Overwatch League 2022 schedule and matches to watch

Update: Teams from the East were originally scheduled to play opening weekend, but the start of the East Division's schedule has been pushed back to May 20.

The Overwatch League has announced the matchups for the opening week of the Overwatch League 2022 schedule. We now have a starting date of May 5, later in the year than the league’s usual starting date, and 12 matchups to look forward to over four days. We also know the season will be broken up into four stages: the Kickoff Clash, Midseason Madness, Summer Showdown and the Countdown Cup.

Teams are still split up into an East and West Division like they were last year, and the Kickoff Clash and Summer Showdown are planned to be regional tournaments, while the other two are meant to involve cross-regional play. The Countdown Cup is also intended to be a play-in tournament for the playoffs. One change in the regional distribution of teams is that the New York Excelsior are returning to New York and the West Region after spending last season in Korea and the East Region. For 2022, there will be 13 teams in the West and 7 in the East.

For the league’s fifth season, fans can also look forward to seeing teams compete 5v5 on an early build of Overwatch 2.

So far, only the opening week schedule has been released and can be seen below. It’s unclear when the rest of the 2022 season schedule will be released.

Opening week schedule

Thursday, May 5

• 3 p.m. ET: Los Angeles Gladiators vs. New York Excelsior
• 4:30 p.m. ET: Paris Eternal vs. San Francisco Shock
• 6 p.m. ET: Atlanta Reign vs. Florida Mayhem

Friday, May 6

• 3 p.m. ET: Vancouver Titans vs. Boston Uprising
• 4:30 p.m. ET: San Francisco Shock vs. London Spitfire
• 6 p.m. ET: Houston Outlaws vs. Dallas Fuel

Saturday, May 7

• 3 p.m. ET: Washington Justice vs. Toronto Defiant
• 4:30 p.m. ET: New York Excelsior vs. Atlanta Reign
• 6 p.m. ET: Los Angeles Gladiators vs. Boston Uprising

Sunday, May 8

• 3 p.m. ET: Vancouver Titans vs. London Spitfire
• 4:30 p.m. ET: Florida Mayhem vs. Paris Eternal
• 6 p.m. ET: Dallas Fuel vs. Washington Justice
• 7:30 p.m. ET: Houston Outlaws vs. Toronto Defiant

Four matches to watch

Los Angeles Gladiators vs. New York Excelsior

Photo credit: Overwatch League

This match kicks off the season and will feature the return of NYXL to the West Region and one-time Overwatch prodigy and former VALORANT player Patiphan to the Overwatch League. The Gladiators also have another former VALORANT player in ANS. Both ANS and Patiphan will be on DPS roles, but if you’re looking for some excellent tank play, the Gladiators have one of the most experienced tank players in the league in Indy “Space” Halpern. NYXL have a completely new roster for 2022, so this will be our first look at how the new squad plays together.

Houston Outlaws vs. Dallas Fuel

Photo credit: Overwatch League

The Battle for Texas is always a fun matchup because of the rivalry between these two teams, and this matchup will take place in person with an audience. The Dallas Fuel were the best team in the West most of last year and the roster remains relatively unchanged, so they should be strong contenders once again. The Outlaws were a fairly good team last year, but they have leveled up this year with the addition of 2021 Rookie of the Year Pelican. Oh, and this matchup is set to take place in-person, according to a tweet from the Houston Outlaws. Giddyup.

New York Excelsior vs. Atlanta Reign

Photo credit: Overwatch League

The Atlanta Reign had a strong finish in 2021 as the runners-up to the Shanghai Dragons in the OWL grand finals. They lost three players in the offseason to Texas teams, including the 2021 Rookie of the Year, but added some new, young talent. One of those new additions, 17-year-old Benjamin "UltraViolet" David, is currently below the OWL’s age limit, but will be 18 by the time the season starts. As mentioned previously, NYXL are rejoining the West Region, but this game is more about seeing how good the Reign are this year with a revamped roster.

Los Angeles Gladiators vs. Boston Uprising

Photo credit: Overwatch League

The Gladiators should be good again this year, so this game is more about seeing whether the Uprising have taken another step forward in 2022. They have usually been near the bottom of the standings but improved last year and made some key additions in the offseason. The biggest addition was Nam-joo "Striker" Kwon. The DPS player was a two-time champion with the San Francisco Shock. With the league moving to 5v5 with a greater priority placed on the DPS role, adding a star DPS player can make a big impact for a team this year.

Lead photo credit: Overwatch League