The Los Angeles Gladiators avenged an earlier loss to the San Francisco Shock by beating them 4-2 on Saturday to win the Overwatch League Midseason Madness tournament.
The Gladiators, who lost to the Shock on Friday in the upper bracket final of the double-elimination tournament, had to take the long route back on Saturday.
Relegated to the lower bracket final, they defeated the Atlanta Reign 3-1 to earn another shot at the Shock.
The tournament final was a best-of-seven, after all previous rounds were best-of-five.
The Gladiators won $500,000 and four league points with the win, while the Shock settled for $250,000 and three points.
In the final, Los Angeles charged out to a 3-0 lead thanks to victories on Ilios (2-1), Eichenwalde (3-1) and Watchpoint: Gibraltar (4-3).
But the Shock, who had won their previous three matches in the tournament after garnering a first-round bye in the qualifying round, recovered to win the next two maps: 1-0 on New Queen Street and 2-0 on Lijiang Tower.
The Gladiators came up with the clincher, however, winning 5-4 on Dorado. Kim “Shu” Jin-seo of the Gladiators was named the match’s MVP.
Earlier, the Gladiators pulled away from a tied match to put away the Reign. Los Angeles won 2-0 on Ilios, but Atlanta came back with a tying 4-3 win on King’s Row.
The Gladiators then advanced with a pair of narrow wins, 1-0 on Watchpoint: Gibraltar and 1-0 on Colosseo.
Midseason Madness prize pool, league points:
1st place, $500,000, 4 points, Los Angeles Gladiators
2nd place, $250,000, 3 points, San Francisco Shock
3rd place, $125,000, 2 points, Atlanta Reign
4th place, $75,000, 1 point, Philadelphia Fusion
5th-6th place, $25,000, 1 point, Shanghai Dragons, Hangzhou Spark
7th-8th place, no money, 1 point, Florida Mayhem, Houston Outlaws
9th-12th place, no money, 1 point, Seoul Dynasty, Toronto Defiant, Dallas Fuel, London Spitfire
–Field Level Media