Top 6 games to watch this weekend in esports

July 15, 2021

by Brian Bencomo

Don’t know what to watch this weekend? We’ve got you covered. Here are six of the most compelling games happening this weekend across League of Legends, Overwatch, Call of Duty and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

Atlanta Reign vs. Shanghai Dragons -- Thursday, 10:30 p.m. ET

Overwatch League -- Summer Showdown

This game is set to start late at night Thursday, but it’s one worth watching. It’s a rematch of the losers’ final from May Melee Tournament Weekend when the Dragons beat the Reign 3-0 to move on to the grand final. The Dallas Fuel are the only West Region team that has beat the Dragons this season, so the question is whether the Reign can take down the Dragons this time. If so, they’ll likely face the Fuel next.

Streams on https://www.youtube.com/overwatchleague

Overwatch League schedule:

Thursday: Starts at 9 p.m. ET
Friday: Starts at 9 p.m. ET
Saturday: Grand final starts at 9 p.m. ET

Los Angeles Thieves vs. Atlanta FaZe -- Friday, 4:30 p.m. ET

Call of Duty League -- Stage 5

The Thieves have had an up-and-down season, but last week was possibly their best week of the season. They went 2-0 last weekend, beating The London Royal Ravens 3-1 and the New York Subliners 3-2. The roster has been in a constant state of flux, but now playing with Johnathon “John” Perez, can the team continue its hot streak against the top-ranked Atlanta FaZe?

CDL schedule:

Thursday: Starts at 3 p.m. ET
Friday: Starts at 3 p.m. ET
Saturday: Starts at 3 p.m. ET
Sunday: Starts at 3 p.m. ET

Streams on https://www.youtube.com/CODLeague

FlyQuest vs. TSM -- Friday, 7 p.m. ET

League of Legends Championship Series -- Summer Split

FlyQuest went 3-0 last weekend after promoting their entire Academy team to play in the LCS. The synergy among their Academy team is clearly top-notch, and they might have caught other teams off guard with their radical move. The latter won’t be the case this week, as teams had a whole week to prepare to play against this roster. Their matchup against second-place TSM will be the toughest challenge yet for this FlyQuest squad, and they also will face first-place 100 Thieves on Sunday. Regardless of who they’re playing this weekend, FlyQuest are the LCS team to watch.

Streams on twitch.tv/lcs

LCS schedule:

Friday: Starts at 6 p.m. ET
Saturday: Starts at 5 p.m. ET
Sunday: Starts at 4 p.m. ET

TBD vs. TBD -- Saturday, 9 p.m. ET

Overwatch League -- Summer Showdown

The grand final of the Overwatch League’s Summer Showdown tournament takes place Saturday night. It has been the Fuel vs. the Dragons in each of the previous two tournament grand finals this season. Will we get Round 3 between these two titans? Or will the Reign or the Chengdu Hunters break through and reach the final? There’s a good chance it’ll be Dallas vs. Shanghai, Part III, but if there’s a dark horse team that could reach the final it will probably be Atlanta.

TBD vs. TBD -- Sunday, 10 a.m. ET

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive -- IEM Cologne

The final of one of the biggest CS:GO tournaments of the year takes place Sunday. Both G2 Esports and Natus Vincere are in the semifinals and can make it to the final with just one win. Na'vi have won two S-tier tournaments this year, while G2 have not won any. But the team to watch is Gambit Esports, whom G2 beat earlier in the tournament. Gambit have won two straight major tournaments and three overall this year. They need to beat FaZe Clan in the quaterfinals Friday in order to advance to face Na'vi in the semis.

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

IEM Cologne schedule:

Friday: Starts at 10 a.m. ET
Saturday: Starts at 10 a.m. ET
Sunday: Grand final starts at 10 a.m. ET

Atlanta FaZe vs. OpTic Chicago -- Sunday, 4:30 p.m. ET

Call of Duty League -- Stage 5

The Atlanta FaZe are the team to beat this season. They’ve been dominant all season and are the favorites to win Champs, so whenever they play, you should watch. OpTic Chicago are one of a handful of teams that are a tier below Atlanta, so if any team can beat them, it might be OpTic. Whoever wins this matchup will control Group A and will likely be one of the top two seeds at Major V.

Lead image credit: Overwatch League