2020 Overwatch League season

Sports season

2020 Overwatch League season

League| Overwatch League
Sport| Overwatch
Duration| February 8 – August 23
September 3 – October 10
(Playoffs)
Number of matches| 21
Number of teams| 20
TV partner(s)|

* Major League Gaming
* YouTube

Regular season
Top seed| Shanghai Dragons (A)
Philadelphia Fusion (NA)
Season MVP| Kim "Fleta" Byung-sun
Midseason tournament champions
May Melee| Shanghai Dragons (A)
San Francisco Shock (NA)
Summer Showdown| Guangzhou Charge (A)
Paris Eternal (NA)
Countdown Cup| Shanghai Dragons (A)
San Francisco Shock (NA)
Grand Finals
Venue| Online
Champions| San Francisco Shock
Runners-up| Seoul Dynasty
Finals MVP| Kwon "Striker" Nam-joo
Overwatch League seasons

← 2019

2021 →

The 2020 Overwatch League season is the third season of the Overwatch League (OWL), a professional esports league for the video game Overwatch. The regular season began on February 8, 2020, and concluded on August 23. It was the first season that the league implemented a city-based, home-and-away format, with teams traveling between the global home venues to play regular season matches, making the OWL the first major esports league to feature such a format. However, this format was abandoned on March 31 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and all matches were thereafter played online, with the league introducing three midseason tournaments.

An expanded 20-team postseason began on September 3. The Grand Finals bracket began on October 8, with the Grand Finals occurring on October 10. The San Francisco Shock won the Grand Finals over the Seoul Dynasty to win their second straight OWL championship.

## League changes announced prior to season

[edit]

### Schedule

[edit]

Prior to the 2020 season, the majority of all OWL matches took place at Blizzard Arena in Burbank, California. In the 2019 season, three homestand weekends took place – the Dallas Fuel Homestand Weekend hosted by the Dallas Fuel, the Atlanta Reign Homestand Weekend hosted by the Atlanta Reign, and the Kit Kat Rivalry Weekend hosted by the Los Angeles Valiant – in efforts to test how a completely localized match schedule would work. For the 2020 season, the league adopted a "homestand" model. Every team was to host two to five homestands throughout the season. Each team would still play 28 matches and would be responsible for the selection and operation of their respective home venues.[1] In addition to homestands, every team would have been required to host at least three team events for the community in their respective home cities.[2] The season marked the first time that a major esports league featured a city-based, home-and-away format.[3]

In the 2018 and 2019 seasons, the Overwatch League equally divided teams into two divisions – the Atlantic and Pacific. With the large amount of travelling that was to take place in the homestand model, the Atlantic and Pacific Divisions were renamed to the Atlantic and Pacific Conferences, and each conference was equally subdivided into two divisions, the Pacific East and West Divisions and the Atlantic North and South Divisions. The smaller divisions were implemented in efforts to reduce the amount of time and money spent on travel.[4]

With the large amount of localized play and travel, the season was no longer split into four stages. Instead, a midseason tournament was to be held at the same time as the All-Star Weekend. The tournament would have featured the Atlantic and Pacific Conference leaders as well as the next best two teams, regardless of conference, based on the regular season standings through Week 10.[5]

### Rules

[edit]

In the prior seasons, the winner of each match was determined by a best-of-four map series, with a fifth tiebreaker map, if necessary. The league announced at BlizzCon that match winners would be determined by a first-to-three map series, similar to that of the 2019 playoffs. Activision Blizzard senior director of product strategy and business operations Jon Spector noted that due to the elimination of Stage Playoffs, map differential would be less important, as it is not very likely that many teams would have the same regular season record heading into the playoffs. Every match still begins with a control map followed by a rotation between assault, escort, and hybrid maps. Similar to previous seasons, should a match still be tied after four maps, a fifth tiebreaker map will be played on a control map.[5]

After the announcement of hero pools in Overwatch for the competitive season starting in February 2020, the league announced that it would adopt the hero pool system beginning in the fourth week of play in March in effort to prevent stagnant metas. Each week, the league randomly selects one tank, two damage, and one support hero from a list of the most played heroes in the OWL from the previous two weeks of play; these heroes are then considered "banned" and cannot be selected during that week. Banned heroes cannot be banned in the immediately-following week.[6][7] The hero pool system is only used in the regular season, and will not be enforced during the midseason tournament, the play-in tournament, and the playoffs.[8]

### Prize pool

[edit]

The total prize pool remained unchanged at US$5,000,000, although the allocation changed due to the discontinuation of Stage Playoffs. The Midseason Tournament champions will win $500,000, the runners-up will win $250,000, and the third and fourth place teams will earn $150,000. The All-Star event will have a prize pool for the first time, with a total pool of $250,000. For the postseason earnings, the Grand Champion team will earn $1.5 million (up from $1.1 million), second place will earn $800,000 (up from $600,000), third place will earn $500,000 (up from $450,000), fourth place will earn $300,000 (down from $350,000), fifth and sixth place will earn $200,000 (down from $300,000), and seventh and eighth place will earn $100,000 (down from $200,000).[9]

### Broadcasting

[edit]

Shoutcasters Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles and Erik "DoA" Lonnquist and hosts Malik Forte and Chris Puckett (left to right) left the broadcast team prior to the season.

