The Atlanta Reign and Washington Justice became the first teams to reach 3-0 in West Region qualifying for the Overwatch League’s Spring Stage Knockouts on Friday.
The Reign defeated the Vancouver Titans 3-0 to maintain a perfect record with a plus-9 map differential (nine wins, no losses). The Justice are close behind with a plus-8 differential after their 3-0 sweep of the Los Angeles Valiant.
Atlanta beat Vancouver 2-1 on Nepal, 1-0 on King’s Row and 2-1 on Shambali Monastery for its sweep. Washington took down Los Angeles 2-0 on Ilios, 1-0 on Blizzard World and 2-1 on Havana.
In the other match of the day, the Toronto Defiant got past the New York Excelsior 3-2 for their first win of qualifying.
Toronto shot out to a 2-0 lead by beating New York 2-0 on Antarctic Peninsula and 3-2 on Hollywood. The Excelsior came back to tie the match thanks to a pair of 1-0 wins on Havana and Esperanca. The deciding map was Oasis, where the Defiant pulled out a 2-1 victory.
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 will continue Saturday with three matches:
–Los Angeles Valiant vs. New York Excelsior
–Washington Justice vs. Boston Uprising
–Los Angeles Gladiators vs. Florida Mayhem
Overwatch League Spring Stage Knockouts, West Region qualifying with match record, map differential:
1. Atlanta Reign, 3-0, plus-9
2. Washington Justice, 3-0, plus-8
3. Houston Outlaws, 2-0, plus-6
T4. Boston Uprising, 2-0, plus-5
T4. Florida Mayhem, 2-0, plus-5
6. Los Angeles Gladiators, 1-1, minus-1
7. San Francisco Shock, 1-1, minus-2
T8. Toronto Defiant, 1-2, minus-2
T8. Vancouver Titans, 1-2, minus-2
10. London Spitfire, 0-2, minus-4
11. Vegas Eternal, 0-2, minus-6
12. New York Excelsior, 0-3, minus-7
13. Los Angeles Valiant, 0-3, minus-9
–Field Level Media