Stage four of the Overwatch League (OWL) had an explosive start this past Wednesday at Blizzard’s Los Angeles arena. Both of LA’s respective teams had winning nights, with the Los Angeles Gladiators beating the San Fransico Shock 3-1. Brigitte made her pro league debut for the season and the current meta, with Gladiators player Aaron “Bischu” Kim making the biggest statement with the new support character, recently added to the game. Brigitte, the armored mechanical engineer (with a nice mix of minor tanking ability and healing support) proved to be extremely effective for LA’s team comp, particularly against the play style of the Shock’s strategies. Though this season has about two months before playoffs start (July 11^th at the Blizzard Los Angeles arena), Bischu said the team feels fresh and ready for the home stretch to make some noise in the competition.

            LA’s Valiant also showed up to play, beating Seoul’s Dynasty pro team 3-2. The OWL website had Valiant’s DPS player Brady “Agilites” Girardi commenting on his team’s new focus for the end game of this season, “We didn’t take a big break [between Stage 3 and 4] because we knew we had a lot to prepare for, so we took it slow and figured out what to do and how to do it.” Fans of the LA squad saw that focus come out to save the day through Valiant’s well-timed counter picks and use of Brigitte in particular. Girardi went on to comment on the character’s potential, “It’s one big chess match,” he explained. “When we win a fight, we always hold tab and look at what they’re playing.” The grand final will be held at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, July 27-28. Brigitte’s ability to either help keep teammates alive or force the other team to deal with massive damage output depending on comp has season four looking to be the most cerebral yet, and that means exciting content for fans.