Prior to the start of the season, several of the shoutcasters for the League, including Malik Forté, Auguste "Semmler" Massonnat, Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles, Erik "DoA" Lonnquist, and Chris Puckett, left for various reasons ranging from dissatisfaction with their salaries to concerns over the new management of the league following Nate Nanzer's departure as league commissioner in 2019.[10]

YouTube has replaced Twitch as exclusive broadcaster of the league, as part of a deal covering all Activision Blizzard esports events. The company also announced a deal to make Google Cloud Platform the preferred infrastructure provider for its game servers.[11]

## Rule and schedule changes due to COVID-19

[edit]

### Homestand events

[edit]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Blizzard cancelled all four homestand events planned in China in February and March 2020. Four of the teams in the league are based in China, where travel restrictions and quarantines from the outbreak were enacted; the restrictions affected teams that were traveling to China to play matches there. Two of the Chinese teams, Guangzhou Charge and Shanghai Dragons, announced the relocation of their teams to South Korea, while the Chengdu Hunters remained in China.[12][13] The cancelled matches were originally planned to be rescheduled in Seoul, South Korea during two weekends in March, with some matches being played during Seoul Dynasty's homestand event the same month.[14] However, Blizzard later cancelled all South Korean events in March 2020, including the Dynasty homestand, over concerns of the outbreak.[15] In March, French Health Minister Olivier Véran announced that all public gatherings of more than 1,000 people were banned in the country until April 15; the ban effectively cancelled the Paris Eternal homestand event that was scheduled to be held April 11–12.[16] After the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 virus a global pandemic on March 11, the Overwatch League announced that it would be cancelling all remaining scheduled live events in March and April.[17]

### Regions

[edit]

For the March and April matches, the league abandoned the Atlantic and Pacific conferences and instead divided teams into three groups based on geography – Atlantic, Pacific, and China – where teams would only play intra-regionally in an effort to reduce latency.[18] Due to the inequity of the number of games played by each team, the All-Star Weekend was moved to the postseason, while the Midseason Tournament was canceled altogether.[19] On March 31, the Overwatch League announced that they were abandoning the Homestand model entirely in favor of moving matches for the remainder of the season online.[20]

### Midseason tournaments

[edit]

On April 26, the league introduced the league announced a new tournament structure for the month of May called the May Melee. The league divided the 20 teams into two geographical regions, 13 in North America and 7 in Asia, where teams would only play interregionally. After three weeks of play, the top teams from each region played in their respective regional tournament. Teams earned $5000 for each win in the tournaments (with receiving a bye counting as a win) and earned a bonus win towards their regular season standings for each win after, and including, the quarterfinals. There were no hero pools for the tournaments, and winners were determined by which team won three maps, except for the finals, which were determined by which team won four maps.[21] Following the conclusion of the May Melee, the league announced two more tournaments with the same ruleset for the months of June and July – the Summer Showdown and the Countdown Cup, respectively.[22]

### Season playoffs

[edit]

On July 15, the league announced its playoff format for the season. All 20 teams played in the postseason, with teams divided by the same two regions as the three midseason tournaments. The lowest seeds played in regional play-in tournaments. Twelve total teams qualified for the season playoffs split into two regional brackets. In the North America region, eight teams qualified for the North America Bracket, and in the Asia region, four teams qualified for the Asia Bracket.[23] Each playoff bracket is a double-elimination tournament. However, the winners of the upper and lower finals in each respective bracket did not face each other. Instead, they qualified for the Grand Finals bracket – another double-elimination tournament. The winners of the upper and lower bracket in the Grand Finals bracket will play in the Grand Finals match.[24]

## Regular season

[edit]

North America
| Pos | Con | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | BW | L | PCT | MW | ML | MT | MD | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | ATL  | Philadelphia Fusion | 21  | 19  | 5  | 2  | 0.905  | 59  | 19  | 0  | +40  | Advance to playoffs
2  | PAC  | San Francisco Shock | 21  | 18  | 7  | 3  | 0.857  | 56  | 17  | 2  | +39
3  | ATL  | Paris Eternal | 21  | 15  | 4  | 6  | 0.714  | 50  | 31  | 0  | +19
4  | ATL  | Florida Mayhem | 21  | 14  | 3  | 7  | 0.667  | 48  | 30  | 0  | +18
5  | PAC  | Los Angeles Valiant | 21  | 11  | 1  | 10  | 0.524  | 41  | 41  | 0  | 0
6  | PAC  | Los Angeles Gladiators | 21  | 11  | 0  | 10  | 0.524  | 43  | 39  | 5  | +4  | Advance to play-ins
7  | ATL  | Atlanta Reign | 21  | 10  | 0  | 11  | 0.476  | 43  | 35  | 0  | +8
8  | PAC  | Dallas Fuel | 21  | 9  | 0  | 12  | 0.429  | 35  | 44  | 0  | −9
9  | ATL  | Toronto Defiant | 21  | 7  | 1  | 14  | 0.333  | 32  | 48  | 0  | −16
10  | ATL  | Houston Outlaws | 21  | 6  | 0  | 15  | 0.286  | 32  | 50  | 3  | −18
11  | PAC  | Vancouver Titans | 21  | 6  | 0  | 15  | 0.286  | 23  | 48  | 0  | −25
12  | ATL  | Washington Justice | 21  | 4  | 0  | 17  | 0.190  | 21  | 54  | 1  | −33
13  | ATL  | Boston Uprising | 21  | 2  | 0  | 19  | 0.095  | 14  | 61  | 4  | −47

Source: The Overwatch League
Rules for classification: 1) Wins plus bonus wins 2) winning percentage (excluding bonus wins); 3) map differential; 4) head-to-head record; 5) head-to-head map differential

