Earlier today, The Overwatch League announced details regarding the format of its 2020 postseason and upcoming Grand Finals. You can watch the official announcement video below.
According to the announcement, all 20 teams will have the opportunity to qualify for the postseason. Matches will be held online and will again be split between two divisions, with 13 teams playing in North America, and seven in Asia. Seeds and byes will be determined by regular-season standings and teams’ performances in three tournaments: the May Melee, the Summer Showdown, and the Countdown Cup,
The Countdown Cup begins this Saturday at 5 am AEST and over a three-week span, all 20 teams will play qualifier matches: three per team in the Asia region and four in North America. You can check out the schedule here to see when your favourite team is playing.
Following this, postseason play begins on 4 September (AEST) with single-elimination play-in matches between the lowest seeds in the North America and Asia brackets. There’s a total of US $4 million at stake in the playoffs and double-elimination play will start that weekend on 6 September between teams that win their play-in match. The remaining lower seeds will then compete with higher seeds in double-elimination tournaments in North America and Asia the following week. Champions of the winners’ and losers’ brackets in each region will advance to a final four Grand Finals tournament.
Those final four teams will compete in a double-elimination bracket, with two teams advancing to the Grand Finals to compete for the league championship. In order to have all four teams compete on the same server, the two North American teams will travel to Asia. Before the four finalists can face-off, Overwatch League teams will take a few weeks off for health and safety needs and to account for travel logistics.
You can watch The Overwatch League on YouTube Gaming right here.
