Dallas, Florida, Houston, and Seoul Preparing for Group 2

It’s finally time for the Overwatch League Playoffs. The eight best Overwatch teams in the world take to the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, Canada, to battle it out amongst themselves for the title of Overwatch League Champions.

The tournament will consist of two phases: the Groups and the Grand Finals. In Groups, two groups consisting of four teams will play a small double-elimination bracket to determine two teams that will then go on to the Grand Finals.

Group 2 consists of the Dallas Fuel, Florida Mayhem, Houston Outlaws, and Seoul Infernal, all with their eyes set on becoming Overwatch League Champions and the $1M prize that comes along with it.

Dallas Fuel

The 2022 Dallas Fuel was a team of destiny, finding wins at the Summer Showdown and the 2022 Playoffs. This year, they are a team that has been competing with the top eastern teams in the OWL but hasn’t been able to find that top finish yet. They will enter the 2023 Playoffs looking to defend their crown and find their first-place finish at a major event for the year.

Though they consistently found 3rd-4th place finishes in the Knockouts this year, they made an impressive run through Play-Ins and will look to keep up their momentum as they take on the Seoul Infernal in the opening match of the Playoffs.

Florida Mayhem

The Florida Mayhem has had a really successful year, having top finishes at all of the events they participated in this year. They started off the 2023 Season by winning the 2023 Overwatch League Pro-Am. They would carry that momentum into Spring, taking 3rd in the Qualifiers and 2nd in the Knockouts.

They’d go on to have a 3rd place finish at Midseason Madness before qualifying for Playoffs via the Summer Qualifiers, in which they ended with a 14-2 record, taking 2nd in the standings. Could they bookend their year with 1st place finishes at top-tier events? Only time will tell! You can catch all the action live on YouTube, and you don’t want to miss a second.

Houston Outlaws

The Houston Outlaws are another team from the West that has been having really solid finishes in all their events, but they haven’t been able to find their 1st place finish yet this year and are hoping the Playoffs will be that event.

They started out with a 3rd-4th place finish in the Pro-Am at the beginning of the year. They then took 2nd place in the Spring Stage Qualifiers, which qualified them for the Midseason Madness tournament without having to play through the knockouts.

At Midseason Madness, the Outlaws came up just short in the Grand Finals, leaving with a 2nd place finish. After a 13-3 finish in the Summer Stage Qualifiers, Houston looks to find their first tournament win in team history on Overwatch’s biggest stage.

Seoul Infernal

The Seoul Infernal has had tons of success against the Eastern competition of the Overwatch League but has struggled this season in international play.

They got 2nd place in the Spring Stage Qualifiers, leading to a 1st-2nd place finish in the Spring Stage Knockouts, sending them to Midseason Madness. The tournament didn’t go well for the Infernal, who would leave with a 5th-6th finish.

After a disappointing Summer Knockout Stage, the pressure will be on the Infernal, especially early on in the tournament, as many think of them as one of the weaker teams in the Playoffs.