The Los Angeles Gladiators moved to 4-0 with a win Sunday during West region qualifying matches for the Overwatch League’s Countdown Cup.
The Gladiators outlasted the New York Excelsior 3-2 to tie the Dallas Fuel at the top of the West standings, though Dallas owns the tiebreaker via map differential as the second week of qualifiers drew to a close.
Also Sunday, the Atlanta Reign swept the Washington Justice 3-0 and the Vancouver Titans got their first win of qualifying by beating Canadian rival Toronto Defiant 3-1.
The six teams in the West Region that finish the regular season with the most league points will qualify for the playoffs, while the top three finishers in the East Region will do the same.
The other berths in each playoff bracket will be determined through the play-ins taking place Oct. 14-15 in the East and Oct. 21-22 in the West as part of the Countdown Cup. Seeding for the Countdown Cup is based on results in the ongoing qualifying matches.
Two West playoff bids will be awarded via the Countdown Cup, while one East playoff bid will be at stake.
The double-elimination playoffs 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.
The Gladiators fell behind early as New York opened with a 2-1 win on Busan-UAT. Los Angeles responded with 2-1 wins on both Eichenwalde and Route 66 to eke ahead. The Excelsior extended the match by taking New Queen Street 1-0, but the Gladiators clinched the match with a 2-1 triumph on Lijiang Tower.
The Reign made quick work of the Justice, prevailing 2-0 on Oasis, 3-1 on Eichenwalde and 2-1 on Route 66.
The Titans notched 2-1 wins on Lijiang Tower and Eichenwalde to sprint ahead of Toronto. The Defiant pushed back with a 1-0 win on Route 66, but Vancouver finished it off with a 1-0 victory on New Queen Street.
Overwatch League — Countdown Cup standings, with points, match record and map differential (*clinched playoff berth)
West
1. *Dallas Fuel, 4 points, 4-0, +11
2. *Los Angeles Gladiators, 4 points, 4-0, +9
3. Atlanta Reign, 3 points, 3-1, +6
4. Boston Uprising, 2 points, 2-0, +5
T5. London Spitfire, 2 points, 2-2, -2
T5. Washington Justice, 2 points, 2-2, -2
7. Houston Outlaws, 1 point, 1-1, 0
8. Toronto Defiant, 1 point, 1-3, -2
9. *San Francisco Shock, 1 point, 1-3, -4
10. New York Excelsior, 1 point, 1-3, -5
11. Vancouver Titans, 1 point, 1-3, -6
T12. Paris Eternal, 0 points, 0-2, -5
T12. Florida Mayhem, 0 points, 0-2, -5
East
1. *Seoul Dynasty, 4 points, 4-0, +11
2. Los Angeles Valiant, 3 points, 3-1, 0
3. Philadelphia Fusion, 2 points, 2-2, +2
4. Chengdu Hunters, 2 points, 2-2, 0
5. Guangzhou Charge, 2 points, 2-2, -2
6. *Shanghai Dragons, 1 point, 1-3, -5
7. Hangzhou Spark, 0 points, 0-4, -6
–Field Level Media