2018 Overwatch League playoffs
The 2018 Overwatch League playoffs began on July 11, after the 2018 Overwatch League regular season ended, and concluded on July 28 with the 2018 Grand Finals, the first championship match of the Overwatch League (OWL). Six teams competed in the OWL Playoffs.
 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Game | Overwatch |
| Dates | July 11–July 28 |
| Administrator(s) | Activision-Blizzard |
| Teams | 6 |
| Purse | $1,700,000 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 12 |
| Grand Finals | |
| Location | Brooklyn, New York |
| Venue | Barclays Center |
| Champion | London Spitfire |
| Runner-up | Philadelphia Fusion |
| Finals MVP | Park "Profit" Jun-young |
The winner of each round of the Playoffs was determined by a best-of-three match series, with match determined by best-of-five maps. The Quarterfinals had the third-seeded team playing the sixth-seeded team, while the fourth-seeded team played the fifth-seeded team. In the Semifinals, the top-seed team played the lowest remaining seed, while the second-seeded team played the next-lowest. The winners advanced to the Grand Finals, which took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on July 27–28.[1][2][3]
London Spitfire defeated Philadelphia Fusion in the Grand Finals to become the first Overwatch League Champions.
Map pool and rotation
The postseason map pool consisted of eight maps, with a ninth map as the tie-breaking map (if necessary), and was decided by a lottery system on June 19.[4]
| Map 1 | Map 2 | Map 3 | Map 4 | Map 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Escort | Control | Assault | Hybrid | Control |
| Pool | Eichenwalde | Hanamura | Lijiang Tower | Dorado | Nepal |
| King's Row | Volskaya Industries | Oasis | Junkertown |
Participants
Six teams qualified for the Season Playoffs based on their season overall records. The two division leaders were awarded the top two seeds, and the following top four teams, regardless of division, were awarded seeds three through six.[1]
| Seed | Team | Division | Record | MR | MD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York Excelsior | ATL | 34–6 | 126–43–4 | +83 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Valiant | PAC | 27–13 | 100–64–7 | +36 |
| 3 | Boston Uprising | ATL | 26–14 | 99–71–3 | +28 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Gladiators | PAC | 25–15 | 96–72–3 | +24 |
| 5 | London Spitfire | ATL | 24–16 | 102–69–3 | +33 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Fusion | ATL | 24–16 | 93–80–2 | +13 |
Bracket
| Quarterfinals July 11–14, 2018 |
Semifinals July 18–21, 2018 |
Grand Finals July 27–28, 2018 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Boston Uprising | 1 | 1 | New York Excelsior | 0 | ||||||||
| 6 | Philadelphia Fusion | 2 | 6 | Philadelphia Fusion | 2 | ||||||||
| 5 | London Spitfire | 2 | |||||||||||
| 6 | Philadelphia Fusion | 0 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Los Angeles Gladiators | 1 | 2 | Los Angeles Valiant | 0 | ||||||||
| 5 | London Spitfire | 2 | 5 | London Spitfire | 2 | ||||||||
Quarterfinals
(3) Boston Uprising vs. (6) Philadelphia Fusion
The Fusion pulled off a 2–1 victory in their first match against the Uprising, who had been high in the standings early in the regular season but had lost momentum in the latter half. Fusion used a tank-heavy roster, including Reinhardt played by Sado, which forced the Uprising to move away from their sniper-based strategy. Fusion's Eqo and Carpe also showed skill across several heroes to help with the victory.[5]
| Quarterfinals Match 1 | July 11 | Philadelphia Fusion | 3 | – | 1 | Boston Uprising | Burbank, CA | |
| 5:00 pm PST | Details | Blizzard Arena | ||||||
| 3 | Dorado | 1 | ||||||
| 1 | Oasis | 2 | ||||||
| 5 | Eichenwalde | 4 | ||||||
| 2 | Volskaya Industries | 0 | ||||||
| Quarterfinals Match 2 | July 13 | Philadelphia Fusion | 1 | – | 3 | Boston Uprising | Burbank, CA | |
| 5:00 pm PST | Details | Blizzard Arena | ||||||
| 4 | Junkertown | 5 | ||||||
| 0 | Lijang Tower | 2 | ||||||
| 3 | King's Row | 2 | ||||||
| 2 | Hanamura | 3 | ||||||
| Quarterfinals Match 3 | July 13 | Philadelphia Fusion | 3 | – | 1 | Boston Uprising | Burbank, CA | |
| 7:00 pm PST | Details | Blizzard Arena | ||||||
| 2 | Junkertown | 3 | ||||||
| 2 | Lijang Tower | 0 | ||||||
| 3 | Eichenwalde | 1 | ||||||
| 2 | Hanamura | 1 | ||||||
| Philadelphia won series 2–1 |
(4) Los Angeles Gladiators vs. (5) London Spitfire