Asia
| Pos | Con | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | BW | L | PCT | MW | ML | MT | MD | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | PAC  | Shanghai Dragons | 21  | 19  | 8  | 2  | 0.905  | 59  | 15  | 1  | +44  | Advance to playoffs
2  | PAC  | Guangzhou Charge | 21  | 14  | 4  | 7  | 0.667  | 44  | 39  | 1  | +5
3  | ATL  | New York Excelsior | 21  | 13  | 3  | 8  | 0.619  | 50  | 30  | 2  | +20  | Advance to play-ins
4  | PAC  | Hangzhou Spark | 21  | 10  | 2  | 11  | 0.476  | 36  | 40  | 2  | −4
5  | PAC  | Seoul Dynasty | 21  | 9  | 3  | 12  | 0.429  | 33  | 40  | 2  | −7
6  | PAC  | Chengdu Hunters | 21  | 7  | 1  | 14  | 0.333  | 33  | 47  | 1  | −14
7  | ATL  | London Spitfire | 21  | 6  | 0  | 15  | 0.286  | 27  | 51  | 0  | −24

Source: The Overwatch League
Rules for classification: 1) Wins plus bonus wins 2) winning percentage (excluding bonus wins); 3) map differential; 4) head-to-head record; 5) head-to-head map differential

### May Melee

[edit]

#### Qualifiers

[edit]

North America
| Pos | Con | Team  | Pld | W | L | PCT | MW | ML | MT | MD | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | PAC  | San Francisco Shock | 3  | 3  | 0  | 1.00  | 9  | 1  | 1  | +8  | Advance to quarterfinals
2  | ATL  | Florida Mayhem | 3  | 3  | 0  | 1.00  | 9  | 1  | 0  | +8
3  | ATL  | Philadelphia Fusion | 3  | 3  | 0  | 1.00  | 9  | 3  | 0  | +6
4  | PAC  | Los Angeles Valiant | 3  | 3  | 0  | 1.00  | 9  | 4  | 0  | +5
5  | ATL  | Paris Eternal | 3  | 2  | 1  | 0.67  | 8  | 4  | 0  | +4  | Advance to knockouts
6  | ATL  | Atlanta Reign | 3  | 1  | 2  | 0.33  | 5  | 6  | 0  | −1
7  | PAC  | Los Angeles Gladiators | 3  | 1  | 2  | 0.33  | 6  | 7  | 1  | −1
8  | PAC  | Dallas Fuel | 3  | 1  | 2  | 0.33  | 4  | 6  | 0  | −2
9  | ATL  | Houston Outlaws | 3  | 1  | 2  | 0.33  | 3  | 6  | 1  | −3
10  | ATL  | Washington Justice | 3  | 1  | 2  | 0.33  | 4  | 7  | 0  | −3
11  | ATL  | Boston Uprising | 3  | 1  | 2  | 0.33  | 3  | 8  | 1  | −5
12  | ATL  | Toronto Defiant | 3  | 0  | 3  | 0.00  | 4  | 9  | 0  | −5  | Advance to qualifying match
13  | PAC  | Vancouver Titans | 3  | 0  | 3  | 0.00  | 1  | 9  | 0  | −8

Source: The Overwatch League
Rules for classification: 1) winning percentage; 2) map differential; 3) head-to-head record; 4) head-to-head map differential

Asia
| Pos | Con | Team  | Pld | W | L | PCT | MW | ML | MT | MD | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | PAC  | Guangzhou Charge | 4  | 4  | 0  | 1.00  | 12  | 4  | 0  | +8  | Advance to semifinals
2  | PAC  | Shanghai Dragons | 4  | 3  | 1  | 0.75  | 11  | 5  | 0  | +6  | Advance to quarterfinals
3  | ATL  | New York Excelsior | 4  | 2  | 2  | 0.50  | 9  | 8  | 1  | +1
4  | PAC  | Hangzhou Spark | 4  | 2  | 2  | 0.50  | 7  | 6  | 0  | +1
5  | PAC  | Chengdu Hunters | 4  | 1  | 3  | 0.25  | 6  | 9  | 1  | −3
6  | ATL  | London Spitfire | 4  | 1  | 3  | 0.25  | 4  | 9  | 0  | −5
7  | PAC  | Seoul Dynasty | 4  | 1  | 3  | 0.25  | 3  | 11  | 0  | −8

Source: The Overwatch League
Rules for classification: 1) winning percentage; 2) map differential; 3) head-to-head record; 4) head-to-head map differential

#### Knockouts

[edit]

North America
| | Knockouts | | | Quarterfinals | | | Semifinals | | | Final |

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 1 | San Francisco Shock | 3 | | |
| 5 | Paris Eternal | 3 | | | 8 | Dallas Fuel | 1 |
| 11 | Boston Uprising | 2 | | | | | | 1 | San Francisco Shock | 3 |
| | | | | | 4 | Los Angeles Valiant | 0 |
| | | | 4 | Los Angeles Valiant | 3 | | | |
| 6 | Atlanta Reign | 3 | | | 5 | Paris Eternal | 2 |
| 12 | Toronto Defiant | 0 | | | | 1 | San Francisco Shock | 4 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Florida Mayhem | 2 |
| | | | 3 | Philadelphia Fusion | 3 | | | |
| 7 | Los Angeles Gladiators | 3 | | | 7 | Los Angeles Gladiators | 1 |
| 10 | Washington Justice | 0 | | | | | | 3 | Philadelphia Fusion | 1 |
| | | | | | 2 | Florida Mayhem | 3 |
| | | | 2 | Florida Mayhem | 3 | |
| 8 | Dallas Fuel | 3 | | | 6 | Atlanta Reign | 1 |
| 9 | Houston Outlaws | 1 | |

