to force a 2-2 tie. Los Angeles would be able to build a strong defensive hold in London's second attack round and prevent the Spitfire from capturing another point. Having the opportunity to close out the win, the Los Angeles Gladiators would stage an offensive push in their second attack round to secure Point A. This resulted in the 3-2 win on Volskaya Industries and 1-0 match lead for the Gladiators. Benjamin "BigGoose"  Isohanni (23 eliminations, 9,409 and only six deaths) lead the way for the Los Angeles Gladiators to take the map from the London Spitfire with his aggressive Lúcio play.

Lijiang Tower was the following map of the match, and it saw the Los Angeles Gladiators ride the momentum from their map one win. Playing to the potential that they have shown many times this season, the Gladiators once again showed that they can compete with the very best teams in the league. Not allowing London to put a single point on the board, Los Angeles was able to secure the first two hills and take the 2-0 win on Lijiang Tower. This gave the Gladiators a 2-0 lead over the Spitfire going into halftime. Aaron "Bischu" Kim (16 eliminations, 8,826 damage blocked and only one death as D.Va) was a driving force in the Los Angeles Gladiators' win.

King's Row would be the following map of the match, and the Los Angeles Gladiators would not waste the opportunity to complete the upset. London was able to capture two points in their attack round, but Los Angeles was able to prevent the Spitfire from collecting another point. Seeing the upset within their grasp, the Los Angeles Gladiators would deliver an impressive offensive push to break through London's defense and secure three points on the hybrid map. The 3-2 win on King's Row secured the upset victory for the Gladiators with the match score at 3-0. The duo of Chan-Hyung "Fissure" Baek (23 eliminations, 11,181 damage blocked and only four deaths as Winston) and Bischu (23 eliminations, 11,924 damage blocked and only six deaths as D.Va) would allow for Los Angeles to clinch the match victory against Fissure's former team.

Route 66 was the final map of the match. The London Spitfire were not looking to end Week 3 by losing 0-4, which resulted in the Spitfire subbing in what many consider their best lineup. This allowed them to come out very aggressive in their attack round to quickly grab all three checkpoints. The Gladiators would begin their attack round by securing the first checkpoint, but began to stall against London heading to the second checkpoint. Sneaking behind enemy lines, Jun-Sung "Asher" Choi was able to pull off a strong flank to take out two Spitfire players and open up the second checkpoint for his team. London would be able to hold strong on the final checkpoint to prevent Los Angeles from completing the map. This resulted in the 3-2 win on Route 66 for London. 

With the win, the Los Angeles Gladiators improved to a record of 8-8 and captured a statement win for Stage 2. The loss dropped the London Spitfire to a record of 11-5 and will have them looking to improve on their mistakes heading into Week 4.

Interested in more Overwatch League coverage? Check out our recap of the Houston Outlaws and Florida Mayhem match from last night.

(cover photo courtesy of Los Angeles Gladiators)