The 2021 season has culminated in the Overwatch League playoffs, which are using the original Overwatch game for the last time. Eight teams are fighting it out to find out who will win it all. Most importantly, we will see if the San Francisco Shock can achieve the three-peat and cement their Overwatch League dynasty.
The double-elimination format of these season playoffs means that each team has one game to lose and that’s it. Unlike last year, where the 2020 schedule format only let four teams face off against each other across their divisions, this time we have more games. That means more teams to see, more chances to win it all and more heartbreak. To help you catch up on everything happening, here are all the teams fighting in the 2021 Overwatch League playoffs.
Eight teams fighting for the top
The eight teams consist of five Western Division and three Eastern Division rosters, due to the size of the divisions. They are as follows:
- Washington Justice (West)
- Los Angeles Gladiators (West)
- Atlanta Reign (West)
- Philadelphia Fusion (East)
- Dallas Fuel (West)
- San Francisco Shock (West)
- Chengdu Hunters (East)
- Shanghai Dragons (East)
How to watch the 2021 Overwatch League playoffs
Like any double-elimination tournament, the first round of games will be the first chance to get ahead. Afterwards, the teams that lost have no more chances to fail, while the teams that win have to keep their form. Fans can catch all the matches on the Overwatch League channel.
What are the changes for the 2021 post-season?
Unlike two of the four regular-season tournaments, there are no hero bans for the finals playoffs. Every hero is available, including the return of Echo and Lucio to the pool. But, even in the recent play-ins, the meta has yet to be defined. There are plenty of possible compositions to run in this post-season, so there might be some big surprises on the horizon.
2021 Season Awards revealed
The season awards have been revealed, with the first reveal being the Rookie of the Year. No surprises here, Atlanta Reign star Oh “Pelican” Se-hyun was the favourite all year long and got it in the end. His outstanding Echo play helped put Atlanta in these playoffs, leading to this very deserved award. He joins the ranks of Kim “Haksal” Hyojong and Kim “Alarm” Kyeong-Bo, winning this award.
Congratulations to the #OWL2021 Rookie of the Year, @PELICAN_OW!
The competition was fierce this year – he was moreso 👑 pic.twitter.com/9owttDUCDO
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) September 21, 2021
Next up, the coach of the year award was revealed. With many candidates, Yun “RUSH” Hee-won of the Dallas Fuel ended up winning the award. With how new the Fuel roster was entering the 2021 season, their instant cooperation and run to the top of the league was outstanding. A deserved award for a top coach on a top team in 2021.
Behind every great team, there's a coach that's had to put up with random karaoke and players pushing for troll picks 😋
A well-deserved round of applause to #OWL2021 Coach of the Year @rush_coach! pic.twitter.com/wHDgLEXmpy
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) September 21, 2021
After that, the Dennis Hawelka award was revealed. This award was named after InternetHulk, a player who exemplified positivity and teamwork. This year’s award winner is MVP candidate Kim “SP9RK1E” Yeong-han. Known for his hyper attitude and top-tier plays, his team mentioned his more supportive side during the playoffs when he received this award.
It's hard not to smile when @sp9rk1e_OW takes to the stage. Your #OWL2021 Dennis Hawelka award winner is here!
🏅https://t.co/EfpfVeCb3c pic.twitter.com/OtkI0xemf3
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) September 22, 2021
The last award for the day was the MVP, and it was a tough discussion. So many players had a good chance to win, but it ended up someone from the Eastern Division. The 2021 Overwatch League MVP is Huang “leave” Xin, from the Chengdu Hunters. When it comes to a player who was most important to their team, Leave was a standout. After almost crying while lifting up the award, it’s hard to argue that he deserved this award.
Drumrolls, please. It's finally time 🥁
Your #OWL2021 MVP is… quite possibly to little surprise given the magnitude of his feats… @ChengduHunters' Leave!
🥇 https://t.co/sZBepbU3wd pic.twitter.com/bhKAExzaDM
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) September 22, 2021
Role stars revealed
On the last day before the Grand Finals, the league revealed the annual role stars awards, given to players across the league for their skills. With the individual awards above only having one recipient, these are divided among players across the league as long as they are the best in their roles. The 2021 class of role stars include:
- Kim “Shu” Jin-seo (Los Angeles Gladiators, Support)
- Lee “LeeJaeGon” Jae-gon (Shanghai Dragons, Support)
- Kim “IZaYaKI” Min-chul (Shanghai Dragons, Support)
- Kwon “Fielder” Joon (Dallas Fuel, Support)
- Lee “Fearless” Eui-Seok (Dallas Fuel, Tank)
- Choi “Hanbin” Han-been (Dallas Fuel, Tank)
- Kang “Void” Jun-woo (Shanghai Dragons, Tank)
- Indy “SPACE” Halpern (Los Angeles Gladiators, Tank)
- Huang “leave” Xin (Chengdu Hunters, DPS)
- Lee “LIP” Jae-won (Shanghai Dragons, DPS)
- Kim “SP9RK1E” Yeong-han (Dallas Fuel, DPS)
- Kevin “kevster” Persson (Los Angeles Gladiators, DPS)
