We are now entering the top 5 of our Overwatch League 2022 Power Rankings. Coming at 5th position is the Los Angeles Gladiators, a team that kept most of its core roster and added great pickups.
Los Angeles Gladiators 2022 Roster
Tank:
- Indy “SPACE” Halpern
- Corey “Reiner” Scoda
Indy “SPACE” Halpern is an iconic player for Los Angeles fans, whether they support the Valiant or Gladiators. This off-tank player joined Los Angeles Valiant in the Inaugural Season, reaching 3rd place in the Playoffs. He joined the Los Angeles Gladiators in 2019, a few days before winning the Overwatch World Cup with Team USA.
As SPACE is handling the off-tank heroes, Los Angeles Gladiators signed a main tank to help him out. Corey “Reiner” Scoda is joining the Overwatch League for the first time, after a stellar run in the Overwatch Contenders with American Tornado and Redbird Esports.
Support:
- Jin-seo “Shu” Kim
- Min-seok “skewed” Kim
- Daniel “FunnyAstro” Hathaway
Jin-seo “Shu” Kim and Min-seok “skewed” Kim already played a season with Los Angeles Gladiators. They both play flex support heroes but form a strong support duo that performed well last season. Shu mainly plays Ana and Baptiste, while skewed like smashing his enemies as Brigitte.
Joining the flex support duo is Daniel “FunnyAstro” Hathaway, the former main support of Philadelphia Fusion. He is replacing Grant “moth” Espe in this role, bringing more flexibility to the team. If Shu and skewed will probably stay as the support duo of Los Angeles Gladiators, FunnyAstro is a reliable main support that could be a good backup for the team.
DPS:
- Kevin “kevster” Persson
- Seonchang “ANS” Lee
- Patiphan Chaiwong
Kevin “kevster” Persson is staying with Los Angeles Gladiators for his third season in the Overwatch League. Last year, he mainly played Tracer to harass his enemy’s backlines. If his Tracer skills are among the best in the League, he can also flex on other heroes to adapt to most situations.
The biggest signing for Los Angeles Gladiators this season is Seonchang “ANS” Lee. ANS is one of the best hitscan players in the Overwatch League. He won the Overwatch League 2020 Grand Finals with San Francisco Shock, before retiring for a few months. ANS is now back and trained during all the off-season, so we can hope he is back to his 2020 level.
The third player joining the Los Angeles Gladiators DPS lineup is Patiphan Chaiwong. Patiphan was one of the best players in the South-East Asia region, winning the Overwatch Contenders 2019 Season 2 Pacific with Talon Esports. But as he was only 16 at that time, he didn’t get a chance to play in the Overwatch League. Patiphan decided to leave Overwatch for Valorant, before finally joining the League with Los Angeles Gladiators.
Los Angeles Gladiators 2022 Power Rankings
Los Angeles Gladiators has always been consistent in the Overwatch League. The team reached the Playoffs in all seasons but one, when they failed to qualify after the North American Playoffs in 2020.
The Los Angeles Gladiators 2022 roster is a solid one. Their support lineup is among the best in the League. With their DPS players having the quality to enter the MVP talks early in the season. If they manage to show the same quality of play they did in the past years. Los Angeles Gladiators has the potential of being of the best teams in the Western Division, but defeating the Eastern teams to win the Overwatch League won’t be an easy task.