The Spitfire had been underdogs in their match against the Gladiators, having never won a regular season match against them. The Gladiators took the first match, 3-0, including a trick play that involved Surefour staying in the spawn room as a different hero until well into the match before changing to his regular Widowmaker hero and readily picking off the open Spitfire players. The Spitfire responded in the following matches with adaptive changes in their team composition that prevented the Gladiators from maintaining their defense lines.[5] Notably, the Gladiators chose to bench their primary main tank player Fissure, who came second place for Season MVP, for the playoffs, opting instead to replace him with the team's other main tank player, iRemiix.[6] The official reason given for this decision was that "the Gladiators believe that the most effective practice and preparation is necessary in order to perform well in playoffs."[6]
| Quarterfinals Match 1 | July 11 | London Spitfire | 0 | – | 3 | Los Angeles Gladiators | Burbank, CA | |
| 7:00 pm PST | Details | Blizzard Arena | ||||||
| 2 | Junkertown | 3 | ||||||
| 1 | Lijang Tower | 2 | ||||||
| 1 | King's Row | 2 | ||||||
| Quarterfinals Match 2 | July 14 | London Spitfire | 3 | – | 0 | Los Angeles Gladiators | Burbank, CA | |
| 1:00 pm PST | Details | Blizzard Arena | ||||||
| 2 | Dorado | 1 | ||||||
| 2 | Oasis | 0 | ||||||
| 3 | Eichenwalde | 0 | ||||||
| Quarterfinals Match 3 | July 14 | London Spitfire | 3 | – | 0 | Los Angeles Gladiators | Burbank, CA | |
| 2:50 pm PST | Details | Blizzard Arena | ||||||
| 3 | Junkertown | 2 | ||||||
| 2 | Lijang Tower | 0 | ||||||
| 5 | King's Row | 4 | ||||||
| London won series 2–1 |
Semifinals
After each quarterfinal series, the sixth-seeded Fusion, being the lowest seed of the two quarterfinals winners, faced the top-seeded Excelsior, whereas the fifth-seeded Spitfire played against the second-seeded Los Angeles Valiant. The semi-final saw upsets in both brackets with the lower-seed Fusion and Spitfire winning over the top seeds Excelsior and Valiant.
(1) New York Excelsior vs. (6) Philadelphia Fusion
Fusion had taken the first series 3–0 over Excelsior. While the second set ran for all five maps, Fusion won the series and the spot in the Grand Finals.[5]
| Semifinals Match 1 | July 18 | Philadelphia Fusion | 3 | – | 0 | New York Excelsior | Burbank, CA | |
| 5:00 pm PST | Details | Blizzard Arena | ||||||
| 3 | Dorado | 2 | ||||||
| 2 | Oasis | 1 | ||||||
| 3 | Eichenwalde | 1 | ||||||
| Semifinals Match 2 | July 21 | Philadelphia Fusion | 3 | – | 2 | New York Excelsior | Burbank, CA | |
| 4:00 pm PST | Details | Blizzard Arena | ||||||
| 3 | Junkertown | 2 | ||||||
| 1 | Lijang Tower | 2 | ||||||
| 3 | King's Row | 0 | ||||||
| 1 | Hanamura | 2 | ||||||
| 3 | Dorado | 2 | ||||||
| Philadelphia won series 2–0 |
(2) Los Angeles Valiant vs. (5) London Spitfire
The Spitfire had kept their traction from the victory over the Gladiators in the previous round, and took their spot in the finals after two matches, winning each 3–1 and 3–0.[5]
| Semifinals Match 1 | July 18 | London Spitfire | 3 | – | 1 | Los Angeles Valiant | Burbank, CA | |
| 6:45 pm PST | Details | Blizzard Arena | ||||||
| 3 | Junkertown | 1 | ||||||
| 2 | Lijang Tower | 1 | ||||||
| 0 | King's Row | 1 | ||||||
| 1 | Hanamura | 1 | ||||||
| 3 | Dorado | 2 | ||||||
| Semifinals Match 2 | July 20 | London Spitfire | 3 | – | 0 | Los Angeles Valiant | Burbank, CA | |
| 4:00 pm PST | Details | Blizzard Arena | ||||||
| 3 | Dorado | 2 | ||||||
| 2 | Oasis | 0 | ||||||
| 5 | Eichenwalde | 4 | ||||||
| London won series 2–0 |
Grand Finals
The London Spitfire defeated the Philadelphia Fusion in the Grand Finals series in 2 sets. The Spitfire's Jun-Young "Profit" Park was named the Grand Finals Most Valuable Player; Profit was observed to be a key offensive player in the series, in one match using Hanzo's ultimate ability to eliminate five of the six Fusion players.[7][8]
| Grand Finals Match 1 | July 27 | Philadelphia Fusion | 1 | – | 3 | London Spitfire | Brooklyn, NY | |
| 7:00 pm EST | Details | Barclays Center | ||||||
| 3 | Dorado | 2 | ||||||
| 0 | Oasis | 2 | ||||||
| 1 | Eichenwalde | 2 | ||||||
| 1 | Volskaya Industries | 2 | ||||||
| Grand Finals Match 2 | July 28 | Philadelphia Fusion | 0 | – | 3 | London Spitfire | Brooklyn, NY | |
| 4:00 pm EST | Details | Barclays Center | ||||||
| 2 | Junkertown | 3 | ||||||
| 0 | Lijang Tower | 2 | ||||||
| 3 | King's Row | 4 | ||||||
| London won series 2–0 |
Winnings