Asia
| | Quarterfinals | | | Semifinals | | | Final |

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

|  |  |  | | |  |  |  | | |  |  |  |
| | | | 1 | Guangzhou Charge | 2 | |
|  |
| | | 7 | Seoul Dynasty | 3 |
| 4 | Hangzhou Spark | 0 |

| 7 | Seoul Dynasty | 3 |
| | 7 | Seoul Dynasty | 3 |
|  |
| | | 2 | Shanghai Dragons | 4 |
| 3 | New York Excelsior | 3 | |

| 5 | Chengdu Hunters | 2 |
| | 3 | New York Excelsior | 0 |
|  |
| | | 2 | Shanghai Dragons | 3 |
| 2 | Shanghai Dragons | 3 |

| 6 | London Spitfire | 2 |

### Summer Showdown

[edit]

#### Qualifiers

[edit]

North America
| Pos | Con | Team  | Pld | W | L | PCT | MW | ML | MT | MD | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | PAC  | San Francisco Shock | 3  | 3  | 0  | 1.00  | 9  | 0  | 0  | +9  | Advance to quarterfinals
2  | ATL  | Atlanta Reign | 3  | 2  | 1  | 0.67  | 7  | 3  | 0  | +4
3  | ATL  | Philadelphia Fusion | 3  | 2  | 1  | 0.67  | 6  | 3  | 0  | +3
4  | PAC  | Vancouver Titans | 3  | 2  | 1  | 0.67  | 6  | 3  | 0  | +3
5  | PAC  | Los Angeles Valiant | 3  | 2  | 1  | 0.67  | 7  | 4  | 0  | +3  | Advance to knockouts
6  | PAC  | Los Angeles Gladiators | 3  | 2  | 1  | 0.67  | 7  | 5  | 1  | +2
7  | ATL  | Florida Mayhem | 3  | 2  | 1  | 0.67  | 7  | 6  | 0  | +1
8  | ATL  | Paris Eternal | 3  | 2  | 1  | 0.67  | 6  | 6  | 0  | 0
9  | PAC  | Dallas Fuel | 3  | 1  | 2  | 0.33  | 4  | 6  | 0  | −2
10  | ATL  | Houston Outlaws | 3  | 1  | 2  | 0.33  | 5  | 7  | 0  | −2
11  | ATL  | Toronto Defiant | 3  | 1  | 2  | 0.33  | 3  | 6  | 0  | −3
12  | ATL  | Boston Uprising | 3  | 0  | 3  | 0.00  | 2  | 9  | 0  | −7  | Advance to qualifying match
13  | ATL  | Washington Justice | 3  | 0  | 3  | 0.00  | 1  | 9  | 1  | −8

Source: The Overwatch League
Rules for classification: 1) winning percentage; 2) map differential; 3) head-to-head record; 4) head-to-head map differential

Asia
| Pos | Con | Team  | Pld | W | L | PCT | MW | ML | MT | MD | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | PAC  | Shanghai Dragons | 4  | 4  | 0  | 1.00  | 12  | 3  | 0  | +9  | Advance to semifinals
2  | PAC  | Guangzhou Charge | 4  | 4  | 0  | 1.00  | 12  | 7  | 0  | +5  | Advance to quarterfinals
3  | ATL  | New York Excelsior | 4  | 2  | 2  | 0.50  | 10  | 7  | 1  | +3
4  | ATL  | London Spitfire | 4  | 2  | 2  | 0.50  | 7  | 6  | 0  | +1
5  | PAC  | Seoul Dynasty | 4  | 1  | 3  | 0.25  | 6  | 9  | 0  | −3
6  | PAC  | Hangzhou Spark | 4  | 1  | 3  | 0.25  | 5  | 12  | 1  | −7
7  | PAC  | Chengdu Hunters | 4  | 0  | 4  | 0.00  | 3  | 12  | 0  | −9

Source: The Overwatch League
Rules for classification: 1) winning percentage; 2) map differential; 3) head-to-head record; 4) head-to-head map differential

#### Knockouts

[edit]

North America
| | Knockouts | | | Quarterfinals | | | Semifinals | | | Final |

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 1 | San Francisco Shock | 3 | | |
| 5 | Los Angeles Valiant | 1 | | | 13 | Washington Justice | 0 |
| 11 | Toronto Defiant | 3 | | | | | | 1 | San Francisco Shock | 2 |
| | | | | | 8 | Paris Eternal | 3 |
| | | | 4 | Vancouver Titans | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Los Angeles Gladiators | 1 | | | 8 | Paris Eternal | 3 |
| 13 | Washington Justice | 3 | | | | 8 | Paris Eternal | 4 |
| | | | | | | 3 | Philadelphia Fusion | 3 |
| | | | 3 | Philadelphia Fusion | 3 | | | |
| 7 | Florida Mayhem | 1 | | | 10 | Houston Outlaws | 0 |
| 10 | Houston Outlaws | 3 | | | | | | 3 | Philadelphia Fusion | 3 |
| | | | | | 11 | Toronto Defiant | 0 |
| | | | 2 | Atlanta Reign | 2 | |
| 8 | Paris Eternal | 3 | | | 11 | Toronto Defiant | 3 |
| 9 | Dallas Fuel | 1 | |

