Overwatch League 2021 Playoffs – Bracket and Predictions
The Overwatch League 2021 Season has had its fair share of ups and downs with a lot of major upsets in the standings of the teams. With the season drawing toward a conclusion, a bracket is finally set for the play-offs of the tournament. This past weekend’s matches saw the teams compete to decide their seeding and who has the best chance of winning things for 2021.
The Overwatch League 2021 Playoffs are going to be rounding off one of the most surprising years in Overwatch’s history. The top teams at the start of this season definitely aren’t those at the top at the finish line. This is what you need to know about the finals, and what you can expect if you’re looking at Overwatch betting for the League grand finals.
Our “Perfect Bracket” pick’ems selections are at the bottom of this article.
© OWL
OWL 2021 Playoffs Play-Ins Recap
The Overwatch League 2021 Playoffs begun with the play-ins. This is a group of matches that determine the seeding and bracket for the final leg of the League. The lower rankings teams from both the West and the East of the season’s standings took part in these matches. Teams in the East were competing for only one slot in the brackets, with two on offer for the West.
The play-ins saw a number of matches take place over the last few days. There were some surprising matches, but one team’s victory has formed an impressive narrative moving into the Overwatch League 2021 finals bracket. SF Shock won their game up against Toronto Defiant, cementing their place in the final bracket. This season has really been a letdown for them but this last-minute qualification could turn it around.
The other team to make it in for the West was Washington Justice. They beat out both Boston Uprising and Houston Outlaw to move all the way through the bracket. They’re not exactly the favorite for the finals, but they put in a good performance over these games.
In the East section of the bracket, Philadelphia Fusion ended up taking up that final slot in the play-offs. They took down Hangzhou Spark and Seoul Dynasty. Philadelphia hasn’t had the best season either, but these games do let them join the top tier for the last batch.
Overwatch League 2021 Playoffs Bracket
With the play-ins now completed, we now have the final bracket fully set for the Overwatch Leaguer 2021 Finals. The seeding for the bracket has been partially determined by the other tournaments . The top three teams in the West and top two in the East have moved straight into the finals bracket. While teams qualified in different ways, everyone is seeded into the first round. No team gets to skip ahead based on past performance here.
The first game of the bracket is going to be Shanghai v Shock, followed by Gladiators v Fusion, then Fuel v Justice. Finally, Chengdu Hunters face Atlanta Reign. The losers from these matches move through into the losers’ bracket while the winners continue through to the semi-finals.
This double-elimination bracket carries a prize pool of $1,500,000 for the winners, with pretty impressive prize pools for the lower rankings places too. The Overwatch 2021 Finals bracket is due to kick off on September 16th, and it’ll run through to the 25th.
Overwatch League 2021 Finals Predictions
If you’re looking at esports betting for the Overwatch League then these finals are a pretty big event. However, who can you look at to make it all the way through the bracket? The 2021 Season has been by far one of the most surprising for the League. However, there are still some stand-out teams that we can look towards.
Here’s our full “Perfect Bracket” Pickems for the OWL Playoffs.
Our perfect Overwatch League Pick’em bracket
The first is likely to be Shanghai Dragons for most people. Shanghai has performed great this season, winning the June Joust and Summer Showdown, along with coming second in the May Melee. The team has definitely been the one to watch and they’re probably the safest bet for this season.
Given how 2021 has gone so far though, what good is safe? If you’re looking at a more outside pick, Gladiators have had a strange end to 2021. They won the last Cup after an uninspiring season, if they can keep this form up then they stand a real chance. Dallas Fuel has similarly carved themselves out as a breakout team this season, and they’re a good one to watch too.
The Overwatch League 2021 finals look to be a wide-open competition, so keep an eye out for the games over September.
