Overwatch League Stage 3, Week 1, Day 3: Los Angeles Gladiators vs Dallas Fuel

The contest between the teams is only getting more and more fierce, as the Los Angeles Gladiators have taken down the Dallas Fuel to claim revenge for their stage 2 defeat. Here’s a brief breakdown of the match.

The first map, Volskaya Industries, featured an aggressive start out of the Gladiators as they pressed their attack against the Dallas line-up. The Gladiators quickly secured the first point, moving on to assault the Dallas defences on the second point. Though Dallas did their best to hold them off, Los Angeles managed to secure the second point, leaving Dallas with some hard work if they wanted to remain competitive. The Dallas attack also got off to an excellent start, as they pushed Los Angeles away and captured the first point. Their attack on the second point was also a success, as the Gladiators just couldn’t keep them away. With both teams successfully completing the rounds, the teams would be forced to once again repeat the rounds, though with much less time available. Los Angeles went first, and though the Dallas Fuel did their best to hold them back, in the end the Gladiators successfully secured the first point. Their second point assault was not as successful, however, as Dallas found their feet and held the line to keep them at bay. With Dallas now taking their turn to attack, the Gladiators set up their defences to try and hold them back. Despite having a little more time, Dallas could not push Los Angeles away from the point long enough to capture it, and the LA Gladiators claimed victory on the first map of this series.

The second map, Blizzard World, was equally as tense as the first, with the Gladiators again making their attack to start. The defence from Dallas was strong, but not quite strong enough to keep LA back, as the Gladiators secured the first point and began to move the payload. Los Angeles were able to move the payload through the first checkpoint, but became bogged down at the second, with the Dallas Fuel turning their defence around. Try as they might, the Gladiators could not advance all the way to checkpoint 3, leaving Dallas with a line they had to reach for victory. The Dallas attack was well thought out, capturing the first point and starting to move the payload. Though the Los Angeles defence tried their best, they too were unable to hold Dallas back from the second point, leading to another mad scramble before the third and final checkpoint. Despite the Fuel’s best efforts, they were also unable to reach the third checkpoint, falling short of the line set by the Gladiators. Los Angeles claimed the map and a 2 game lead in the series.

The third map, Nepal, proved to be the tipping point for the match. Though they were able to get on the point, Dallas were unable to hold it for long enough to win the round, as Los Angeles proved to be the better team in this instance. The second round was much closer, as though Dallas was not able to capture the point, they were sitting at 99% when they were forced off. Los Angeles claimed the victory for the round, map, and series all in one fell swoop, with a single map left to be played.

The fourth map, Route 66, was another tense and close match, with Los Angeles on attack first. The Gladiators were able to move the payload through all three checkpoints, with Dallas only being able to slow them down. For Dallas to win, they would need to also push the payload all the way, just to avoid the sweep. The defences from Los Angeles proved to be as unsuccessful as Dallas’s, with the Fuel advancing the payload all the way through the first three checkpoints to set up an overtime showdown. Dallas attacked first in overtime, and quickly ran into a very stiff defence from the Gladiators, barely managing to move the cart 36m. When it came time for the LA assault, however, the Dallas Fuel turned up the heat with gusto, stopping them at a scant 34.5m, claiming victory in the final map.

For more Overwatch action, check out the reveal of the Overwatch: Flash Ops, and to see when these teams will clash again, check out the Official Schedule page, here.