Season Preview: GRAVITAS look to etch their names in the history books

As this is the debut of the organisation in the Oceanic Pro League, Gravitas has extremely high stakes in the first split. The new-look team will be aiming to set their position among the other already established names in the league and prove themselves to Oceanic players and fans alike.

Although there aren’t any established expectations in results from previous years, it’s likely this split will be key in their bid to gather momentum as a newer unit. With the duos of Pabu and Praelus and Raid and Decoy recruited from Avant and Legacy respectively, the pre-existing synergies will potentially ease any adverse results in the process of bringing the roster together. As game veterans like former league champion EGym and regional star Juves man the reigns behind the scenes, Gravitas has the potential to be an extremely strong contender in the upcoming split.

Gravitas team attending Riot media day. Source: @GravitasOCE on Twitter.

The Roster

Top Lane: Jackson “Pabu” Pavone
Jungle: Jordan “Praelus” Fernandes
Mid Lane: Harry “Haeri” Kang
AD: Julian “Raid” Skordos
Support: Daniel “Decoy” Ealam

Coach: Bryce “EGym” Paule
General Manager: Brandon “Juves” Defina

Who will provide major impact

Following his outstanding performance in the All-Star Las Vegas 2018 1v1 Tournament, Gravitas were quick to launch the ‘Pabu Project’ after one of their strongest players. The colourfully-headed top laner comes into this split after an off-season to remember, with many considering the ‘People’s Champion’ one of the key reasons Oceania has been ‘put on the map’; if all goes well, he’ll be one of the key factors in doing the same for Gravitas.

Dark-horse in the squad

From his first appearance in the competitive Oceanic scene, Haeri has competed in the OCS and after a time in the region’s second division, expectations are high as he makes his OPL debut. With teams such as Legacy Genesis and Intuition already marked down on his resume, the upcoming split provides him with a chance to showcase his true potential in Australia and New Zealand’s professional league. Although his teammates have the advantage of prior experience with one another, if Haeri is able to stay cool under pressure in this new environment, it could prove to be his breakout season.

The draw

Heading into the split there’s certainly a challenge ahead of Gravitas as they look to stake their claim to fame in the OPL, but with the roster Juves has founded they have a fairly strong foundation, especially for a new team. For Gravitas, the key will be to hit the ground running as they play in the first game of the split against Legacy Esports, before moving on to face Juves’ old organisation Mammoth and their brand new roster on Sunday. In the second week, they face the graduated Academy roster of the Dire Wolves before their first match against the boys from Melbourne in ORDER.

For the opening fortnight, the new single fixture format provides Gravitas with an opportunity to challenge teams from all across the draw, and give an indication of their campaign’s starting point. If they’re able to achieve two or more wins, it proves they’ll be on the right path for the season. Anything less than this, and it’s likely the Gravitas boys still have some way to go in coming together as a functioning unit; they’ll need to fix their mistakes and step up their game if they want to contest playoffs throughout the remainder of the season.

Don’t mess with @Haeri_Oce killing it at Media Day #GravitasGlory pic.twitter.com/jpNN5ZziUw

— Gravitas (@GravitasOCE) January 4, 2019

Gravitas will have a strong split if…

Gravitas will have a strong split if they manage to cement themselves into the OPL and come together as a team. Coming from a range of different environments, there’s likely to be an adjustment period as they go against their former team members. The sooner they overcome this period, the sooner they’ll be able to push themselves and see how well they match up against the other recently changed rosters across the league.

Pass mark for Split 1

Despite the lack of former reference in terms of their placement, Gravitas aims to be a strong contender for Split 1, with a focus placed on proving this to others. For their current roster, having a consistent contest within the top four teams would be ideal.

Question marks

After SportsGeek acquired Tectonic’s slot and Juves took the helm as the organisation’s general manager, the group set about put together a roster from a variety of different teams, even plucking their members of staff from different positions within the OPL as EGym makes his coaching debut.

With pieces of the puzzle coming from all across the competitive scene, and EGym’s main behind-the-scenes experience coming in the form of GM of New South Wales in the annual State of Origin, the question remains – can this combination of players, fresh-faced backroom staff and sporting knowledge click in 2019? Will they find the winning formula to lead the team to victory, or will they fall short of #GravitasGlory?

Snowball Esports predicted finish

Gravitas has cemented themselves in a good position in terms of their roster as a strong mid tier team – 4th – 5th.

The OPL returns for 2019 on the 18th of January with Gravitas facing off against the new-look Legacy Esports. Watch live on the new RiotGamesOCE Twitch channel, find more information and the full fixture schedule at oce.lolesports.com.

Follow Gravitas on Twitter.