The San Francisco Shock, Boston Uprising and Florida Mayhem all picked up victories on Saturday in West Region qualifiers at the Overwatch League Countdown Cup playoffs.
The Shock, who have already clinched a playoff berth thanks to their 20-4 regular-season mark, defeated the London Spitfire 3-2. The Uprising downed the New York Excelsior 3-1, while the Mayhem also won a 3-1 battle over the Houston Outlaws.
San Francisco dropped the opening map 2-1 on Nepal before taking successive wins on King’s Row (3-2) and Circuit Royal (1-0). London evened the match at 2-2 with a 1-0 win on Colosseo, but the Shock conquered Ilios 2-1 to win the best-of-five duel.
Boston got off to a quick start with a 2-1 triumph on Lijiang Tower and a 3-1 decision on Eichenwalde. New York won 1-0 on Circuit Royal to stay alive, but the Uprising claimed a 1-0 victory on New Queen Street for the match win.
Houston took the early lead with a 2-1 win on Nepal, but Florida reeled off three straight map victories, winning 2-1 on Eichenwalde, 3-2 on Dorado and 1-0 on New Queen Street.
The three teams in the East that finished the regular season with the most league points — Seoul Dynasty, Shanghai Dragons and Philadelphia Fusion — already qualified for the playoffs, while the top six finishers in the West will qualify.
The play-ins in the West will take place from Oct. 21-22, with two more teams advancing to the playoffs.
The double-elimination playoffs will begin Oct. 30. The playoff bracket will culminate in the first in-person Grand Finals in three years at the Anaheim (Calif.) Convention Center on Nov. 4. The grand prize is $1 million, while the runner-up team will earn $500,000.
Action continues Sunday with two West Region qualifiers:
–Boston Uprising vs. Paris Eternal
–Houston Outlaws vs. Toronto Defiant
Overwatch League — Countdown Cup standings, with points, match record and map differential (*clinched playoff berth):
West
1. *Los Angeles Gladiators, 6 points, 6-0, +13
2. *Dallas Fuel, 5 points, 5-1, +11
3. *Atlanta Reign, 4 points, 4-2, +5
4. Boston Uprising, 3 points, 3-2, +4
5. *Houston Outlaws, 3 points, 3-2, +3
T6. London Spitfire, 3 points, 3-3, even
T6. *San Francisco Shock, 3 points, 3-3, even
T6. Florida Mayhem, 3 points, 3-3, even
9. Washington Justice, 3 points, 3-3, -3
10. Vancouver Titans, 2 points, 2-4, -6
11. Toronto Defiant, 1 point, 1-4, -5
12. New York Excelsior, 1 point, 1-5, -10
13. Paris Eternal, 0 points, 0-5, -12
East
1. *Seoul Dynasty, 5 points, 5-1, +11
2. Guangzhou Charge, 4 points, 4-2, +3
3. *Philadelphia Fusion, 3 points, 3-3, +3
4. *Shanghai Dragons, 3 points, 3-3, +1
5. Los Angeles Valiant, 3 points, 3-3, -5
6. Chengdu Hunters, 2 points, 2-4, -5
7. Hangzhou Spark, 1 point, 1-5, -8
–Field Level Media