Top 4 games to watch this weekend in esports

September 2, 2021

by Brian Bencomo

Don’t know what to watch this weekend? We’ve got you covered. The Overwatch League will be in the spotlight this weekend, with play-in matches taking place to determine the final three playoff teams. Qualification matches will take place Sunday. The ESL Pro League Season 14 also continues this weekend with the conclusion of group play.

Philadelphia Fusion vs. Hangzhou Spark -- Sunday, 5 a.m. ET

Overwatch League Play-Ins

The Overwatch League Play-Ins begin early Saturday morning when the Fusion take on the Spark. The winner will move on to face the Seoul Dynasty on Sunday for a spot in the playoffs.

The Fusion have had an up-and-down season, having started strong but faded as the season went on, and they never did qualify for any of the tournament weekends. The Spark peaked in the June Joust qualifiers when they went 4-0 but failed to make the June Joust tournament. Historically, the Fusion beat the Spark both times they played this season, so on paper, this should be a W for Philly. The real challenge will be the match against the Dynasty, who the Fusion have only beaten once this season.

OWL schedule:

Saturday: West Region Play-Ins begin at 3 p.m. ET
Sunday: East Region Play-Ins begin at 5 a.m. ET
Sunday: West Region Play-Ins begin at 3 p.m. ET

Streams on youtube.com/overwatchleague

Gambit Esports vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas -- Sunday, 2 p.m. ET

ESL Pro League Season 14

Group play for the 14th season of the ESL Pro League concludes this weekend. Gambit Esports, one of the best Counter-Strike teams in the world, will be in action. They end their weekend with a matchup against Ninjas in Pyjamas on Sunday. Gambit should win this group, but NIP is one of the teams that could potentially challenge Gambit for the top spot in the group, so this matchup could determine who wins the group and who makes the cut for the playoffs.

ESL schedule:

Thursday: starts at 7:30 a.m. ET
Friday: starts at 7:30 a.m. ET
Saturday: starts at 7:30 a.m. ET
Sunday: starts at 2 p.m. ET

Streams on https://www.twitch.tv/esl_csgo

San Francisco Shock vs. TBD -- Sunday, 3 p.m. ET

Overwatch League Play-Ins

It would be shocking (pun intended) to not see the San Francisco Shock in the OWL playoffs. The two-time defending champions need to win their play-in match Sunday in order to grab one of the West Region’s last two playoff spots. They’ll play the winner of the first qualifier between the Paris Eternal and the Washington Justice. The Shock faced each of these teams once during the season and beat them each time.

Streams on youtube.com/overwatchleague

Houston Outlaws vs. TBD -- Sunday, 4:30 p.m. ET

Overwatch League Play-Ins

The Outlaws will face the winner of Saturday’s Boston Uprising vs. Toronto Defiant matchup. The Outlaws lost their lone matchup against the Uprising, but beat the Defiant when they faced them. The Outlaws have been trending down over the course of the season, so this will probably be the most unpredictable of the play-in matchups. If Houston can play the way they did early in the season, they should win, but if not, the door is open for either the Uprising or Defiant to sneak into the playoffs.

Streams on youtube.com/overwatchleague

Lead photo credit: Overwatch League