Asia
| | Quarterfinals | | | Semifinals | | | Final |

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

|  |  |  | | |  |  |  | | |  |  |  |
| | | | 1 | Shanghai Dragons | 3 | |
|  |
| | | 5 | Seoul Dynasty | 0 |
| 4 | London Spitfire | 1 |

| 5 | Seoul Dynasty | 3 |
| | 1 | Shanghai Dragons | 2 |
|  |
| | | 2 | Guangzhou Charge | 4 |
| 2 | Guangzhou Charge | 3 | |

| 7 | Chengdu Hunters | 0 |
| | 2 | Guangzhou Charge | 3 |
|  |
| | | 3 | New York Excelsior | 0 |
| 3 | New York Excelsior | 3 |

| 6 | Hangzhou Spark | 0 |

### Countdown Cup

[edit]

#### Qualifiers

[edit]

North America
| Pos | Con | Team  | Pld | W | L | PCT | MW | ML | MT | MD | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | PAC  | San Francisco Shock | 4  | 4  | 0  | 1.00  | 12  | 1  | 0  | +11  | Advance to quarterfinals
2  | ATL  | Paris Eternal | 4  | 4  | 0  | 1.00  | 12  | 1  | 0  | +11
3  | ATL  | Philadelphia Fusion | 4  | 4  | 0  | 1.00  | 12  | 2  | 0  | +10
4  | ATL  | Florida Mayhem | 4  | 3  | 1  | 0.75  | 10  | 5  | 0  | +5
5  | ATL  | Atlanta Reign | 4  | 3  | 1  | 0.75  | 10  | 5  | 0  | +5  | Advance to knockouts
6  | PAC  | Los Angeles Valiant | 4  | 2  | 2  | 0.50  | 6  | 8  | 0  | −2
7  | PAC  | Dallas Fuel | 4  | 2  | 2  | 0.50  | 7  | 9  | 0  | −2
8  | ATL  | Toronto Defiant | 4  | 2  | 2  | 0.50  | 6  | 8  | 0  | −2
9  | PAC  | Los Angeles Gladiators | 4  | 1  | 3  | 0.25  | 6  | 9  | 0  | −3
10  | ATL  | Washington Justice | 4  | 1  | 3  | 0.25  | 4  | 10  | 0  | −6
11  | ATL  | Houston Outlaws | 4  | 0  | 4  | 0.00  | 5  | 12  | 0  | −7
12  | PAC  | Vancouver Titans | 4  | 0  | 4  | 0.00  | 2  | 12  | 0  | −10  | Advance to qualifying match
13  | ATL  | Boston Uprising | 4  | 0  | 4  | 0.00  | 2  | 12  | 1  | −10

Source: The Overwatch League
Rules for classification: 1) winning percentage; 2) map differential; 3) head-to-head record; 4) head-to-head map differential

Asia
| Pos | Con | Team  | Pld | W | L | PCT | MW | ML | MT | MD | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | PAC  | Shanghai Dragons | 3  | 3  | 0  | 1.00  | 9  | 3  | 0  | +6  | Advance to semifinals
2  | PAC  | Chengdu Hunters | 3  | 3  | 0  | 1.00  | 9  | 4  | 0  | +5  | Advance to quarterfinals
3  | PAC  | Hangzhou Spark | 3  | 2  | 1  | 0.67  | 6  | 3  | 0  | +3
4  | PAC  | Guangzhou Charge | 3  | 2  | 1  | 0.67  | 6  | 5  | 1  | +1
5  | ATL  | New York Excelsior | 3  | 1  | 2  | 0.33  | 6  | 6  | 0  | 0
6  | ATL  | London Spitfire | 3  | 0  | 3  | 0.00  | 3  | 9  | 0  | −6
7  | PAC  | Seoul Dynasty | 3  | 0  | 3  | 0.00  | 2  | 9  | 1  | −7

Source: The Overwatch League
Rules for classification: 1) winning percentage; 2) map differential; 3) head-to-head record; 4) head-to-head map differential

#### Knockouts

[edit]

North America
| | Knockouts | | | Quarterfinals | | | Semifinals | | | Final |

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 1 | San Francisco Shock | 3 | | |
| 5 | Atlanta Reign | 3 | | | 7 | Dallas Fuel | 0 |
| 12 | Vancouver Titans | 0 | | | | | | 1 | San Francisco Shock | 3 |
| | | | | | 4 | Florida Mayhem | 1 |
| | | | 4 | Florida Mayhem | 3 | | | |
| 6 | Los Angeles Valiant | 3 | | | 5 | Atlanta Reign | 0 |
| 11 | Houston Outlaws | 0 | | | | 1 | San Francisco Shock | 4 |
| | | | | | | 3 | Philadelphia Fusion | 2 |
| | | | 2 | Paris Eternal | 3 | | | |
| 7 | Dallas Fuel | 3 | | | 6 | Los Angeles Valiant | 1 |
| 10 | Washington Justice | 2 | | | | | | 2 | Paris Eternal | 1 |
| | | | | | 3 | Philadelphia Fusion | 3 |
| | | | 3 | Philadelphia Fusion | 3 | |
| 8 | Toronto Defiant | 2 | | | 9 | Los Angeles Gladiators | 0 |
| 9 | Los Angeles Gladiators | 3 | |

