Two action-packed days of Overwatch League playoff games have already taken place and several teams are inching closer to the Grand Finals, where a $1.5 million first place prize is waiting for them. By the end of Sept. 22, however, two teams saw their 2021 championship dreams dashed.
The Washington Justice may have leveled up for the postseason after a difficult Countdown Cup tournament cycle, but in the first match of the loser’s bracket against the Atlanta Reign, they were back to their old ways. Atlanta swept the Justice in a 3-0 series, which featured outstanding performances from the Reign’s DPS, especially Rookie of the Year Oh “Pelican” Se-hyun. Main support Petja “Masaa” Kantanen also showed up for Atlanta, setting up numerous attacks for his damage dealers.
Atlanta moves on to face the Los Angeles Gladiators, who lost to the Shanghai Dragons in a 1-3 series and landed in the lower bracket.
Yesterday, the San Francisco Shock were slapped down to the loser’s bracket by the Shanghai Dragons, and forced to face the Philadelphia Fusion today. Both teams carried immense weight on their shoulders. Philadelphia longed to finally take home a championship for their avid fans and the Shock looked to keep their “threepeat” dreams alive.
San Francisco and Philadelphia fought each other to the bitter end, pushing the series to a map five. Despite heroic efforts from veteran DPS Lee “Carpe” Jae-hyeok, the Fusion fell to the Shock with a 2-3 score line. For what it’s worth, the Shock looked overwhelmingly mortal against Philadelphia’s most clutch players.
The Shock will face the Chengdu Hunters on Sept. 23 in the lower bracket. Chengdu previously fell to the Dallas Fuel in a 0-3 series and will be fighting San Francisco to remain in the playoffs.
Sept. 23 matches
Playoff games continue on Sept. 23. Two more teams will be eliminated by the end of tomorrow’s games.
- Atlanta Reign vs. Los Angeles Gladiators (6pm CT)
- San Francisco Shock vs. Chengdu Hunters (8pm CT)
- Dallas Fuel vs. Shanghai Dragons (9:30pm CT)
