Florida Mayhem vs Los Angeles Gladiators

For our second match of the day we have an interesting clash between the Los Angeles Gladiators and the Florida Mayhem.

The Gladiators are charging towards their first stage playoff appearance and they're closer than they've ever been. After missing out in stage two they're reinvigorated and they finally have the right tools and the right mindset to make that goal a reality. Perhaps most surprisingly they've emerged as quite the contender over the last couple of weeks. They've basically beaten everyone there is to beat other than New York and they even took them to five maps so they're not as inferior as it might seem. It's hard to pinpoint what really made them propel so quickly. They've put in the work - that's evident both on an team level as well as individually. They've always had a killer support duo but they were lacking a bit in the DPS department and their tanks would often falter when facing against top tier opposition. That all changed with Fissure's introduction to the team as he essentially elevated the entire line-up. Bischu started playing out of his mind and is low-key one of the best D.Va players in the League right now, Fissure himself is arguably the best Winston as well so they've developed some insane synergy but it's their DPS line-up that stepped up the most.

We always knew that Surefour had a fantastic hero pool but the level at which he's playing right now - especially when on Widowmaker duty - is absolutely insane. With Asher and Hydration in the line-up as well they've covered the entire DPS spectrum ranging from hit-scan, over projectile based heroes and even some niche picks like Junkrat. They're not the flashiest of teams but they have the basics down to a tee and they're not ones to shy away from a challenge.

With five wins and three losses they're prime to reach the Top 4 and fight for the stage title. They're still a bit far from the overall season playoffs (currently at eight place) but if they continue playing at their current level they will surely change that as well.

Perhaps most importantly, the Gladiators made best with the task at hand last week. They had two incredibly tough opponents - London Spitfire and the Houston Outlaws - and they beat both in exhausting but exhilirating five map matches. They essentially beat two teams that could've aimed at their current spot but are no longer able to do so which is an incredible achievement overall, especially seeing their improvement and refinement over the last couple of weeks. For week five they have a rather acceptable schedule - Florida and Boston. Now sure, they could have their hands full on Saturday against the Uprising but they know that the Florida match could be the deciding factor going into stage three playoffs. If they manage to win and attain a good map score then their playoff spot could be locked in. This is a big factor when betting on this match - not only is this a must win for the Gladiators but they want to dominate as much as possible.

As for Florida they're ending this stage much like every other before it - with a pretty mediocre and moderate levels of success. That said they've displayed serious improvement over the last couple of weeks, but unfortunately every other team did as well so even though they're better others are as well so they're consistently stuck in the bottom three. That said this is arguably the first time there was an evident gap between them and Dallas so they're at least on the right path.

Perhaps most importantly they finally have an incredibly skilled, highly versatile DPS duo in the line-up with Tviq - who's been playing some incredible Overwatch over the last couple of weeks - and Sayaplayer, one of the best performing Widowmakers in the League right now. The fact that he managed to attain a 34% critical shot accuracy on Junkertown last week is downright insane - and it was a map that they've lost! They have some very dangerous players in every position, they're just not there yet in regards to overall team cohesion.

Regardless of how well Florida looks right now and how better the team looks with Sayaplayer and Awesomeguy as starters they're still a couple of notches beneath the Gladiators. While they could make things a bit complicated depending on the map pool they shouldn't be strong enough to take the win. Betting on the Gladiators would be the more logical choice on this one.