The Atlanta Reign and the Los Angeles Gladiators posted victories to stay in the West winners bracket of the Overwatch League’s Kickoff Clash on Friday in Arlington, Texas.
In the losers bracket, the Florida Mayhem and Houston Outlaws survived with wins.
The Reign won the first two maps en route to a 3-1 match win over the top-seeded San Francisco Shock. The Reign won 2-1 on Ilios and 3-1 on King’s Row. The Shock came back with a 1-0 victory on Dorado, but the Reign clinched with a 1-0 win on Colosseo.
The Gladiators downed the Dallas Fuel 3-1. Los Angeles began with a 2-1 win on Lijiang Tower, but Dallas countered with a 5-4 win on King’s Row. The Gladiators then put the match away with wins on Watchpoint: Gibraltar (3-2) and Colosseo (1-0).
The Mayhem and the Outlaws also claimed 3-1 match victories.
Florida lost its first map, Ilios, to the Washington Justice 2-0 before stringing together wins on Midtown (4-3), Watchpoint: Gibraltar (4-3) and Colosseo (1-0).
Houston defeated the Toronto Defiant, and the match followed the same pattern as the Mayhem’s win. The Outlaws fell 2-1 on the first map, Lijiang Tower, but didn’t lose again. They won on Eichenwalde (3-2), Circuit Royal (3-0) and Colosseo (1-0).
Kickoff Clash play continues Saturday in Arlington for the West teams with four matches:
–Atlanta Reign vs. Los Angeles Gladiators (finals, winners bracket)
–Florida Mayhem vs Dallas Fuel (round 2, losers bracket)
–Houston Outlaws vs. San Francisco Shock (round 2, losers bracket)
–Winners of round 2 losers bracket in round 3 of losers bracket
Overwatch League Kickoff Clash (West bracket) prize pool
1st place: $75,000, 3 OWL points
2nd place: $50,000, 2 OWL points
3rd place: $40,000, 1 OWL point
4th place: $30,000, 1 OWL point
5th-6th place: $15,000, 1 OWL point
7th-8th place: no money, 1 OWL point — Washington Justice, Toronto Defiant
–Field Level Media