The 2020 Los Angeles Gladiators season was the third season of

Los Angeles Gladiators The Los Angeles Gladiators are an American professional ''Overwatch'' esports team based in Los Angeles, California. The Gladiators compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region. Founded in 2017, the Los Angeles ...

's existence in the

Overwatch League The Overwatch League (OWL) is a professional esports league for the video game ''Overwatch'', produced by its developer, Blizzard Entertainment. The Overwatch League follows the model of other traditional North American professional sporting lea ...

and their third season under head coach David "dpei" Pei. The Gladiators planned to host two homestand weekends in the 2020 season, but all homestand matches were canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The Gladiators finished the season with 11 wins and 10 losses to claim the sixth seed in the North America region. On September 4, Los Angeles advanced to the season playoffs after 3–2 win over the

Toronto Defiant Toronto Defiant is a Canadian professional ''Overwatch'' esports team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Defiant compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) and are a member of the league's West region. Founded in 2018, Toronto began play as one of eigh ...

in the North American Play-in tournament. In the first round of the North American playoffs, the Gladiators were swept by the

Philadelphia Fusion Philadelphia Fusion is an American-based professional Overwatch (video game)#Professional competition, ''Overwatch'' esports team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Fusion compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's E ...

, sending them to the lower bracket. They lost to the

Florida Mayhem Florida Mayhem is an American professional ''Overwatch'' esports team based in Miami and Orlando, Florida. The team competes in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West Division. Founded in 2017, Florida Mayhem is one of the ...

in the first round of the lower bracket, which eliminated them from the playoffs.

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. The following month, JohnGalt signed with the

Washington Justice Washington Justice is an American professional ''Overwatch'' esports team based in Washington, D.C. The Justice compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as member of the league's West region. Founded in 2018, Washington Justice began play as one ...

's as their new head coach, while Pei signed a new contract with the Gladiators as their head coach and general manager. The team signed former

Guangzhou Charge Guangzhou Charge () is a Chinese professional ''Overwatch'' esports team based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. The Charge compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's East region. Founded in 2018, Guangzhou Charge began play as on ...

assistant coach Rohit "Curryshot" Nathani to their coaching staff in late October.

Roster changes

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. 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.

Acquisitions

The Gladiators' first offseason pick-up was off-tank Indy "SPACE" Halpern, who they acquired from the

Los Angeles Valiant Los Angeles Valiant (stylized as VΛLIΛNT) is an American professional Overwatch (video game)#Esports, ''Overwatch'' esports team representing the city of Los Angeles, California, although the team is operated in China. Valiant compete in the O ...

on October 23. In early November, former

London Spitfire London Spitfire is a professional ''Overwatch'' team representing the city of London, United Kingdom. The Spitfire compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region. Founded in 2017, London Spitfire is one of the le ...

DPS Kim "birdring" Ji-Hyeok signed with the team. Later that month, the team signed DPS Chris "MirroR" Trinh from

Boston Uprising Boston Uprising is an American professional ''Overwatch'' esports team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The team competes in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region. Founded in 2017, Boston is one of the league's twelv ...

's academy team

Uprising Academy Uprising Academy is an American esports team for the video game ''Overwatch'' competing in Overwatch Contenders (OWC) and an academy team for the Boston Uprising of the Overwatch League (OWL). The franchise played its first four seasons as Toron ...

and added former

Mayhem Academy Florida Mayhem is an American professional ''Overwatch'' esports team based in Miami and Orlando, Florida. The team competes in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West Division. Founded in 2017, Florida Mayhem is one of the ...

support player Nolan "Paintbrush" Edwards. After the Gladiators traded off-tank Aaron "Bischu" Kim to the

in the middle of the 2019 season, Bischu re-signed to the Gladiators from free agency on November 15. A month later, on December 5, Los Angeles signed former

Paris Eternal The Vegas Eternal, formerly the Paris Eternal, is an American professional ''Overwatch'' esports team based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Eternal compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region. Founded in 2018, Paris ...

main tank Roni "LhCloudy" Tiihonen. The team announced their final signing of the offseason on December 12, with the addition of DPS Jason "Jaru" White from

Team Envy Team Envy was an American esports franchise based in Dallas, Texas, owned by Envy Gaming. Founded in 2007 as a professional ''Call of Duty'' team under the moniker Team EnVyUs, they fielded rosters in '' Counter-Strike, FIFA, Fortnite, Gears o ...

Departures

On October 18, the Gladiators agreed to transfer main tank Gye "rOar" Chang-hoon to the

, pending approval from the league. 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 The Houston Outlaws are an American professional ''Overwatch'' esports team based in Houston, Texas. The Outlaws compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region. Founded in 2017, Houston Outlaws is one of the leag ...

on October 18. Following him was DPS Lane "Surefour" Roberts, as he signed with the

the following month. On November 25, off-tank free agent Kang "Void" Jun-woo signed with the

Shanghai Dragons The Shanghai Dragons () are a professional ''Overwatch'' esports team based in Shanghai, China. The Dragons compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's East region. Founded in 2017, Shanghai Dragons are one of the league's ...

. It was confirmed on December 5, after the disbandment of their academy team

Gladiators Legion Gladiators Legion is an American esports team for the video game ''Overwatch'' competing in Overwatch Contenders (OWC) and an academy team for the Los Angeles Gladiators of the Overwatch League (OWL). The team is owned by Stan Kroenke and Josh K ...

, that two-way tank player Lee "Panker" Byung-ho's option was not picked up for the 2020 season.

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 Dallas Fuel is an American professional ''Overwatch'' team based in Dallas, Texas. The Fuel compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region. Founded in 2017, Dallas Fuel is one of the league's twelve founding team ...

in exchange for main tank Son "OGE" Min-seok.

Roster

Transactions

Transactions of/for players on the roster during the 2020 regular season: *On June 6, the Gladiators acquired DPS Josh "Sideshow" Wilkinson from the

on a 14-day contract. *On June 7, the Gladiators transferred support Nolan "Paintbrush" Edwards from the

Preceding offseason

Organizational changes

Roster changes

Acquisitions

Departures

Player trades

Roster

Transactions

Standings

Game log

Regular season

Midseason tournaments

Postseason

References