Teams in the Season Playoffs competed for a total prize pool of US$1.7 million , with the payout division detailed below.[9]
| Pos | Teams | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | London Spitfire | $1,000,000 |
| 2 | Philadelphia Fusion | $400,000 |
| 3 | New York Excelsior | $100,000 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Valiant | $100,000 |
| 5 | Boston Uprising | $50,000 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Gladiators | $50,000 |
Broadcast and viewership
On the first day of the season playoffs, Disney and Blizzard announced a multi-year partnership that would bring the league and other professional Overwatch competitive events to ESPN, Disney XD, and ABC, starting with the playoffs and throughout all of the following season.[10] The partnership marked the time that a live esports competition had aired on ESPN in prime time and the first time that an esports competition had aired on ABC.[11] Nielsen ratings for the Grand Finals include a 0.18 rating (approximately 218,000 households) for the Friday match airing on ESPN, while the recap of the series airing on ABC on the Sunday after the event had a 0.3 rating (approximately 359,000 households).[12] Blizzard estimated that over a million people were watching the Grand Finals at any time, between broadcast and streaming formats, with a total viewership of over 10.8 million.[13][14]
Telecast schedule
| Date | Time (EDT) | Event | Network(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed, July 11 | 8:00 p.m. | Day 1 of Quarterfinals | Disney XD, ESPN3 |
| Fri, July 13 | 8:00 p.m. | Day 2 of Quarterfinals | Disney XD, ESPN3 |
| Sat, July 14 | 4:00 p.m. | Day 3 of Quarterfinals | Disney XD, ESPN3 |
| Wed, July 18 | 8:00 p.m. | Day 1 of Semifinals | Disney XD, ESPN3 |
| Fri, July 20 | 7:00 p.m. | Day 2 of Semifinals | ESPNEWS |
| Sat, July 21 | 7:00 p.m. | Day 3 of Semifinals | ESPN2 |
| Fri, July 27 | 7:00 p.m. | Day 1 of Grand Finals | ESPN |
| Sat, July 28 | 4:30 p.m. | Day 2 of Grand Finals | Disney XD, ESPN3 |
| Sat, July 28 | 9:00 p.m. | Day 2 of Grand Finals | ESPN2 (re-air) |
| Sun, July 29 | 3:00 p.m. | Highlights Recap | ABC, ESPN3 |
References
- "Rules of Competition Summary 2018 Season" (PDF). The Overwatch League. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- Duggan, James (May 9, 2018). "Overwatch League Grand Finals To Be Held At New York's Barclays Center". IGN. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
- Goslin, Austin (May 9, 2018). "The first Overwatch League Grand Finals will be held in New York". Heroes Never Die. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
- Carpenter, Nicole (June 20, 2018). "Map pool decided for Overwatch League playoffs". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- Alanzo, Damien (July 23, 2018). "Huge upsets send underdog teams into the Overwatch League Grand Finals". PC Gamer. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- "Fissure will not be starting in tonight's playoff match against London Spitfire". Overwatch Wire. 2018-07-11. Archived from the original on 2018-07-24. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
- Kelion, Leo (July 30, 2018). "Overwatch League: London Spitfire triumph in first final". BBC. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- Waltzer, Noah (July 28, 2018). "London Spitfire wins inaugural Overwatch League title". ESPN. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- "Overwatch League - Season 1 Playoffs". Esports Earnings. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- "Overwatch League comes to ESPN, Disney and ABC". ESPN. July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- Crook, Jordan (July 11, 2018). "Overwatch League strikes a milestone deal with Disney and ESPN". Tech Crunch. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- Grayson, Nathan (July 30, 2018). "Overwatch League's TV Ratings Were Low, But It Doesn't Matter". Kotaku. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
- Feldman, Jacob (August 1, 2018). "What is the Future of the Overwatch League as a Media Property?". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
- Goslin, Austen (August 8, 2018). "Blizzard reports 10.8 million viewers for the Overwatch League Finals". Heroes Never Die. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
- "ESPN, Disney XC and Blizzard Entertainment Announce Multiyear Exclusive Telecast Agreement for Overwatch League™". Business Wire. July 11, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
