Top 6 games to watch this weekend in esports

August 19, 2021

by Brian Bencomo

Don’t know what to watch this weekend? We’ve got you covered. It’s a jam-packed weekend in esports, with both championships taking place and qualification for major tournaments on the line. There’s a lot to watch all weekend, but Sunday will be the day to plop down in front of a screen and watch some really important matches.

G2 vs. Giants Gaming -- Thursday, 1 p.m. ET

EMEA VALORANT Champions Tour Challengers Playoffs

The fourth and final team going to Masters: Berlin from the Europe/CIS/Turkey region will be determined this afternoon. Neither of these teams were at Masters: Reykjavík, so it’ll be the first taste of international VALORANT competition for either team. G2 come in as the favorites with a rebuilt roster for Stage 3, but Giants Gaming are dangerous too.

EMEA VCT Schedule:

Thursday: Starts 11 a.m. ET
Friday: Starts 11 a.m. ET
Saturday: Starts 9 a.m. ET
Sunday: Starts 9 a.m. ET

Streams on twitch.tv/valorant

Los Angeles Gladiators vs. Chengdu Hunters -- Thursday, 10:30 p.m. ET

Overwatch League Countdown Cup

The fourth and final tournament of the Overwatch League’s 2021 season concludes this weekend, and it’s the Los Angeles Gladiators’ first trip to Hawaii. Neither of the previous champions, the Dallas Fuel or Shanghai Dragons, are competing this weekend, so a new team will win this tournament.

League Points, which are needed for qualifying for the playoffs, are also on the line for both the Gladiators and Hunters. Whoever wins this matchup is guaranteed at least one League Point. One point will give the Hunters a decisive edge over the Seoul Dynasty for the second playoff spot out of the East Region, and one point would put the Gladiators in a tie with both the San Francisco Shock and Atlanta Reign for the second and third playoff spots in the West. With the Reign and Gladiators in Hawaii but not the Shock, both of these teams have an inside track on the last two playoff spots from the West.

OWL schedule:

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

Streams on youtube.com/overwatchleague

VALORANT Summer Championship grand final -- Sunday

Nerd Street’s Summer Championships

Nerd Street’s VALORANT Summer Championship takes place this weekend, and it features some of the best teams that didn’t compete at VCT Challengers Playoffs (and one that did, Rise). Cloud9 Blue, Immortals, Renegades, DarkZero and Kansas City Pioneers are just a few of the 32 teams in the tournament. It’ll be the first time we’ll get to see former Version1 IGL Anthony “vanity” Malaspina play for C9 Blue, and it’ll be the first time the org formerly known as Noble will compete as TSM Academy.

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: twitch.tv/nerdstreet

G2 vs. TBD -- Sunday, 11 a.m. ET

LEC Summer Playoffs

The third and final spot for Europe at the League of Legends World Championship will be determined Sunday, and it might come down to two perennial European favorites at Worlds: G2 and Fnatic. Fnatic need to beat Misfits on Friday in order to set up this epic matchup. G2 and Fnatic always put on a good show, and with Worlds qualification on the line, this could be a classic. Even if it’s Misfits vs. G2, this is sure to be an entertaining matchup with both teams fighting to go to Worlds.

LEC schedule:

Friday: Misfits vs. Fnatic starts at 12 p.m. ET
Saturday: Rogue vs. MAD Lions starts at 12 p.m. ET
Sunday: G2 vs. TBD starts at 11 a.m. ET

Streams on twitch.tv/lec

Call of Duty League Championship grand final -- Sunday, 3 p.m. ET

Call of Duty League Champs

The 2021 championship and $1.2 million are on the line as the eight best Call of Duty League teams compete this weekend in Los Angeles. The Atlanta FaZe are the prohibitive favorites, but the Toronto Ultra have shown they can take down FaZe, and the Minnesota ROKKR proved in Major V that they also are contenders. Both FaZe and Ultra have first-round byes in the upper bracket and have a leg up on everybody else to reach the grand final. Look for one or both of these teams to play Sunday.

Champs 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 youtube.com/codleague

LCS Championship lower bracket third round -- Sunday, 4 p.m. ET

LCS Championship

On Sunday we’ll find out the third and final North American representative at the League of Legends World Championship. Given how the season has played out, it’s remarkable that both TSM (best team in the summer) and Cloud9 (best team in the spring) won’t make Worlds. It’s possible that neither team makes it if either Evil Geniuses or Immortals win two games this weekend. It’s one of the most difficult lower brackets in LCS history and whoever makes it out will have certainly earned their Worlds spot.

LCS schedule: