The Overwatch League's Midseason Madness tournament is the first opportunity for teams from the West and East regions to face off this season.
Many of these teams have not clashed for over a year and there will be plenty of intriguing brawls, with four games each night to enjoy.
The tournament kicked off on Monday with dominant performances from London Spitfire, Houston Outlaws and Shanghai Dragons, while Hangzhou Spark sent the Philadelphia Fusion to the lower bracket in an all-East tie.
What | Overwatch League's Midseason Madness |
| Where | Online |
| When | Monday 18th July until Sunday 24th July |
How to watch | Overwatch League YouTube channel |
| Odds | SF Shock -400, London Spitfire +275 |
London Spitfire vs San Francisco Shock
London Spitfire blitzed their way through the Midseason Madness qualifiers, winning all of their matches bar one. Despite this, they came into the opening match against the Atlanta Reign as the slight outsiders, but they left us in doubt from an early stage who was going to walk out victorious.
Granted, the Reign were not at their best, but Hadi "Hadi" Bleinagel was unplayable on the Reinhardt in the opening two maps and William "Sparkr" Andersson's DPS play was unmatched throughout. Spitfire are a form side at present, but the San Francisco Shock are a different beast.
They went flawless through their qualifier matches to go straight into the Upper Bracket quarter-finals and they are the best team from the West, winning all twelve of their regular season matches.
No matter how much momentum the Spitfire have, the Shock are the best team in the Overwatch League at present and it is hard to see anything but a Shock victory. That being said, it would be no surprise to see London pick up a control map, given their aggressive Reinhardt-led composition for that mode.
What | Overwatch League's Midseason Madness |
| Where | Online |
| When | Monday 18th July until Sunday 24th July |
How to watch | Overwatch League YouTube channel |
| Odds | Shanghai Dragons -350, Dallas Fuel +250 |
Shanghai Dragons vs Dallas Fuel
Shanghai Dragons sit third in a tightly-contested East region and facing off against a middling West side in the Toronto Defiant, they were made to work hard to advance to the quarter-finals.
Despite it being a 3-0 victory for the Dragons, it was not always straightforward and they were made to work hard, though a victory for them did always seem inevitable throughout.
The Dragons have won their last five matches by a combined game score of 15-1 and they are a match for the best in the league if the likes of Byungsun "Fleta" Kim and Pangseung "Fate" Koo, as proven by their Overleague League 2021 victory.
They cannot afford to let their form dip as they take on the Dallas Fuel, who ended their qualification run with a 3-1 victory over the London Spitfire. The Fuel finished third in last year's Overwatch League and are consistent in these tournaments, finishing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively in the May Melee, June Joust and Summer Showdown last season.
The Dragons will be the slight favourites, but this is likely to be a hotly-contested affair and this series going the distance would be no real surprise.
What | Overwatch League's Midseason Madness |
| Where | Online |
| When | Monday 18th July until Sunday 24th July |
How to watch | Overwatch League YouTube channel |
| Odds | Houston Outlaws +500, Los Angeles Gladiators -900 |
Houston Outlaws vs Los Angeles Gladiators
It is hard to assess the Houston Outlaws opening 3-0 victory over the Florida Mayhem. The Outlaws were dominant in victory, seemingly winning every team fight thanks to the impressive performances of DPS duo Dante "Danteh" Cruz and Choi "MER1T" Tae-min, but the Mayhem went out with a whimper and that could be suspect form.
If nothing else, the win will have done their confidence the power of good, but any Outlaws fan will look at the head to head with the Los Angeles Gladiators with a grimace.
The sides have faced each other on two occasions this year and the Gladiators have been dominant, winning both by a 3-0 score. The Gladiators are on a 12-match winning streak and dropped just three maps through their qualifier run.
Although just one win splits them in the regular season standings, the Gladiators would have to be favoured in this match, given the head to head and their recent run of dominant performances.
What | Overwatch League's Midseason Madness |
| Where | Online |
| When | Monday 18th July until Sunday 24th July |
How to watch | Overwatch League YouTube channel |
| Odds | Seoul Dynasty -300, Hangzhou Spark +225 |
Seoul Dynasty vs Hangzhou Spark
The Hangzhou Spark came out on top in an all-East tie against the Philadelphia Fusion to kick off their playoff run, though it was certainly a closer match than the 3-1 scoreline suggests.
They face another divisional rival in the Seoul Dynasty in the quarter-finals and the Dynasty currently sit top of the region, winning nine of their 12 matches thus far. The Spark did win the first head to head between the teams back in May, but two subsequent matches have yielded dominant 3-0 victories for the Dynasty.
That head to head is likely to mean the Spark come into this game as underdogs and if the likes of Junyoung "Profit" Park and Myeonghwan "smurf" Yoo play to their recent standard, it is hard to see anything other than a Dynasty victory.
