The Last Two Tickets for OWL Grand Finals

The winners of the last two tickets for OWL Grand Finals will be decided today and tomorrow. One will be from Asia and the other from North America.

The Results So Far

The Overwatch League took place in two separate regions this year. The North American one was dominated by Philadelphia Fusion, San Francisco Shock, Paris Eternal, and Florida Mayhem. The Asian one was dominated by Shanghai Dragons, Guangzhou Charge, and New York Excelsior.

Playoffs Results

The Playoffs Stage maintained the regional separation and was all-inclusive, in the sense that everyone had the opportunity to take part in it, regardless of the Group Stage results. Of course, with the mention that the seeding was done based on these results. So the top competitors started with a big advantage, while the other competitors had their chance to prove what they’re capable of. And surprisingly enough, some of them did. Just look at Washington Justice for example, which finished 12^th out of 13 teams and will now play in the Losers’ Finals for a chance to qualify for the Grand Finals.

In North America, the Playoffs Stage had semi-predictable results. With the exception of Washington Justice, which did much better than expected, and Paris Eternal, which did much worse, everyone played in accordance to their assessed strength. The Winners’ Finals took place between Philadelphia Fusion and San Francisco Shock. SFS won with a score of 3 – 1.

In Asia, Shanghai Dragons had some challenges on its way to the Grand Finals but managed to overcome them. The Semifinals match against New York Excelsior was rather easy (3 – 1) but the Winners’ Finals really tested their skill. Seoul Dynasty was leading with 2 – 1 and only needed one more map to close the series. But SD managed to regroup and win the last 2 maps. In the Lower Bracket, New York Excelsior demolished an underwhelming Guangzhou Charge and advanced to the Losers’ Finals.

The Losers’ Finals

There are only two more matches that need to be played and both of them are Losers’ Finals.

North America

The Losers’ Finals in this region will be played between Philadelphia Fusion and Washington Justice. Normally, Philadelphia should easily win this match. But nothing’s certain anymore. Washington Justice had a score of 4 W – 17 L in the Group Stage. That’s absolutely abysmal. And then, by some unexplainable miracle, they won a staggering amount of tough matches in the Playoffs. Along the way, they defeated Vancouver Titans, Dallas Fuel, Paris Eternal, Los Angeles Valiant, and Florida Mayhem. Now, only one team stands in their path. Judging by this win streak and also by Fusion’s defeat against SFS, I’d say Justice has a solid chance of winning this match.

Asia

In Asia, the situation is pretty clear. Seoul Dynasty, a team that played significantly worse than New York Excelsior in the Group Stage, proved its worth in the Playoffs, defeated Guangzhou Charge, and came close to defeating even Shanghai Dragons. Because of that performance, I expect Seoul Dynasty to win this match, even though NYE is much stronger on paper.