Jessica S. July 15, 2018
In a surprising show of vengeance, the London Spitfire won six straight maps and reverse swept the Los Angeles Gladiators to make their way to the first Overwatch League semifinals.
In the first match of the quarterfinals, the Gladiators swept the Spitfire 3-0 to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Going into day two, London was able to take the first match in an easy 3-0 victory, leaving them tied at 1-1 for the series. Not only was this their first win in the series, but it was also their first win over the Gladiators since the beginning of the season.
DPS player Park "Profit" Joon-yeong dominated with his Brigitte plays. With the meta depending a lot on the skill of Brigitte players, Profit was able to lead the Spitfire to victory by showing the depth of his abilities with the new hero.
The Spitfire went into the second match with continued dominance. DPS Kim "birdring" Ji-hyeok's perfectly timed Dragon Strikes as Hanzo, and his high accuracy on Widowmaker kept the Gladiators at a constant disadvantage. Birdring often sought out Gladiators sniper Lane “Surefour” Roberts, winning the sniper war by singling him out and keeping him on respawn.
Los Angeles did put up a fight on the last map in forcing overtime on Kings Row, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Spitfire. The second match ended in a 3-0 reverse sweep victory for London.
The Gladiators still refused to send in star tank player Chan-Hyung “Fissure” Baek, instead opting for Luis "iRemiix" Galarza Figueroa. The casters wondered aloud about Fissure’s disappearance considering his high win rate. Casters and analysts speculated that issues within the team may have been the explanation.
After defeating the Gladiators, the Spitfire move forward to the semifinals and will play the Los Angeles Valiant for a spot in the grand finals.