London Spitfire vs Los Angeles Gladiators

For our first match of the day we have a very exciting clash between the Los Angeles Gladiators and the London Spitfire.

This match isn't of the utmost importance overall when it comes to the season playoffs but a win for the Gladiators would go a long way in securing their playoff spot. (with just one week of competitive play left)

The Gladiators are entering tonight's match with quite a lot of hype and momentum as they were able to win their first clash against New York Excelsior - and at the most opportune moment as well. It was a win no one really expected and it gave them a serious boost when it comes to the overall season playoffs.

Now it is a fact that New York is sandbagging. Their coach went on the record and said that they're just experimenting, trying to win from behind and that they don't have anything to fight for seeing how they're locked in for the playoffs with a first round bye as well.

That said the fact that both the Valiant and the Gladiators managed to sneak past and win in five map brawlers is no small feat. If everyone could beat a slacking NYXL then everyone would, but you have to be a really solid team on all fronts to be able to do so.

It all started off horribly for the Gladiators as Void failed both of his "Graviton Surges" on King's Row - something that's unforgivable at this level of play, especially when Zarya's ult is used as the foundation for a winning ult combo.

The Gladiators were too focused on taking Jjonak down in general that it allowed New York to eliminate their entire team in the process. We also saw how big of a problem Saebyeolbe was on Widowmaker on Hanamura as he was able to single-handedly shut down Surefour on multiple key occasions.

However the Gladiator's incredible in-game shotcalling, mental fortitude and the ability to switch team comps on the fly was on full display after the break. Hydration had an absolutely insane performance and the whole team stepped up immensely.

Reverse sweeping requires incredible resilience and the Gladiators had it in spades on Friday and not just against any team - against the absolute best team in the Overwatch League.

The Gladiators are playing at their absolute best level right now. They're far from a perfect team but they're Top 4 without a doubt right now. Their win over New York only solidifies that fact.

They're also pretty much a shoe-in for the playoffs seeing how they're one win above Houston and have two very winnable matches next week against Shanghai and Seoul whereas the Outlaws have the Fusion and New York. With a win tonight they would almost guarantee themselves a spot in the playoffs and that is something worth fighting for.

That said London are very hard to read right now. They can be outclassed by Dallas one week and then proceed to take the Valiant (who are 7-0 right now) to the brink of defeat.

After tying on Blizzard World through better teamwork and individual play they were able to best the Valiant on Lunar Horizon Colony. It was shaping up to be a very big upset seeing how no one saw the London being up 1:0 at half-time. However the Valiant responded in full force after the break with Agilities once again being clutch on Control Point maps.

They're incredibly talented but you never really know what you're going to get from London. Because of this it's hard to ever really give them the benefit of the doubt. Whether or not that changes when the playoffs come around remains to be seen.

We're going with the Gladiators on this one. With only one loss this stage so far, they're poised to reach the playoffs and make a splash in July. That said London is a question mark right now in regards to their overall strength so don't be surprised if this goes the distance.