LA Gladiators Beat NY Excelsior, Boost Chances of Playoff Showing
The Los Angeles Gladiators pulled off a big win in a reverse sweep against the New York Excelsior on Thursday, boosting their chances of getting a playoff spot. Last week, it was the Gladiators’ cross-town rivals, Los AngelesValiant, who took down the Overwatch League’s top dog.
Only six teams will qualify for the $1.7 million end-of-season playoffs, with New York Excelsior being the only team to already have locked in a playoff spot before the fourth stage even started. New York also secured the number one seed in just week two of the stage.
Though the Gladiators didn’t hold a top-six position at the end of Stage Three, they have managed to climb up the rankings as the final stage has unfolded. Prior to their match against New York, teams five through eight in the overall standings each had 21 wins under their belts.
Excelsior has been dominating the Overwatch League and even boasts the league’s best regular-season record. Los Angeles’ win over New York on Thursday is no small feat and it means a massive boost to their shot at playoffs.
Now, the Gladiators only need to win favored match-ups to ensure playoff qualification since all three of their remaining opponents are currently in the bottom half of the Stage standings.
Though this is the first time that New York has suffered more than one loss in the regular season of a stage, the team is relatively unaffected by it since they are still on track to reach the Stage Four playoffs.
Where does that leave the rest of the teams in the Overwatch League?
Who’s Out?
Well, three teams have been eliminated from the playoff run completely: Shanghai Dragons, Florida Mayhem and Dallas Fuel. San Francisco Shock aren’t ahead of those teams by much, though, and will have to be at the top of their game if they want a shot at playoffs.
Who Might Be In?
That leaves seven teams to battle it out for playoffs, with Valiant (24-12) being the safest bet. The London Spitfire and Boston Uprising are right on their heels at 23-13 and 23-14, respectively.
Los Angeles Gladiators, Philadelphia Fusion, Houston Outlaws and Seoul Dynasty are all currently tied for wins at 21. There are only three or four games left for these teams, so a lot can still change on the last stretch of the road to playoffs.
Luckily, none of these teams have a particularly easy or difficult schedule remaining, so get ready for some good match-ups in the last bit of Stage Four!