Overwatch League Playoffs 2020 – Format, Schedule, Prize Pool

The Overwatch League Playoffs 2020 Round 1 has just been announced. The Regular has officially concluded, but fans can still look forward to the main event as teams compete to be the champion of the season. The OWL Playoffs are a month-long event to determine which teams take home the trophy and grand prize. The Summer Games were fun, but it’s the season finale that really shows which team is the best out there.

The Overwatch League hasn’t had the easiest season. Teams have had to adjust to the coronavirus and its implications for live Esports. Along with this though, they’ve had hero pools introduced to the game, really shaking up the dynamic for each event. Even the best Overwatch players have had to work around this. It has been a strange season, and further roster rule changes are due in the 2021 Season. Despite all the ups and downs though, for a lot of teams, the whole season could be salvaged from a good showing in the playoffs.

© Overwatch League

How Do the Overwatch League Playoffs 2020 Work?

For the Playoffs, all 20 teams are going into bracket, with seeding determined by how they placed in the regular season. Teams who have placed higher will have a higher seed and much easier time competing.

The lower seeds are going to have to compete in a lengthy single-elimination tournament. After which, a few of the lower-ranking teams might be able to pull their way back into the main competition. They’ll have to face the top teams along the way though. The top five seeds from North America, along with the top two from Asia, will progress to the actual playoffs.

The Overwatch League Play-Offs in 2020 is due to begin in the next weeks and will run for a solid month. At the final, they’ll be a two-week break before the top four squads take part. Despite the current restrictions, this event will be a LAN environment with the teams in the same place.

The final four teams are due to compete in another elimination bracket. The team that comes out ahead will be the champion of the grand finals in Overwatch. For this Season. The prize pool for the Overwatch League Playoffs 2020 is sizable too, this is how it shapes up:

• League Champion – $1,500,000
• Runner-Up – $750,000
• Third Place – $450,000
• Fourth Place – $350,000
• Third Place In Each Region – $250,000
• Teams That Reach Double Elimination Rounds – $75,000

Who is Playing When?

Which team plays when in the Overwatch League playoffs 2020 is determined by their current standings in the league. The higher seed teams will wait until the results of the early matches before they chose who their opponents will be. The opening matches are:

• Uprising vs Outlaws
• Justice vs Titans

In the following round, winners of those games will face Fuel, Reign, and Gladiators before progressing further up the bracket. In Asia, Hunters and Spitfire are going to be competing in the first match before the same system of high-placed teams picking opponents kicks in.

The Overwatch League Playoffs in 2020 is an exciting tournament. With so much upheaval over the course of the season, some teams might be hoping the elimination bracket gives them a way to make up for lost ground.

While the same high tier teams will be the ones to watch if you’re looking at Overwatch betting, the set-up does make things interesting. You can watch all of the action live on YouTube from the Overwatch League channel.

Read next: Blizzard is making changes to the 2021 OWL Roster Rules