# 2018 Los Angeles Gladiators season

The 2018 Los Angeles Gladiators was the first season of the Los Angeles Gladiators's existence in the Overwatch League. The team finished with a regular season record of 25–15 – the fourth best in the Overwatch League.
Los Angeles qualified for the Stage 3 and Stage 4 Playoffs. The team lost in the Stage 3 semifinals to the Boston Uprising. In the Stage 4 semifinals, the Gladiators lost to the Los Angeles Valiant. The team also qualified for the Season Playoffs, but lost to the London Spitfire in the quarterfinals.

## Preceding offseason

On November 2, Gladiators unveiled their initial 7-player inaugural season roster, consisting of the following players:
* Lane "Surefour" Roberts
* João Pedro "Hydration" Goes Telles
* Kim "Bischu" Hyung-seok
* Jonas "Shaz" Suovaara
* Benjamin "BigGoose" Isohanni
* Choi "Asher" Jun-sung
* Luis "iRemiix" Galarza Figueroa
The team revealed that the players were picked from a conglomeration of professional Overwatch esports teams to suit an "aggressive and fun" playstyle the team hoped to emulate as a reflection of their personality.

## Review
### Regular season

Their debut match was a 4–0 victory over the Shanghai Dragons. They finished Stage 1 with a 4–6 record in 8th place.
Heading into Stage 2, the team announced the transfer of tank player Baek "Fissure" Chan-hyung from the London Spitfire. Following the acquisition of Fissure, the team finished the stage in fifth place with a 6–4 record, including a 4–0 sweep over the Valiant.
Between Stages 2 and 3, the Gladiators acquired Ted "silkthread" Wang from the Valiant and Kang "Void" Jun-woo from Kongdoo Panthera. However, visa issues would cause Void to completely miss out on Stage 3. The Gladiators finished Stage 3 with a 6–4 record in fourth place, which, beginning with the third stage, was the final stage playoff spot. The top-seeded Boston Uprising, undefeated in Stage 3, selected the Gladiators as their first round opponent. On May 6, the Uprising swept the Gladiators 3–0.
The Gladiators, now regularly using Void in their lineup following his visa being approved, finished with a league-best 9–1 record in Stage 4, including a reverse sweep over back-to-back stage champions New York Excelsior. However, the team would unexpectedly choose the second-seeded Valiant as their semi-final opposition. The Valiant would subsequently defeat the Gladiators in the Stage Playoffs by a score of 3–2. They would end the season with a 25–15 record, good for 4th place and a spot in the postseason where they would face against the London Spitfire.

### Season playoffs

On July 11, the first day of the season's playoffs, the fourth-seeded Gladiators took a 1–0 series lead after defeating the fifth-seeded Spitfire 3–0 in their first ever playoffs match. The Gladiators made headlines by surprisingly announcing on the day of the first match that main tank Fissure would be benched in favor of Luis "iRemiix" Galarza Figueroa. Later on the same day, Fissure was revealed by Blizzard as the runner-up in the inaugural Overwatch League season MVP vote. Two days later, the Gladiators would be eliminated from the playoffs after the Spitfire shut out the Gladiators in back-to-back matches to win the series 2–1.

## Final roster
### Transactions

Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2018 regular season:
* On February 13, Gladiators acquired Baek "Fissure" Chan-hyung from London Spitfire.
* On March 25, Gladiators signed Kang "Void" Jun-woo.
* On April 3, Gladiators acquired Ted "silkthread" Wang from Los Angeles Valiant.

## Standings
### League

| Pos | Div | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | PCT | MW | ML | MT | MD | Qualification |
| 1 | ATL | New York Excelsior | 40 | 34 | 6 | 0.850 | 126 | 43 | 4 | +83 | Advance to season playoffs semifinals |
| 2 | PAC | Los Angeles Valiant | 40 | 27 | 13 | 0.675 | 100 | 64 | 7 | +36 | Advance to season playoffs semifinals |
| 3 | ATL | Boston Uprising | 40 | 26 | 14 | 0.650 | 99 | 71 | 3 | +28 | Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals |
| 4 | PAC | Los Angeles Gladiators | 40 | 25 | 15 | 0.625 | 96 | 72 | 3 | +24 | Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals |
| 5 | ATL | London Spitfire | 40 | 24 | 16 | 0.600 | 102 | 69 | 3 | +33 | Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals |
| 6 | ATL | Philadelphia Fusion | 40 | 24 | 16 | 0.600 | 93 | 80 | 2 | +13 | Advance to season playoffs quarterfinals |
| 7 | ATL | Houston Outlaws | 40 | 22 | 18 | 0.550 | 94 | 77 | 2 | +17 | |
| 8 | PAC | Seoul Dynasty | 40 | 22 | 18 | 0.550 | 91 | 78 | 3 | +13 | |
| 9 | PAC | San Francisco Shock | 40 | 17 | 23 | 0.425 | 77 | 84 | 5 | −7 | |
| 10 | PAC | Dallas Fuel | 40 | 12 | 28 | 0.300 | 58 | 100 | 7 | −42 | |
| 11 | ATL | Florida Mayhem | 40 | 7 | 33 | 0.175 | 42 | 120 | 5 | −78 | |
| 12 | PAC | Shanghai Dragons | 40 | 0 | 40 | 0.000 | 21 | 141 | 2 | −120 | |

