The 2021 Overwatch League Grand Finals will be the fourth championship match of the Overwatch League (OWL), taking place on September 25, 2021. The series will be the conclusion of the 2021 Overwatch League playoffs. The final was originally planned to be played at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, California; however, due to increasing threat of COVID-19 and the delta variant, the match was shifted to be played online.
 | |
| Date | September 25, 2021 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Online |
| Purse | $2.2 million |
| Live Broadcast | |
| Broadcast(s) | YouTube Bilibili |
The defending OWL champions are the San Francisco Shock, who won the title against the Seoul Dynasty in the 2020 Grand Finals.
Road to the Grand Finals
The Grand Finals are the post-season championship series of the Overwatch League (OWL), a professional international esports league; the teams in the 2021 Grand Finals match will compete for a $2.2 million prize pool, where the winners will receive $1.5 million. The 2021 season was the fourth season in OWL history and consisted of twenty teams. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most regular season and midseason tournament matches were played online.[1] The playoffs will be contested by eight teams teams – five from the league's West region and three from the league's East region.[2]
Venue and ticketing
The Galen Center in Los Angeles, California was announced as the 2021 OWL Grand Finals host venue on July 20, 2021.[3] The Galen Center opened in 2006 at a cost of $147 million and has a seating capacity of 10,258.[4][5] It is the home arena of the USC Trojans basketball and USC Trojans women's volleyball.[6] The arena has been the site of a number of other notable events, including the premier of High School Musical 3 in 2008,[7] several Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards,[8][9] the League of Legends: Season 2 World Championship,[10] Microsoft's E3 conferences,[11] The X Factor audition stages in 2011 and 2013,[12][13] and the 2015 Teen Choice Awards.[14] It will also be the host of badminton for the 2028 Olympics.[15] Ticket sales for the finals were planned to go on sale in August 2021.[2]
However, the OWL announced on August 25, 2021, that all playoff matches, including the Grand Finals, would not be played in a live format due to increasing risks of COVID-19 and the Delta variant.[16] Instead, to minimize latency between competing teams, if any the West region playoff team qualifies for the Grand Finals, they will play at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, while the if any East region teams qualifies, they will play in their home country.[17]
References
- ^ Richardson, Liz (February 20, 2021). "The Overwatch League returns on April 16". Dot Esports. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ a b Qu, Bonnie (July 20, 2021). "Overwatch League 2021 playoffs to be held live in Texas and Los Angeles". Upcomer. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ Chalk, Andy (July 20, 2021). "Overwatch League is bringing back live events in September". PC Gamer. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ "Galen Center History & Guidelines". Galen Center. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ "Galen Center Arena Info". Galen Center. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ "USC hoops, volleyball set to open long-awaited arena". ESPN. Associated Press. October 11, 2006. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ Kit, Borys (October 17, 2008). ""High School Musical 3" takes L.A. fans by storm". Reuters. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ Yuan, Annie (February 12, 2011). "Jack Black to Host Kids' Choice Awards for Third Time". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ Vulpo, Mike (March 11, 2017). "Kids' Choice Awards 2017 Winners: The Complete List". E! Entertainment Television. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ "Ten years of worlds: A League of Legends World Championship oral history". ESPN. September 24, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ McWhertor, Michael (March 14, 2018). "Microsoft announces big change to its Xbox E3 plans". Polygon. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ Moore, Jordan (May 1, 2011). "The X Factor". USC Trojans. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ Wills, Cortney (July 12, 2013). "'X Factor' Auditions Hit Los Angeles; 'Groups Are Dreadful,' Says Simon Cowell". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ "Teen Choice Awards 2015". CBS News. August 17, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ Carpenter, Susan (August 6, 2021). "What we know about the 2028 LA Olympics so far". Spectrum News. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ Collins, Sean (August 25, 2021). "Overwatch League playoffs no longer in North Texas, moving back to online". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ Richardson, Liz (August 25, 2021). "Overwatch League cancels live postseason events due to COVID-19 delta variant concerns". Dot Esports. Retrieved August 25, 2021.