Asia
| | Quarterfinals | | | Semifinals | | | Final |

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

|  |  |  | | |  |  |  | | |  |  |  |
| | | | 1 | Shanghai Dragons | 3 | |
|  |
| | | 5 | New York Excelsior | 0 |
| 4 | Guangzhou Charge | 2 |

| 5 | New York Excelsior | 3 |
| | 1 | Shanghai Dragons | 4 |
|  |
| | | 3 | Hangzhou Spark | 0 |
| 3 | Hangzhou Spark | 3 | |

| 7 | Seoul Dynasty | 2 |
| | 3 | Hangzhou Spark | 3 |
|  |
| | | 2 | Chengdu Hunters | 1 |
| 2 | Chengdu Hunters | 3 |

| 6 | London Spitfire | 0 |

## Postseason

[edit]

### Play-in tournaments

[edit]

The play-in tournaments were two regional single-elimination tournaments that took place September 3–5. All match winners were determined by which team wins three maps.[25] The winners of each first round match advanced to the second round. The teams that qualified for a bye into the second round each selected which opponent they would face between the winners of the first round (or the Toronto Defiant or Seoul Dynasty in the North America and Asia region, respectively). The winners of the second round advanced to the playoffs.[26]

North America bracket

| | | | | | | |
| Round 1
September 3| | | Round 2
September 4
| |
| | 6| Los Angeles Gladiators| 3
| 10| Houston Outlaws| 1| 9| Toronto Defiant| 2
| 13| Boston Uprising| 3|
| | 7| Atlanta Reign| 3
| 12| Washington Justice| 3| 13| Boston Uprising| 1
| 11| Vancouver Titans| 0|
| | 8| Dallas Fuel| 0
| | 12| Washington Justice| 3
| |

Asia

| | | | | | | |
| Round 1
September 4| | | Round 2
September 5
| |
| | 3| New York Excelsior| 3
| 6| Chengdu Hunters| 3| 6| Chengdu Hunters| 2
| 7| London Spitfire| 1|
| |
| 4| Hangzhou Spark| 0
| 5| Seoul Dynasty| 3
| |

### Playoffs

[edit]

Main article: 2020 Overwatch League playoffs

The playoffs will be contested by twelve teams – eight from the North America region and four from the Asia region.[27] The top two teams from each region's respective playoff bracket will qualify for the Grand Finals bracket, where the final two teams in the Grand Finals bracket will play in the Grand Finals match.[28]

North America

This section is transcluded from 2020 Overwatch League playoffs. (edit | history)

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Upper Round 1
September 5| | | Upper Round 2
September 6| | | Upper Final
September 12| | |
| | |
| 1| Philadelphia Fusion| 3
| | |
| 6| Los Angeles Gladiators| 0| |
| | | 1| Philadelphia Fusion| 3
| | | | |
| | | 5| Los Angeles Valiant| 0| |
| 4| Florida Mayhem| 2| | | |
| | | |
| 5| Los Angeles Valiant| 3| |
| | | 1| Philadelphia Fusion| 1
| | |
| | | 2|  San Francisco Shock| 3
| 2| San Francisco Shock| 3| | | | |
| | | |
| 8| Washington Justice| 2| |
| | | 2| San Francisco Shock| 3
| | | | |
| | | 7| Atlanta Reign| 1| |
| 3| Paris Eternal| 2| | | |
| | |
| 7| Atlanta Reign| 3| |
| |

| Lower Round 1
September 6| Lower Round 2
September 11| Lower Round 3
September 12| Lower Final
September 13
| | | |
| | 7| Atlanta Reign| 0|
| |
| 4| Florida Mayhem| 3| | | 4| Florida Mayhem| 3| | | | 1| Philadelphia Fusion| 3
| | | |
| 6| Los Angeles Gladiators| 0| | | | 4| Florida Mayhem| 0| | | 8| Washington Justice| 0
| | | | | | |
| | | | 8| Washington Justice| 3| | |
| | | | |
| | 5| Los Angeles Valiant| 1|
| |
| 3| Paris Eternal| 0| | | 8| Washington Justice| 3| |
| | | |
| 8| Washington Justice| 3| | |
| | | | | |

Asia bracket

This section is transcluded from 2020 Overwatch League playoffs. (edit | history)

| | | | | | | |
| Upper Round 1
September 6| | | Upper Final
September 12
| |
| 1| Shanghai Dragons| 3
| | |
| 3| New York Excelsior| 1| |
| | | 1| Shanghai Dragons| 3
| | |
| | | 4| Seoul Dynasty| 2
| 2| Guangzhou Charge| 0| |
| | |
| 4| Seoul Dynasty| 3| |
| |

| Lower Round 1
September 12| Lower Final
September 13
| |
| | 4| Seoul Dynasty| 3
| 2| Guangzhou Charge| 0| | | 3| New York Excelsior| 0
| |
| 3| New York Excelsior| 3| | |
| |

Grand Finals bracket

This section is transcluded from 2020 Overwatch League playoffs. (edit | history)

| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Upper Round 1
October 8| | | Upper Final
October 9| | | Grand Finals
October 10
| | |
| A2| Seoul Dynasty| 2
| | |
| NA1| San Francisco Shock| 3| |
| | | NA1| San Francisco Shock| 3
| | | | |
| | | A1| Shanghai Dragons| 2| |
| NA2| Philadelphia Fusion| 0| | | |
| | | |
| A1| Shanghai Dragons| 3| |
| | | NA1| San Francisco Shock| 4
| | |
| | | A2| Seoul Dynasty| 2
| Lower Round 1
October 9| | | Lower Final
October 9| |

| |
| | A1| Shanghai Dragons| 2
| |
| A2| Seoul Dynasty| 3| | | A2| Seoul Dynasty| 3| |
| | | |
| NA2| Philadelphia Fusion| 0| | |
| | | |

