The Atlanta Reign, Houston Outlaws and Vancouver Titans all notched their first wins of the 2023 season on Friday in West Region qualifying for the Spring Stage Knockouts.
All three teams won in 3-0 sweeps. Atlanta took down New York Excelsior, Houston beat the Los Angeles Gladiators and Vancouver bested the Los Angeles Valiant.
The Overwatch League 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.
On Friday, the Reign beat New York 2-0 on Ilios, 4-3 on Blizzard World and 1-0 on Rialto for the sweep.
In similar fashion, the Outlaws ensured their opponents had trouble scoring. They beat the Gladiators 2-0 on Nepal, 3-2 on Hollywood and 2-1 on Shambali Monastery.
The Titans pulled out three straight narrow results, beating the Valiant 2-1 on Antarctic Peninsula, 3-2 on King’s Row and 2-1 on Junkertown.
Four West qualifying matches are scheduled for Saturday:
–Washington Justice vs. Vegas Eternal
–Los Angeles Valiant vs. Houston Outlaws
–New York Excelsior vs. Boston Uprising
–San Francisco Shock vs. Atlanta Reign
Overwatch League Spring Stage Knockouts, West Region qualifying with match record, map differential
T1. Atlanta Reign, 1-0, plus-3
T1. Houston Outlaws, 1-0, plus-3
T3. Florida Mayhem, 1-0, plus -2
T3. Washington Justice, 1-0, plus-2
5. San Francisco Shock, 1-0, plus-1
6. Vancouver Titans, 1-1, plus-1
T7. Boston Uprising, 0-0
T7. Vegas Eternal, 0-0
9. Toronto Defiant, 0-1, minus-1
10. London Spitfire, 0-1, minus-2
T11. Los Angeles Gladiators, 0-1, minus-3
T11. Los Angeles Valiant, 0-1, minus-3
T11. New York Excelsior, 0-1, minus-3
–Field Level Media