The San Francisco Shock, Los Angeles Gladiators and Atlanta Reign earned wins on the first day of the 2022 Overwatch League season as Kickoff Clash qualifiers began Thursday.
The Shock swept the Paris Eternal 3-0, while the Gladiators beat the New York Excelsior 3-1 and the Reign topped the Florida Mayhem by the same score.
San Francisco got off to a strong start with a 2-0 win on Ilios. After holding off Paris 3-2 on King’s Row, the Shock finished the job with a 3-1 win on Dorado.
Los Angeles opened a two-map lead on New York by taking Lijiang Tower 2-1 and Midtown 2-0. The Excelsior responded with a 3-2 triumph on Circuit Royal but didn’t have enough left to prevent the Gladiators taking New Queen Street 1-0.
The Reign, meanwhile, ceded the first map of their match to Florida, 2-1 on Lijiang Tower. But after evening the score with a 5-4 result on Eichenwalde, Atlanta earned the win with consecutive 1-0 results at Watchpoint: Gibraltar and Colosseo.
Qualifying for the Kickoff Clash continues through May 29, with double-elimination bracket play to follow from June 2-5.
Overwatch League Kickoff Clash standings, with win-loss record, map differential and league points
West
1. San Francisco Shock, 1-0, +3, 1
T2. Atlanta Reign, 1-0, +2, 1
T2. Los Angeles Gladiators, 1-0, +2, 1
T4. Houston Outlaws, 0-0, 0, 0
T4. Toronto Defiant, 0-0, 0, 0
T4. London Spitfire, 0-0, 0, 0
T4. Washington Justice, 0-0, 0, 0
T4. Vancouver Titans, 0-0, 0, 0
T4. Boston Uprising, 0-0, 0, 0
T4. Dallas Fuel, 0-0, 0, 0
T11. New York Excelsior, 0-1, -2, 0
T11. Florida Mayhem, 0-1, -2, 0
13. Paris Eternal, 0-1, -3, 0
East
T1. Philadelphia Fusion, 0-0, 0, 0
T1. Shanghai Dragons, 0-0, 0, 0
T1. Hangzhou Spark, 0-0, 0, 0
T1. Los Angeles Valiant, 0-0, 0, 0
T1. Seoul Dynasty, 0-0, 0, 0
T1. Guangzhou Charge, 0-0, 0, 0
T1. Chengdu Hunters, 0-0, 0, 0
–Field Level Media
