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The 2021 Overwatch League (OWL) postseason is ready to begin with the Play-In stage, slated for Saturday, September 4. The action will kick off with three regional play-in matches, with teams fighting for the final three tickets leading into the OWL playoffs.
Two Days Of Play-In Action
The 2021 OWL postseason will begin with the Play-In, held separately for the Western and Eastern Divisions. Both Play-Ins will kick off on Saturday, September 4, with the opening three bouts.
First up is a clash between Hangzhou Spark and Philadelphia Fusion, who will lock horns in the opening round of Eastern Play-ins. The Fusion ended the regular season fourth in the East with a 10-6 record, while Spark managed to win only seven games (7-9).
Still, the Spark edged out New York Excelsior (7-9), Guangzhou Charge (5-11), and Los Angeles Valiant (0-16) to make it into the play-ins. On the other side, Fusion came one win short of booking a direct invite into the OWL playoffs.
The winner of the match will face Seoul Dynasty in the OWL Play-In finals for a spot in the OWL playoffs. The final will be played straight after the first round.
On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, the Western teams will fight their own battles. As a larger division, the West features six teams who will fight for one of two tickets leading into the playoffs.
The Western Play-ins will begin with a clash between Paris Eternal and Washington Justice, who will lock horns on Saturday. The Justice ended the regular season with a 9-7 record and nine points, which sat them slightly above Eternal with an 8-8 record and eight points.
The first day of Play-ins will conclude with a clash between the Boston Uprising and Toronto Defiant.
The winners of the first-round matches will advance into the Western Play-in finals. There, the reigning OWL champions, San Francisco Shock, will pick their opponents, while the remaining team gets top face Houston Outlaws.
The 2021 OWL Playoffs Kick Off On September 16
The 2021 Playoff is slated to kick off on Thursday, September 16, 11 days after the Play-in stage concludes. The season-culminating event will feature eight teams, who will compete for the largest slice of the $3,200,000 prize pool.
As per league rules, the top three teams in West and top two teams in East divisions automatically qualified for the playoffs, while the Play-in champions fill the remaining three spots.
Five directly promoted teams into the 2021 OWL Playoffs include Shanghai Dragons, Los Angeles Gladiators, Dallas Fuel, Atlanta Reign, and Chengdu Hunters. The Dragons, Fuel, and Hunters will all get to select their round-one opponents, while the Gladiators will be assigned the remaining team.
After the seeding is complete, the eight OWL teams will battle through a double-elimination bracket for a spot in the finals, a shot at the coveted OWL trophy, and the lion’s share of the $3,5000,000 prize pool.
2021 OWL Playoffs Prize Pool Distribution
The finalists will split 63% of the total prize pool, while the remaining pot gets distributed amongst the third-eighth placed sides.
- 1st – $1,500,000
- 2nd – $700,000
- 3rd – $350,000
- 4th – $250,000
- 5th – $200,000
- 6th – $100,000
- 7th-8th – $50,000
Who Will Win The 2021 OWL Playoffs?
The esports bookmakers have yet to start offering betting odds on who will win the 2021 OWL Playoffs. However, based on the teams’ performances over the season, it’s easy to figure out which are in the best position to hoist the trophy.
Shanghai Dragons enter the playoffs as the most successful team of the year, having ended the season with a 12-4 record, +19 map differential, and 20 league points. Close behind are Dallas Fuel, who have managed an 11-5 record, +14 map differential, and 17 league points.
Although Chengdu Hunters, Los Angeles Gladiators, and Atlanta Reign ended the season with the same 11-5 record, they accumulated fewer league points. Hunters managed 15, Gladiators 14, while Reign earned 13.
As the lowest-seeded team of the OWL Playoffs, Atlanta Reign will fall into the pool of the Play-in champions, from which the remaining four OWL teams will pick their round-one opponents.
The OWL Playoffs will run from September 16 – 25. The event was initially planned to be held on LAN; however, the organizers decided against it.
As revealed, the OWL Playoff live events will be replaced by a Hawaii-based postseason model, much like the one that was used for monthly tournaments throughout the season. The decision follows the concerns regarding the new COVID-19 delta variant.