Recap: Overwatch League Playoffs Round 1

Thursday 3 September kicked off the 2020 Overwatch Playoffs, and what an exciting weekend it was! All 20 Overwatch League teams participated in Round 1, and thousands of fans viewed the event live from OWL’s YouTube channel.

Due to Coronavirus, Blizzard decided to allow all teams to participate, regardless of their position in standings. However, while all teams had the opportunity to qualify for the playoffs, teams that performed better throughout the season did have some significant advantages. Higher seeds for each region got to choose their opponent for the first round of the bracket, they also got to choose the first map, and had bye advantages. When the event kicked off on Thursday, teams battled it out through tough play-in brackets to earn their spot in the playoffs on September 5.

Overwatch League Playoffs Round 1 By Region

Two weeks of online matches kicked off on September 3, with teams split into regional brackets (13 for North America and 7 for Asia).

North American Teams – Atlanta Reign, Boston Uprising, Dallas Fuel, Florida Mayhem, Houston Outlaws, Los Angeles Gladiators, Los Angeles Valiant, Paris Eternal, Philadelphia Fusion, San Francisco Shock, Toronto Defiant, Vancouver Titans, and Washington Justice

Asia Pacific Teams – Chengdu Hunters, Guangzhou Charge, Hangzhou Spark, London Spitfire, New York Excelsior, Shanghai Dragons, and Seoul Dynasty.

Only two teams from North American and Asia Pacific can progress through to the play-offs, and some were eliminated in the play-ins.

North America

The NA playoffs got off to an exciting start with teams battling it out in best-of-three matches to edge one step closer to becoming an Overwatch Champion.

Unfortunately, Dallas Fuel, Boston Uprising, Houston Outlaws, Toronto Defiant, and Vancouver Titans did not make it through. This left 8 NA teams, Philadelphia Fusion, Los Angeles Gladiators, Florida Mayhem, Los Angeles Valiant, San Francisco Shock, Atlanta Reign, Washington Justice, and Paris Eternal to battle it out. The event was full of lots of close games, like the match between Washington Justice and San Francisco Shock (2-3). San Francisco Shock were the champions of the 2019s Overwatch League and a fan favorite for 2020.

Six teams will progress through, some facing off in the losers bracket. However, the journey is over for two teams, the Los Angeles Gladiators, and Paris Eternal.

We’re already looking forward to Friday, September 11, when Atlanta Reign will face off against Florida Mayhem, and Los Angeles Valliant will face off against Washington Justice. On Saturday, fans can look forward to watching Philadelphia Fusion go head to head with San Francisco Shock.

Asia Pacific

Four of the seven original teams made it through to the playoffs. The victorious teams are Shanghai Dragons, New York Excelsior, Guangzhou Charge, and Seoul Dynasty. These teams will not battle it out to become Overwatch 2020 Champion.

On Saturday, New York Excelsior will face off against Guangzhou Charge shortly after the Seoul Dynasty will go up against Shanghai Dragons.