## Awards

[edit]

### Individual awards

[edit]

Award | Recipient

|

Most Valuable Player (MVP) | Kim "Fleta" Byung-sun (Shanghai Dragons)[29]
Dennis Hawelka Award | Caleb "McGravy" McGarvey (Los Angeles Valiant)[30]
Rookie of the Year | Kim "Alarm" Kyeong-bo (Philadelphia Fusion)[31]
Coach of the Year | Moon Byung-chul (Shanghai Dragons)[32]
Grand Finals MVP | Kwon "Striker" Nam-joo (San Francisco Shock)

### Role Stars

[edit]

Damage  | Tank  | Support

|
|

Kim "Fleta" Byung-sun (Shanghai Dragons) | Lee "Fearless" Eui-seok (Shanghai Dragons) | Kim "Alarm" Kyeong-bo (Philadelphia Fusion)
Kim "Sp9rk1e" Yeong-han (Paris Eternal) | Kang "Void" Jun-woo (Shanghai Dragons) | Lee "Leejaegon" Jae-gon (Shanghai Dragons)
Lee "Carpe" Jae-hyeok (Philadelphia Fusion) | Choi "ChoiHyoBin" Hyo-bin (San Francisco Shock) | Min-Ki "Viol2t" Park (San Francisco Shock)
Lee "Ans" Seon-chang (San Francisco Shock) | Nam "Cr0ng" Gi-Cheol (Guangzhou Charge) | Brice "FDGod" Monsçavoir (Paris Eternal)
Lee "Lip" Jae-won (Shanghai Dragons) | –  | –

Source:[33]

## All-Star Games

[edit]

Main article: 2020 Overwatch League All-Star Game

The 2020 Overwatch League All-Star Games will be the Overwatch League's third edition of an all-star game that involves the All-Star players of the league. For the first time, the All-Stars will be split into two regions – Asia and North America. The Asia All-Star Game will be played on September 26, while the North America All-Star Game will be played on October 3. Both games will be the culmination of their respective All-Star Weekend, an event that consists of the Talent Takedown, a Widowmaker 1v1 tournament, as well as other various skills challenges.[34]

## Winnings

[edit]

Teams in the 2020 season competed for a total prize pool of US$4,775,000 across midseason tournaments and playoffs. By League rules, at least 50% of these winnings are split among the team's members, the remaining going to the team's owner.

Team  | May Melee  | Summer Showdown  | Countdown Cup  | Season playoffs  | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Atlanta Reign | $5,000 | – | $5,000 | $75,000 | $85,000
Boston Uprising | – | – | – | – | $0
Chengdu Hunters | – | – | $15,000 | – | $15,000
Dallas Fuel | $5,000 | – | $5,000 | – | $10,000
Florida Mayhem | $30,000 | – | $15,000 | $75,000 | $120,000
Guangzhou Charge | $5,000 | $65,000 | – | $75,000 | $145,000
Hangzhou Spark | – | – | $35,000 | – | $35,000
Houston Outlaws | – | $5,000 | – | – | $5,000
London Spitfire | – | – | – | – | $0
Los Angeles Gladiators | $5,000 | – | $5,000 | $75,000 | $85,000
Los Angeles Valiant | $10,000 | – | $5,000 | $75,000 | $90,000
New York Excelsior | $10,000 | $15,000 | $15,000 | $250,000 | $290,000
Paris Eternal | $5,000 | $70,000 | $15,000 | $75,000 | $165,000
Philadelphia Fusion | $10,000 | $35,000 | $35,000 | $350,000 | $430,000
San Francisco Shock | $55,000 | $15,000 | $65,000 | $1,500,000 | $2,850,000
Seoul Dynasty | $30,000 | $15,000 | – | $750,000 | $795,000
Shanghai Dragons | $55,000 | $30,000 | $60,000 | $450,000 | $595,000
Toronto Defiant | – | $20,000 | – | – | $20,000
Vancouver Titans | – | – | – | – | $0
Washington Justice | – | $5,000 | – | $250,000 | $255,000
Total | $225,000 | $275,000 | $275,000 | $4,000,000 | $4,775,000