## Game log
### Preseason

2018 preseason game log :
Preseason (1–1)
1
December 7
Los Angeles Gladiators
3
2
London Spitfire
Burbank, CA
2
December 9
Los Angeles Valiant
3
1
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA :

### Regular season

2018 game log (Regular season record: 25–15) :
Stage 1 (4–6)
1
January 10
Shanghai Dragons
0
4
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
2
January 13
Seoul Dynasty
4
0
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
3
January 18
Philadelphia Fusion
2
3
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
4
January 20
Los Angeles Gladiators
0
4
New York Excelsior
Burbank, CA
5
January 24
Los Angeles Gladiators
2
3
Los Angeles Valiant
Burbank, CA
6
January 27
Los Angeles Gladiators
0
4
Houston Outlaws
Burbank, CA
7
January 31
Florida Mayhem
1
3
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
8
February 02
Los Angeles Gladiators
0
4
Boston Uprising
Burbank, CA
9
February 07
San Francisco Shock
1
3
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
10
February 09
Los Angeles Gladiators
1
3
Dallas Fuel
Burbank, CA :
Stage 2 (6–4)
11
February 21
Los Angeles Gladiators
4
0
San Francisco Shock
Burbank, CA
12
February 23
Dallas Fuel
3
1
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
13
February 28
Los Angeles Gladiators
4
0
Shanghai Dragons
Burbank, CA
14
March 02
Los Angeles Gladiators
1
3
Seoul Dynasty
Burbank, CA
15
March 07
Los Angeles Valiant
0
4
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
16
March 10
London Spitfire
1
3
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
17
March 15
Houston Outlaws
2
3
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
18
March 16
Los Angeles Gladiators
2
1
Florida Mayhem
Burbank, CA
19
March 21
Los Angeles Gladiators
1
3
Philadelphia Fusion
Burbank, CA
20
March 24
Boston Uprising
3
2
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA :
Stage 3 (6–4)
21
April 04
San Francisco Shock
3
1
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
22
April 06
Los Angeles Gladiators
3
1
Dallas Fuel
Burbank, CA
23
April 11
Shanghai Dragons
0
4
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
24
April 13
Seoul Dynasty
2
3
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
25
April 18
Los Angeles Gladiators
2
3
Los Angeles Valiant
Burbank, CA
26
April 21
New York Excelsior
3
2
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
27
April 26
Los Angeles Gladiators
3
2
London Spitfire
Burbank, CA
28
April 27
Los Angeles Gladiators
3
2
Houston Outlaws
Burbank, CA
29
May 02
Florida Mayhem
0
3
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
30
May 04
Los Angeles Gladiators
1
3
Boston Uprising
Burbank, CA :
Stage 4 (9–1)
31
May 16
Los Angeles Gladiators
3
1
San Francisco Shock
Burbank, CA
32
May 18
Dallas Fuel
0
4
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
33
May 23
Houston Outlaws
1
3
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
34
May 24
Los Angeles Gladiators
4
0
Florida Mayhem
Burbank, CA
35
May 30
Los Angeles Valiant
3
0
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
36
May 31
Philadelphia Fusion
1
3
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
37
June 07
Los Angeles Gladiators
3
2
New York Excelsior
Burbank, CA
38
June 09
London Spitfire
2
3
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
39
June 13
Los Angeles Gladiators
4
0
Shanghai Dragons
Burbank, CA
40
June 15
Los Angeles Gladiators
3
1
Seoul Dynasty
Burbank, CA :

### Playoffs

2018 playoff game log :
Stage 3 Playoffs (0–1)
Semifinals
May 06
Los Angeles Gladiators
0
3
Boston Uprising
Burbank, CA :
Stage 4 Playoffs (0–1)
Semifinals
June 17
Los Angeles Valiant
3
2
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA :
Season Playoffs (1–2)
Quarterfinals Match 1
July 11
London Spitfire
0
3
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
Quarterfinals Match 2
July 14
London Spitfire
3
0
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA
Quarterfinals Match 3
July 14
London Spitfire
3
0
Los Angeles Gladiators
Burbank, CA :