2020 Los Angeles Gladiators season
Head coachDavid "dpei" Pei
General managerDavid "dpei" Pei
OwnerStan Kroenke
Josh Kroenke
ConferencePacific
DivisionWest
RegionNorth America
Results
Record11–10 (.524)
Place
May MeleeQuarterfinals
Summer ShowdownKnockouts
Countdown CupQuarterfinals
Season PlayoffsNA Lower Round 1
Total Earnings$85,000

The 2020 Los Angeles Gladiators season was the third season of Los Angeles Gladiators's existence in the Overwatch League and their third season under head coach David "dpei" Pei. The Gladiators planned to host two homestand weekends in the 2020 season,[1] but all homestand matches were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Gladiators finished the season with 11 wins and 10 losses to claim the sixth seed in the North America region.[2] On September 4, Los Angeles advanced to the season playoffs after 3–2 win over the Toronto Defiant in the North American Play-in tournament.[3] In the first round of the North American playoffs, the Gladiators were swept by the Philadelphia Fusion, sending them to the lower bracket.[4] They lost to the Florida Mayhem in the first round of the lower bracket, which eliminated them from the playoffs.[5]

Preceding offseason

Organizational changes

In September 2019, both head coach David "dpei" Pei and assistant coach Seetoh "JohnGalt" Jian Qing announced that their contracts lapsed with the Gladiators and were seeking other opportunities.[6] The following month, JohnGalt signed with the Washington Justice's as their new head coach,[7] while Pei signed a new contract with the Gladiators as their head coach and general manager.[8] The team signed former Guangzhou Charge assistant coach Rohit "Curryshot" Nathani to their coaching staff in late October.[9]

Roster changes

Free agents
Role Player Contract
status		 Date signed 2020 team
Handle Name
Damage Hydration João Pedro Goes Telles Free agent October 18 Houston Outlaws[10]
Damage Surefour Lane Roberts Free agent November 4 Toronto Defiant[11]
Tank Void Jun-Woo Kang Free agent November 25 Shanghai Dragons[12]
Legend
  Re-signed/Retained by the Gladiators.
  Departed from the Gladiators.

The Gladiators enter the new season with three free agents, six players which they have the option to retain for another year, and no players under contract.[13] The OWL's deadline to exercise a team option is November 11, after which any players not retained will become a free agent. Free agency officially began on October 7.[14]

Acquisitions

The Gladiators' first offseason pick-up was off-tank Indy "SPACE" Halpern, who they acquired from the Los Angeles Valiant on October 23.[15] In early November, former London Spitfire DPS Kim "birdring" Ji-Hyeok signed with the team.[16] Later that month, the team signed DPS Chris "MirroR" Trinh from Boston Uprising's academy team Uprising Academy and added former Mayhem Academy support player Nolan "Paintbrush" Edwards.[17]

After the Gladiators traded off-tank Aaron "Bischu" Kim to the Guangzhou Charge in the middle of the 2019 season, Bischu re-signed to the Gladiators from free agency on November 15.[18] A month later, on December 5, Los Angeles signed former Paris Eternal main tank Roni "LhCloudy" Tiihonen.[19] The team announced their final signing of the offseason on December 12, with the addition of DPS Jason "Jaru" White from Team Envy.[20]

Departures

On October 18, the Gladiators agreed to transfer main tank Gye "rOar" Chang-hoon to the Washington Justice, pending approval from the league.[21]

DPS João Pedro "Hydration" Goes Telles, who had been with the team since its inception in 2017, was the first of the Gladiators' free agents to leave the team, signing with the Houston Outlaws on October 18.[10] Following him was DPS Lane "Surefour" Roberts, as he signed with the Toronto Defiant the following month.[11] On November 25, off-tank free agent Kang "Void" Jun-woo signed with the Shanghai Dragons.[12] It was confirmed on December 5, after the disbandment of their academy team Gladiators Legion, that two-way tank player Lee "Panker" Byung-ho's option was not picked up for the 2020 season.[22]

Player trades

The Gladiators' first player-for-player trade of the offseason took place on October 29, when they traded flex DPS Jang "Decay" Gui-un to the Dallas Fuel in exchange for main tank Son "OGE" Min-seok.[23]

Roster

2020 Los Angeles Gladiators roster
Players Coaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality
Damage 20 birdring Kim Ji-hyeok South Korea
Damage 18 kevster Persson, Kevin Sweden
Damage 7 MirroR Trịnh, Gia Huy Vietnam
Damage 77 Jaru White, Jason United States
Tank 2 OGE Son Min-seok South Korea
Tank 27 LhCloudy Tiihonen, Roni Finland
Tank 16 SPACE Halpern, Indy United States
Tank 31 Bischu Kim Hyung-seok South Korea
Support 0 BigG00se Isohanni, Benjamin Finland
Support 52 Shaz Suovaara, Jonas Finland
Head coach
  • David "dpei" Pei
Legend:
  • (I) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • (2W) Two-way player
  • Substitute player Substitute
  • Injured Injury / Illness
  

Latest roster transaction: June 20, 2020.

