Houston Outlaws vs Los Angeles Gladiators

For our third match of the day we have an incredibly exciting clash between the Los Angeles Gladiators and the Houston Outlaws. The fate's of these two teams essentially reversed as the Gladiators are currently ranked as the best Western team after a lackluster Stage 1, whereas the Outlaws are currently the definition of a middle-of-the-pack team after a sensational Stage 1.

The Outlaws are in a strange situation right now as they're currently 3W-3L after three weeks of competitive Stage 2 play. They started off fairly well however as the weeks went by the Outlaws looked more and more lost. It all started after getting demolished by the Philadelphia Fusion, which then continued with an 0-4 loss at the hands of New York Excelsior and an abysmal showing against the Los Angeles Valiant. They were able to snap the longest map losing streak in the League with their 3-2 win over the Florida Mayhem. It wasn't close nor pretty but they did get the win however even though Florida did step up considerably over the last couple of weeks (both individually as well as a six man cohesive unit), they're still one of the worst teams in the Overwatch League - second worst to be more exact. Winning against them shouldn't be considered as an achievement, but rather something attainable by default.

In a meta where Mercy isn't as effective, mistakes in positioning and decision making can make the difference between a win and a loss. This led to a meta where a team with the better Tracer player has quite a big edge. We've seen the impact Danteh had in San Francisco's series against Dallas Fuel where he outclassed EFFECT, and even how well the Valiant play when Soon manages to pop off and how lost they look when he gets shut down. With LiNkzr having to play Widowmaker and perhaps Soldier:76, this means Jake or Clockwork have to be on Tracer duty and that is quite the problem seeing how they're statistically the worst and second worst Tracers in the entire League. When they play they're too telegraphed and seem to only have a single playstyle right now which leads to a loss of identity. They went from being one of the best Western teams to a team that can hardly contest for a Top 5 spot.

As for the Gladiators, well, no one could see this coming. While their 4-0 domination over the Valiant last week was somewhat in the real of possibility their win against London wasn't. They made the Stage 1 champions sweat on Volskaya as the Spitfire barely got two points without even a single second in the time bank. When it was LA's time to attack, they were quick and effective. They displayed flawless coordination in their attack and took both points with over four minutes left. London wasn't able to compete as the Gladiators dominated, with Fissure being the man of the hour for sure. Their impeccable play continued throughout the series, they didn't break a sweat on Lijiang Tower - almost winning both points without ever losing control, and their full hold on King's Row. They're surely a force to be reckoned with and teams will no longer underestimate their full potential.

This is a very hard match to predict for sure. While the Gladiators looked incredible last week they do have a tendency to disappoint at the most random of times. That said the heights they reached last week were previously unknown. They outclassed the Valiant and then dominated over the London Spitfire - two matches they arguably should have lost in pretty underwhelming fashion. The Outlaws on the other hand failed to do much over the last couple of weeks. Their highs have been impressive however their lows have been far more frequent.

We're going with the Gladiators on this one mainly based on their last week's performance, even though that logic could by all means be a double edged sword. The Outlaws have too many issues to fix in the current meta and they shouldn't be able to find solutions in just a single week's time. That said this will surely be one heck of a close match that could in reality go either way so if you're betting make sure to bet a somewhat low amount.