The Los Angeles Gladiators appear to be cleaning house after the team announced it would be parting ways with support duo Jonas “Shaz” Suovaara and Benjamin “BigG00se” Isohann, off-tank Hyung-seok “Bischu” “Aaron” Kim, and DPS Jason “Jaru” White.
The moves came on the back of a disappointing season for the Gladiators, who failed to achieve the same level of success they had become accustomed to. After back-to-back top-5 finishes, Los Angeles took a step back in 2020, finishing ninth overall.
While changes had been expected, many fans were left shocked by the team’s decision to drop the Finns. The Finnish support duo has been a part of the Gladiators franchise since day one and gained a reputation as one of Overwatch League’s most consistent performers.
While Shaz left his future a bit more ambiguous:
Gladiators headed towards a full-on rebuild
Apart from the Finnish duo, the team also revealed that it would be parting ways with Bischu and Jaru.
Jaru joined the team as a rookie this year but didn’t find much playtime as he found himself last in the Gladiators DPS pecking order, behind the likes of Ji Hyeok “Birdring” Kim, Gia Huy “MirroR” Trịnh, and Kevin “kevster” Persson.
Bischu was also a member of the Los Angeles Gladiators’ inaugural Overwatch League roster. Before transitioning into Overwatch, he was a professional League of Legends player in the North American Championship Series, with notable stints in Cloud 9 Tempest, Complexity Gaming, and Team Dragon Knights. He spent the majority of his OWL career with the Gladiators, save for a short stint with the Guangzhou Charge in 2019.
As it stands, the LA Gladiators are seemingly headed towards a full roster overhaul in preparation for the next OWL season. With the team looking for a new support core to play with, the Gladiators will have an unexpected new look heading into Season 4.
