‘What’s on this week?’ is ESI’s weekly feature letting you know just what’s going on in the wonderful world of esports in the next seven days. Each week, ESI picks a selection of events and provides a brief overview of what’s going down, where it’s taking place, and how you can watch it.
We start off the week with the Overwatch League — hot off the heels of the surprise Stage 3 victory for the Shanghai Dragons, the teams head back to the arena as we enter the final stage of the season. Next, we check in on the LEC. It’s been a few weeks since Rift Rivals and we’re already starting to see Fnatic and Origen drop in form as G2 Esports continue to push for the top. Lastly, we head to the UK for a double-header in the ESL UK Premiership as we take a look at the Rainbow Six Siege and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Finals.
Overwatch League Stage 4 – Week 1
Stage 4 of the Overwatch League’s second season gets underway this weekend. This stage is going to need to be something pretty special if it wants to top Stage 3 and the rags to riches story of the Shanghai Dragons.
Going into Stage 4, Vancouver Titans, New York Excelsior and San Francisco Shock look like the teams to beat, alongside Shanghai Dragons and Season 1 champions London Spitfire.
Stream: Overwatch League
Location: Blizzard Arena, USA
Date: 26-28th July
Sponsors: Coca-Cola, Toyota, T-Mobile, Intel, OMEN by HP, State Farm
Organiser: Activision Blizzard
Prize pool: $5M (£3.9M)
LEC Summer Split Week 6
We head back to the LEC this week and it’s all change at the top, with the previously-dominant Fnatic going 2-2 since returning from Rift Rivals and dropping down to second. G2 Esports, however, continue to look dominant as they regain the top spot. At the other end of the table, Excel continues to struggle with SK Gaming and Misfits just ahead of them – both occupying the eighth spot.
Over the course of the split, the LEC sees 10 teams battle it out in a double round-robin best-of-one format with the top six teams advancing to the playoffs.
Stream: Riot Games
Location: Berlin, Germany
Date: 12-13th July
Sponsors: Kia, Alienware, DXRacer, Foot Locker, Logitech G, Shell, Warner Music, Tchibo, Beko, Red Bull, GoDaddy
Organiser: Riot Games
Prize pool: €200,000 (£179,855.76)
ESL Premiership Summer Finals
This weekend also includes Rainbow Six Siege action as we check in with the ESL Premiership Summer 2019 Finals. With just four teams remaining, June 27th will see Natus Vincere vs. T3H Esports followed by Team Secret vs. MnM Gaming. The winners of those two games will go straight into the Grand Finals live from Leicester. All finals matches will be played as a single elimination in a best-of-three series.
Following the Rainbow Six Siege action on Saturday is the CS:GO Finals on Sunday. The semifinals will see Endpoint vs. Vexed Gaming and Fierce Esports vs. Wind and Rain. As with the Rainbow Six Siege event, the CS:GO Grand Final will follow on after the semifinals. All CS:GO finals series are best-of-three.
Stream: Rainbow Six & ESL
Location: Online
Date: 27-28th July
Sponsors: Intel, Currys PC World, paysafecard, AOC Gaming
Organiser: ESL UK
Prize pool: £2,300 (R6) & £10,600 (CS:GO)
That’s a wrap on this week’s picks, be sure to check back next week for another edition of the ‘What’s on this week?’
We want to feature at least one smaller event each week on the ESI weekly picks. If you want an event included in What’s on this week? in a future edition, send an email to [email protected].