OWL announces altered format for delayed 2021 season

Field Level Media
24 Nov 2020, 14:19 GMT+10

The 2021 Overwatch League season will start later than normal, and it will employ an altered format.

OWL vice president Jon Spector made the announcement Monday in a video posted on YouTube.

"In terms of 2021, we're at a place now where we've been working really hard on all of those plans for next season, but it's challenging to lock in too many details given the continued uncertainty around the globe," Spector said.

He did reveal that the season would start "in the spring."

"That gives us a little bit more time to plan than when we've typically started in February, and it gives us and the teams a little bit more of an opportunity to deal with all of the logistics and be ready to hit 2021 running when the season begins," Spector said.

The 2021 season will feature tournaments similar to those employed in the second half of the 2020 season.

"We'll be experimenting and looking at different bracket formats, some different competitive structures generally, and in particular (we'll) build the entire season around that tournament construct instead of needing to pivot in the middle of the year as we did in 2020," Spector said.

The OWL will maintain the two-region breakdown it used this year, due largely to travel and quarantine restrictions. The season-ending playoffs will again feature the top teams from both regions fighting for a unified championship.

The San Francisco Shock are the two-time defending OWL champions, having beaten the Vancouver Titans in the 2019 final and the Seoul Dynasty in the 2020 final.

--Field Level Media

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Calgary Monitor.

More Information