Transactions

Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2020 regular season:

Standings

Pos Con Team
 Pld W BW L PCT MW ML MT MD Qualification
1 ATL Philadelphia Fusion 21 19 5 2 0.905 59 19 0 +40 Advance to playoffs
2 PAC San Francisco Shock 21 18 7 3 0.857 56 17 2 +39
3 ATL Paris Eternal 21 15 4 6 0.714 50 31 0 +19
4 ATL Florida Mayhem 21 14 3 7 0.667 48 30 0 +18
5 PAC Los Angeles Valiant 21 11 1 10 0.524 41 41 0 0
6 PAC Los Angeles Gladiators 21 11 0 10 0.524 43 39 5 +4 Advance to play-ins
7 ATL Atlanta Reign 21 10 0 11 0.476 43 35 0 +8
8 PAC Dallas Fuel 21 9 0 12 0.429 35 44 0 −9
9 ATL Toronto Defiant 21 7 1 14 0.333 32 48 0 −16
10 ATL Houston Outlaws 21 6 0 15 0.286 32 50 3 −18
11 PAC Vancouver Titans 21 6 0 15 0.286 23 48 0 −25
12 ATL Washington Justice 21 4 0 17 0.190 21 54 1 −33
13 ATL Boston Uprising 21 2 0 19 0.095 14 61 4 −47
Source: The Overwatch League
Rules for classification: 1) Wins plus bonus wins 2) winning percentage (excluding bonus wins); 3) map differential; 4) head-to-head record; 5) head-to-head map differential


Game log

Regular season

2020 game log (Regular season record: 11–10)
February–April: 3–3
1 February 08 Los Angeles Gladiators 2 – 3 Vancouver Titans Arlington, TX
2:00 pm PST     Esports Stadium Arlington
Hosted by the Dallas Fuel
2 Nepal 1
2 King's Row 3
0 Hanamura 2
2 Dorado 1
0 Lijiang Tower 2
2 March 28 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 – 1 San Francisco Shock Online
11:00 pm UTC    
3 March 29 Los Angeles Gladiators 0 – 3 Seoul Dynasty Online
10:00 pm UTC    
4 April 04 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 – 0 Dallas Fuel Online
10:00 pm UTC    
5 April 13 Los Angeles Gladiators 0 – 3 San Francisco Shock Online
12:00 midnight UTC    
6 April 17 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 – 2 Los Angeles Valiant Online
1:00 am UTC    

May Melee qualifiers: 1–2
7 May 03 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 – 1 Toronto Defiant Online
11:00 pm UTC    
8 May 09 Los Angeles Gladiators 1 – 3 Paris Eternal Online
7:00 pm UTC    
9 May 16 Los Angeles Gladiators 2 – 3 Boston Uprising Online
10:30 pm UTC    

Summer Showdown qualifiers: 2–1
10 June 13 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 – 1 Atlanta Reign Online
11:00 pm UTC    
11 June 20 Los Angeles Gladiators 1 – 3 Houston Outlaws Online
11:00 pm UTC    
12 June 28 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 – 1 Washington Justice Online
1:00 am UTC    

Countdown Cup qualifiers: 1–3
13 July 18 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 – 0 Vancouver Titans Online
7:00 pm UTC    
14 July 26 Los Angeles Gladiators 0 – 3 Paris Eternal Online
7:00 pm UTC    
15 July 26 Los Angeles Gladiators 2 – 3 Philadelphia Fusion Online
1:00 am UTC    
16 August 02 Los Angeles Gladiators 1 – 3 Florida Mayhem Online
9:00 pm UTC    

August: 4–1
17 August 14 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 – 0 Dallas Fuel Online
9:00 pm UTC    
18 August 15 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 – 0 Boston Uprising Online
11:00 pm UTC    
19 August 21 Los Angeles Gladiators 1 – 3 Florida Mayhem Online
9:00 pm UTC    
20 August 22 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 – 1 Atlanta Reign Online
11:00 pm UTC    
21 August 23 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 – 2 Los Angeles Valiant Online
11:00 pm UTC    