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Webster, Andrew (July 16, 2019). "Blizzard explains how home and away games will work in the Overwatch League". The Verge. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
2. ^ Xu, Rui Yang (July 16, 2019). "2020 Overwatch League format and structure announced". NBC Sports Philadelphia. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
3. ^ Hume, Mike (March 15, 2019). "Overwatch League announces city-based, home-and-away matches will start in 2020". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
4. ^ Richardson, Liz (July 16, 2019). "Overwatch League reveals new division structure, home game plans for 2020 season". Dot Esports. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
5. ^ a b Yim, Miles (November 4, 2019). "Overwatch League to feature midseason tournament, new match format in 2020". ESPN. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
6. ^ Blizzard Entertainment (January 30, 2020). "Announcing Hero Pools and Updates to Overwatch League Patching". Overwatch League. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
7. ^ Erzberger, Tyler (January 30, 2020). "How weekly hero pools will affect Overwatch and the Overwatch League". ESPN. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
8. ^ Collins, Sean (January 30, 2020). "Overwatch League announces big change with 'Hero Pools;' what that means for the Dallas Fuel". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
9. ^ Blizzard Entertainment (November 5, 2019). "New 2020 Season Details". The Overwatch League. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
10. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (January 15, 2020). "Overwatch League addresses on-air talent departures". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
11. ^ Spangler, Todd (January 24, 2020). "YouTube Scores Exclusive Streaming for Activision Blizzard's E-Sports, Including Overwatch and Call of Duty Leagues". Variety. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
12. ^ Hume, Mike; Amenabar, Teddy (January 29, 2020). "Coronavirus threatens to upend Overwatch League's plans for international debut". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
13. ^ Makuch, Eddie (January 29, 2020). "Blizzard Cancels Overwatch Events In China After Coronavirus Outbreak". GameSpot. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
14. ^ Webster, Andrew (February 14, 2020). "Blizzard moves previously canceled Overwatch League games from China to Korea". The Verge. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
15. ^ Webster, Andrew (February 24, 2020). "Overwatch League games in South Korea canceled amid coronavirus concerns". The Verge.
16. ^ Samples, Rachel (March 10, 2020). "Paris Eternal homestand venue cancels all events through April 15". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
17. ^ Amenabar, Teddy (March 11, 2020). "Overwatch League cancels live events for March and April, plans to broadcast matches". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
18. ^ Ocal, Arda (March 15, 2020). "Overwatch League releases initial schedule, new format for online play". ESPN. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
19. ^ Blizzard Entertainment (March 13, 2020). "Overwatch League Matches Moving Online". Retrieved March 13, 2020.
20. ^ Sprung, Shlomo (March 11, 2020). "Overwatch League Shifts Remainder Of Schedule To Online Format, Abandoning Homestands". Forbes. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
21. ^ Ocal, Arda (April 26, 2020). "Overwatch League announces tournament format in May". ESPN. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
22. ^ Ocal, Arda (June 5, 2020). "Overwatch League announces the Summer Showdown". ESPN. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
23. ^ Rand, Emily (July 15, 2020). "Overwatch League announces 2020 playoff format". ESPN. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
24. ^ Richardson, Liz (September 2, 2020). "How do the 2020 Overwatch League playoffs work?". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
25. ^ Gwilliam, Michael (July 15, 2020). "Overwatch League announces new 20-team playoff format". Dexerto. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
26. ^ Richardson, Liz (September 2, 2020). "How do the 2020 Overwatch League playoffs work?". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
27. ^ Richardson, Liz (August 31, 2020). "Here are the Overwatch League 2020 playoff standings". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
28. ^ Rand, Emily (July 15, 2020). "Overwatch League announces 2020 playoff format". ESPN. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
29. ^ Ocal, Arda (September 13, 2020). "Fleta named 2020 Overwatch League MVP". ESPN. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
30. ^ Richardson, Liz (October 3, 2020). "Los Angeles Valiant's McGravy wins 2020 Dennis Hawelka Award". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
31. ^ Richardson, Liz (October 3, 2020). "Alarm named Overwatch League's 2020 Rookie of the Year". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
32. ^ Richardson, Liz (October 3, 2020). "Shanghai Dragons' Moon is the 2020 Overwatch League Coach of the Year". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
33. ^ Richardson, Liz (September 26, 2020). "Overwatch League announces 2020 Role Stars". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
34. ^ Peres, Pedro (September 17, 2020). "Blizzard to host 2 Overwatch League All-Star weekends ahead of 2020 Grand Finals". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 22, 2020.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* 2020 Overwatch League rules

* v
* t
* e

Overwatch League

West|

* Atlanta Reign
* Boston Uprising
* Florida Mayhem
* Houston Outlaws
* London Spitfire
* Los Angeles Gladiators
* Los Angeles Valiant
* New York Excelsior
* San Francisco Shock
* Toronto Defiant
* Vancouver Titans
* Vegas Eternal
* Washington Justice

East|

* Chengdu Hunters
* Dallas Fuel
* Guangzhou Charge
* Hangzhou Spark
* Seoul Dynasty
* Seoul Infernal
* Shanghai Dragons

Seasons|

* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023

Notable players|

* Alarm
* birdring
* Carpe
* ChoiHyoBin
* dafran
* Fearless
* Fissure
* Fleta
* Gamsu
* Geguri
* Haksal
* Jake
* JJonak
* Leave
* Pine
* Profit
* ryujehong
* Saebyeolbe
* Seagull
* sinatraa
* Space
* Striker
* super
* xQc

Related|

* Win–loss records
* Overwatch World Cup
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2023
* Overwatch Contenders
* Dennis Hawelka

Category
Commons
Overwatch

* v
* t
* e

2020 Overwatch League season

|          Asia         | Chengdu Hunters | Atlanta Reign| Los Angeles Valiant | North America

|
|
|
|

Guangzhou Charge | Boston Uprising| Philadelphia Fusion
London Spitfire | Dallas Fuel| San Francisco Shock
New York Excelsior | Florida Mayhem| Toronto Defiant
Hangzhou Spark | Houston Outlaws| Vancouver Titans
Seoul Dynasty | Paris Eternal| Washington Justice
Shanghai Dragons | Los Angeles Gladiators|

* All-Star Game
* Season Playoffs
* Grand Finals

*[A]: Asia region
*[NA]: North America region
*[Pos]: Position
*[Con]: Conference
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[BW]: Bonus wins
*[L]: Lost
*[PCT]: Winning percentage
*[MW]: Maps won
*[ML]: Maps lost
*[MT]: Maps tied
*[MD]: Map differential