?In the first round the OWL Kickoff Clash, Hangzhou Spark will meet the fourth-seeded Philadelphia Fusion for the second time this season. The two Overwatch League East teams last met on May 29, when the Spark won 3-2 in an extremely close affair.

Philadelphia Fusion took the series lead with 2-1 on Ilios, lost the next two maps with 5-6 on Route 66 and 1-2 on King’s Row, bounced back with a 67.85-62.62 victory on Colosseo, but slipped in the fifth map with 1-2 on Lijiang Tower. Considering how close that match was, Fusion should have a realistic chance to defeat the Spark this week, but the esports betting sites seem to disagree.

Hangzhou Spark are priced as $1.44 favourites, translating to a 69.4% implied probability of winning, which may seem high, but there is a good reason why we believe the figure is fair. The Fusion are one of the biggest underperformers in OWL tournaments, and have been for the past two years. No matter how good the Fusion look during the regular season, they seem to always find a way to choke in tournaments.

There is a world where Philadelphia are now a more stable team, but until they show that, we will continue to doubt them.

?The reigning Overwatch League champions, Shanghai Dragons, finished the OWL Kickoff Clash qualifiers in second place with a 5-1 record and a +4 map difference (-4 behind the Spark). Their next opponents, Seoul Dynasty, were slightly less successful (4-2), mainly because they struggled against the top OWL East teams in the Spark (1-3) and the Dragons (1-3).

Shanghai defeated Seoul on Sunday, so it’s fair to say they are the most likely victors of this clash. However, we have to note that the Dragons were a bit lucky to defeat the Dynasty with two maps to spare, seeing how the final map (Push) was decided in overtime by 0.01 meters (70.80–70.81).

Shanghai Dragons are still rightly priced as the favourites with Overwatch bookmakers, but they have a habit of dropping unnecessary maps and have played a handful of close series during the qualifiers. This game feels very up in the air, so we’ll take a shot on Seoul Dynasty to get their revenge and defeat Shanghai Dragons 3-2.

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?Vancouver Titans seem like one of the weakest teams across both regions, but there’s a small chance they might surpass expectations. The Canadian organisation started from scratch for the fifth OWL season but didn’t do a very good job, failing to sign any star names.

On a more positive note, Vancouver Titans now have proven talent, namely the DPS duo Luka “Aspire” Rolovic and Niclas “sHockWave” Jensen. But only time will tell if that will be enough for the Titans to emulate their run from 2019.

Boston Uprising are priced as $1.34 favourites for this fixture, which overrates them slightly. Admittedly, they have made some improvements during the offseason, but not enough for us to consider them to be one of the top teams.

Adding Nam-joo “Striker” Kwon is a positive, but elsewhere, Boston Uprising are still lacking. And it doesn’t make much sense for them to have a three-tank formation.

The Uprising might have a higher ceiling than the Titans, but since this is the first match of the season, it’s difficult not to side with the outsiders at the offered OWL esports betting odds.

London Spitfire might be the former OWL champions, but this team does not give off much confidence heading into the 2022 season. The organisation has made a lot of changes, and there are some exciting things going on, but the Spitfire fall short of the benchmark.

The biggest issue is the lack of star power that would make you believe the Spitfire can emerge as potential OWL title contenders. If they added at least one elite DPS player, we could start talking solid results, but currently, there’s not much to look forward to.

San Francisco Shock should remain relevant in the league even with all the changes they’ve made. Their new roster is filled with exciting young talent who could blossom into the next superstars. The only drawback is that this roster is very young and inexperienced.

If the Shock can find traction early, they should crush the Spitfire, but we expect them to be a bit shaky at the start. For that reason, we’ll take a stab at London with a map advantage.

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?The introduction of Overwatch 2 sees the OWL scene change drastically with a new hero, balance changes, and the transition to 5v5. With so much changed, it’s difficult to say which teams will do well on a new game build, but we can set expectations while considering how certain players performed in previous seasons.

New York Excelsior are hard to rank properly, but they should be one of the bottom-five squads in the West. While their all-new roster is filled with potential, they lack star names that would help propel them to the top of the table.

Los Angeles Gladiators are an entirely different story. They are easily among the top-three teams in the league, boasting a well-rounded roster with top talent in all positions. And if the Gladiators’ DPS trio of Seonchang “ANS” Lee, Patiphan “Patiphan” Chaiwong, and Kevin “kevster” Persson can deliver, the Los Angeles squad should be a real threat for the OWL title.

Without seeing the teams play, it’s hard to find a solid case for New York Excelsior. They might be better than expected, but Los Angeles Gladiators look way too strong for us to bet against them.

?San Francisco Shock are extremely tough to rank, mainly due to all the rookie players on the roster. They have the potential to storm out of the gates and be one of the most dominant Overwatch League teams, but they might also fall flat. While the latter scenario seems unlikely with Dae-hee “Crusty” Park at the helm, we would like to see the Shock perform against the top teams before we make any judgements.

Paris Eternal come off as a middle-of-the-pack team with the ability to defeat bottom squads, but they don’t have enough talent to be viewed as one of the best in the region. However, the Eternal had a solid ending to the 2021 OWL season, and with the roster moving to a team house, they could surprise.

On paper, San Francisco Shock look much better, and they should achieve far more than Paris Eternal by the end of the season. But they might need a bit more time to get their wheels spinning, so we’re on Paris to kick off the 2022 OWL season with an upset win.

Atlanta Reign can be considered as one of the top teams in the region, which is fair given their strong ending to the 2021 season. However, they might suffer from the same issue as last season without any significant changes.

The Reign should do well in 2022, but they might again be streaky as they have shown to be in the past. A strong start to the season will be crucial for Reign, and we expect them to show up on an opening day.

There’s a lot to like about Florida Mayhem, mainly the decision to opt for an ambitious mixed roster. There’s enough individual talent on this team – along with a blend of veteran and new players – to allow for growth, yet the Mayhem don’t look too scary as it is.

A bet on Atlanta Reign would make the most sense, but they’re no value in the head-to-head markets, nor would we trust them to win without dropping a map. So instead, we’re on Florida Mayhem with a map advantage at around $1.80 with most Overwatch betting sites.