Overwatch League 2019 Playoffs

The second season of the Overwatch League began on February 14, 2019 and will end on September 29th 2019. With the Overwatch league expansion from 12 to 20 teams, some changes were made for the season in regards to the Overwatch Playoffs 2019.

The OWL Playoffs were a staple piece of the Overwatch League from the beginning of the franchised system. The second season sees minor changes to the format by increasing the number of teams participating in the Stage Playoffs from six to eight. Three stage playoffs are played after each of the three stages with the Post-Season Playoffs and Grand Final happening after the 4th and final stage. The two division leaders in each stage qualify directly to the Stage Playoffs, along with the next six teams in the stage standings regardless of division.
In case of a tiebreaker the rules are broken down as follows:

  • Map differential
  • Head-to-head map record
  • Head-to-head match record

If a tie persists, and breaking the tie is necessary to determine invitations to the Stage Playoffs or Postseason Playoffs, the teams will play a tiebreaker match consistent with Regular Season match rules.

Overwatch League Playoffs 2019 – Watch the live action

Prize Pool

The Overwatch League Playoffs 2019 have a total prize pool of $5 million (up from $3.5 million) split among the Stage and Season playoffs. The prize fund is broken down in the following way:

Stages 1, 2 and 3 Playoffs have a total prize pool of $1,5 million ($500K per Stage)

The winner of each Stage awarded $200K, while the runner-up earns $100K. Third and fourth place finishers earn $50K each while the remaining teams earn $25K each.
The remaining bulk of the $5 million prize pool is reserved for the Season Playoffs. The OWL 2019 Season Champion earns $1.1 million while the runner-up has to “settle” with $600K. The 3rd and 4th place finishers get $450K and $350K respectively. 5th and 6th place finishers earn $300K and the last two competitors earn $200k each.

OWL 2019 Stage Playoffs

Stage 1 Playoffs

The stage one playoffs were held between March 21st – March 24th, 2019. The eight participating teams after the First Stage of the 2019 Season were: Vancouver Titans, New York Excelsior, Toronto Defiant, Philadelphia Fusion, Atlanta Reign, San Francisco Shock, Seoul Dynasty, Boston Uprising.

overwatch-league-playoffs-stage-one

The Vancouver Titans secured the stage victory without dropping a single match in their first season in the OWL. The team also set the tone for the entire 2019 Regular Season and managed to set an unprecedented record in the following weeks with 19 consecutive wins.

Stage 2 Playoffs

Stage 2 was marked by the continued domination of the Vancouver Titans closely trailed by the San Francisco Shock. The Playoffs were held between May 9th – May 12th, 2019.

In a repeat of the Stage 1 Playoff finals, The San Francisco Shock managed to finally overcome the Vancouver Titans and secure the victory.

Stage 3 Playoffs

The Stage 3 Playoffs will be held between July 11th – July 14th, 2019.

overwatch-league-playoffs-2019-stage-3

Postseason Playoffs

The Postseason Playoffs will be held after the completion of Stage 4 in late August, 2019. The division leaders of the Atlantic and Pacific division along with four teams that have the best standings from the entire season will get a direct slot in the Playoffs. Teams ranked 7th through 12th will play a gauntlet style tournament to secure the final two spots.
The seasons finals will be held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 29, 2019.

The 2019 Grand Finals will be livestreamed on Twitch and broadcast in the U.S. on the ABC network at 3 p.m. EDT.