The Atlanta Reign finally dropped a map in West Region qualifying for the Overwatch League’s Spring Stage Knockouts, but they immediately bounced back to complete a 3-1 win over Houston Outlaws on Friday.
The Reign improved to 5-0, one game ahead of the Florida Mayhem, who registered a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Valiant on Friday. In the day’s only other match, the London Spitfire swept the Vegas Eternal 3-0.
The Outlaws ended the Reign’s 12-map winning streak by capturing Antarctic Peninsula 2-0. Atlanta quickly recovered by claiming Hollywood 2-1, Junkertown 2-1 and Esperanca 1-0.
The Valiant jumped out to a 2-1 lead on the Mayhem by sandwiching a 2-0 win on Nepal and a 3-2 victory on Shambali Monastery around a 1-0 loss on King’s Row. Florida rebounded to prevail 1-0 on New Queen Street and 2-0 on Lijiang Tower.
The Spitfire downed the Eternal 2-0 on Lijiang Tower, 5-4 on King’s Row and 3-1 on Havana.
The OWL format is different this year, with lower-level teams getting the chance to compete with the top-level squads.
The season format will now see teams amass points based on their results in regional qualifiers rather than the standard league standings that were in place in previous years.
The Spring Stage will be followed by the Midseason Madness event, while the Summer Stage will be followed by the season-ending playoffs, but the makeup of the events will be different for the East and West regions.
Spring Stage qualifying matches will determine how the West teams are seeded in the Spring Stage Knockouts and which West teams make Midseason Madness.
West Region qualifying continues Saturday with three matches:
–Washington Justice vs. San Francisco Shock
–Vegas Eternal vs. New York Excelsior
–Los Angeles Valiant vs. Atlanta Reign
Overwatch League Spring Stage Knockouts, West Region qualifying with match record, map differential
1. Atlanta Reign, 5-0, plus-14
2. Florida Mayhem, 4-1, plus-8
T3. Boston Uprising, 3-1, plus-5
T3. Washington Justice, 3-1, plus-5
5. Houston Outlaws, 2-1, plus-4
6. Vancouver Titans, 2-2, plus-1
7. San Francisco Shock, 1-1, minus-2
8. Los Angeles Gladiators, 2-2, minus-3
9. London Spitfire, 1-2, minus-1
T10. Toronto Defiant, 1-3, minus-5
T10. New York Excelsior, 1-3, minus-5
12. Vegas Eternal, 0-3, minus-9
13. Los Angeles Valiant, 0-5, minus-12
–Field Level Media
