The Overwatch League has announced their plans for the 2021 Playoffs and Grand Finals. The postseason will be highlighted by two live events taking place in Arlington, Texas and Los Angeles, California.
Qualification Process
In total, eight teams will qualify for the 2021 playoffs. Three teams from the West and two teams from the East will qualify directly via league points standings.
The final three spots will be determined through play in tournaments set for the 4th to 5th of September.
The West’s playing tournament will feature the fourth through ninth seeds (based on league points) competing for two playoff spots. In the first round, the sixth seed will choose their opponent from the eighth and ninth seed. The winners of the first round matches will face the fourth and fifth seeds for the two playoff spots.
The East will see the third seed to the fifth seed competing for one spot in the playoffs. The fourth seed and fifth seed will play against each other in the first round. The winner of the first-round match will take on the third seed for the single East region playoff spot.
September 16th-19th: Playoffs
Once the play-ins are over, the playoffs will run over four days at the Esports Arena in Arlington, Texas. The playoffs will consist of a double-elimination bracket in from of a live audience. The Overwatch League plans to have all eight teams play their playoff matches in the same location barring any issues with visas.
When the action concludes, the two remaining teams will compete in Los Angeles at the Overwatch League Grand Finals.
September 25th: Overwatch League Grand Finals
One week after the playoffs conclude, the Overwatch League Grand Finals will take place at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, California. This will be the second time the Galen Center will the site of an Activision-Blizzard esport championship this year with the first being the Call of Duty World Championships in August.
The two final teams will compete in a best-of-seven map showdown to determine the Overwatch League Champion and who will walk away with the Championship Trophy and 1.5 million dollars USD.
Info on the 2021 playoffs, grand finals, as well as ticket information can be found on the Overwatch League website. Or you can check out Overwatch Esports VP Jon Spector’s AMA on the r/CompetitiveOverwatch subreddit.