Midseason tournaments

2020 midseason tournaments game log
May Melee: 1–1
Knockouts May 22 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 – 0 Washington Justice Online
10:00 pm UTC    
Quarterfinals May 23 Los Angeles Gladiators 1 – 3 Philadelphia Fusion Online
11:00 pm UTC    

Summer Showdown: 0–1
Knockouts July 04 Los Angeles Gladiators 1 – 3 Washington Justice Online
1:00 am UTC    

Countdown Cup: 1–1
Knockouts August 08 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 – 2 Toronto Defiant Online
1:00 am UTC    
Quarterfinals August 08 Los Angeles Gladiators 0 – 3 Philadelphia Fusion Online
9:00 pm UTC    

Bonus wins awarded: 0

Postseason

2020 playoff game log
North America Play-ins: 1–0
Round 1   First-round bye  


Round 2 September 04 Los Angeles Gladiators 3 – 2 Toronto Defiant Online
7:00 pm UTC    

North America Bracket: 0–2
Upper Round 1 September 05 Los Angeles Gladiators 0 – 3 Philadelphia Fusion Online
7:00 pm UTC    
Lower Round 1 September 06 Los Angeles Gladiators 0 – 3 Florida Mayhem Online
7:00 pm UTC    

References

  1. ^ Richardson, Liz (August 20, 2019). "Here is the full Overwatch League 2020 season schedule". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  2. ^ Richardson, Liz (September 2, 2020). "How do the 2020 Overwatch League playoffs work?". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  3. ^ Richardson, Liz (September 4, 2020). "Four more teams eliminated in Overwatch League playoffs". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  4. ^ Miller, Chris (September 5, 2020). "Overwatch League – Los Angeles Gladiators Face The Philadelphia Fusion Surprisingly Quick". Happy Gamer. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  5. ^ Field Level Media (September 6, 2020). "Fusion, Shock hold form at OWL NA playoffs". Reuters. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  6. ^ Richardson, Liz (October 2, 2019). "Overwatch League offseason trade tracker". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  7. ^ Howard, Brandon (October 10, 2019). "Washington Justice Find New Head Coach". TheGamer. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  8. ^ Scrubasaurus (October 11, 2019). "Gladiators bring back dpei as head coach and GM". over.gg. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  9. ^ Hudsen (October 31, 2019). "Curryshot joins the Gladiators". over.gg. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  10. ^ a b Samples, Rachel (October 18, 2019). "Houston Outlaws sign Hydration ahead of the 2020 Overwatch League season". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  11. ^ a b Samples, Rachel (November 4, 2019). "Toronto Defiant sign Surefour". Dot Esports. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Dragons and Spitfire set rosters for OWL 2020 season". ESPN. Reuters. November 26, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  13. ^ Morello, Matt (July 30, 2019). "2020 Team Needs and Player Contract Status". Overwatch League. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  14. ^ Richardson, Liz (October 4, 2019). "Overwatch League reveals player contract status for entire league". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  15. ^ Stenzel, Zach (October 23, 2019). "Space Joins Los Angeles Gladiators". The Game Haus. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  16. ^ "Los Angeles Gladiators add former Spitfire DPS birdring". ESPN. Reuters. November 6, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  17. ^ Field Level Media (November 14, 2019). "Gladiators add MirroR, Valiant release FCTFCTN". ESPN. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  18. ^ Richardson, Liz (November 15, 2019). "Bischu returns to the Los Angeles Gladiators". Dot Esports. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  19. ^ Peres, Pedro (December 5, 2019). "Los Angeles Gladiators sign LhCloudy". Dot Esports. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  20. ^ Samples, Rachel (December 12, 2019). "Los Angeles Gladiators sign Jaru ahead of 2020 Overwatch League season". Dot Esports. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  21. ^ Richardson, Liz (October 18, 2019). "Washington Justice acquire rOar from Los Angeles Gladiators". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  22. ^ Scrubasaurus (December 5, 2019). "Gladiators sign lhcloudy". over.gg. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  23. ^ Magelssen, Tommy (October 29, 2019). "Dallas Fuel ship OGE to Los Angeles Gladiators for Decay in blockbuster trade, more moves appear on the horizon". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  24. ^ Howard, Brandon (June 8, 2020). "Florida Mayhem Trade Sideshow To Los Angeles Gladiators". TheGamer. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  25. ^ Samples, Rachel (June 7, 2020). "Dallas Fuel acquires Paintbrush from Los Angeles Gladiators". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  26. ^ Richardson, Liz (June 16, 2020). "Los Angeles Gladiators acquire flex DPS Kevster". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
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