San Francisco Shock go back-to-back with 2020 OWL Grand Finals win

Andrew Amos
San Francisco Shock champs

Overwatch League teams approached the final the 2020 playoffs hoping to claim the championship and glory, but it was the San Francisco Shock who ended up walking away $1.5 million richer with their second title in a row.

After six months of action, the Overwatch League season has come to a close for 2020. The Playoffs were the chance to really weigh our rosters, and, to absolutely no one’s surprise, the best team turned out to be the Shock.

All 20 teams had a chance to prove themselves in the postseason, from the Shanghai Dragons down to the Boston Uprising. But Super and the boys were just too good and blew past any squad who dared to get in their way (sorry, Dynasty fans).

After defeating the Seoul Dynasty in the first round of the Grand Finals after a close 3-2 match, the Shock then had to face the surging Dragons in the second round, and came out on top, 3-2 once again.

That set the stage for the championship match on October 10: a rematch between Seoul and San Francisco after the Dynasty clawed their way back through the Losers Bracket.

The Shock came out of the gate hot in the final match, going up 2-0 after winning Oasis and King’s Row. Seoul wasn’t going down easy though and easily took Hanamura (a shocking map choice, considering the Shock’s 18-0 record there dating back to 2018) and Watchpoint: Gibraltar to even the score.

It was at this point that San Francisco apparently decided to end it, taking a quick Busan before wrapping things up with a hold on Hollywood to lock in back-to-back titles.

Finally, the Shock’s crack-shot hitscan DPS player Nam-joo ‘Striker’ Kwon was named as the 2020 Grand Finals MVP, because why shouldn’t they walk away with all the trophies? They’re the team that won, after all.

It didn’t take long for the team and their fans to claim that SF is “the best Overwatch team of all time” and, based on the results of the past two OWL seasons, not to mention how dominant they’ve been overall, we can’t really argue with that fact.

OWL 2020 playoffs results

Week 1

Thursday, September 3

Region Game PT ET BST
NA Play-Ins Round 1 Houston 1 – 3 Boston 12pm 3pm 8pm
NA Play-Ins Round 1 Vancouver 0 – 3 Washington 2pm 5pm 10pm

Friday, September 4

Region Game PT ET BST
Asia Play-Ins Round 1 Chengdu 3 – 1 London 4am 7am 12pm
NA Play-Ins Round 2 LA Gladiators 3 – 2 Toronto 12pm 3pm 8pm
NA Play-Ins Round 2 Atlanta 3 – 1 Boston 2pm 5pm 10pm
NA Play-Ins Round 2 Dallas 0 – 3 Washington 4pm 7pm 12am Sept 5

Saturday, September 5

Region Game PT ET BST
Asia Play-Ins Round 2 New York 3 – 2 Chengdu 4am 7am 12pm
Asia Play-Ins Round 2 Hangzhou 0 – 3 Seoul 6am 9am 2pm
NA Playoffs QFs Philadelphia 3 – 0 LA Gladiators 12pm 3pm 8pm
NA Playoffs QFs Florida 2 – 3 LA Valiant
2pm 5pm 10pm
NA Playoffs QFs San Francisco 3 – 2 Washington 4pm 7pm 12am Sept 6
NA Playoffs QFs Paris 2 – 3 Atlanta 6pm 9pm 2am Sept 6

Sunday, September 6

Region Game PT ET BST
Asia Playoffs Semis Shanghai 3 – 1 New York
4am 7am 12pm
Asia Playoffs Semis Guangzhou 0 – 3 Seoul 6am 9am 2pm
NA Playoffs Losers’ Round 1 LA Gladiators 0 – 3 Florida 12pm 3pm 8pm
NA Playoffs Losers’ Round 1 Washington 3 – 0 Paris 2pm 5pm 10pm
NA Playoffs Semi-finals Philadelphia 3 – 0 LA Valiant 4pm 7pm 12am Sept 7
NA Playoffs Semi-Finals San Francisco 3 – 1 Atlanta 6pm 9pm 2am Sept 7

Week 2

Friday, September 11

Region Game PT ET BST
NA Playoffs Losers’ Round 2 Atlanta 0 – 3 Florida 12pm 3pm 8pm
NA Playoffs Losers’ Round 2 Los Angeles 1 – 3 Washington 2pm 5pm 10pm

Saturday, September 12

Region Game PT ET BST
Asia Playoffs Losers’ Round 1 New York 3 – 0 Guangzhou 2am 5am 10am
Asia Playoffs Winners Finals Shanghai 3 – 2 Seoul 4am 7am 12pm
NA Playoffs Winners Finals Philadelphia 1 – 3 San Francisco 12pm 3pm 8pm
NA Playoffs Losers’ Round 3 Florida 0 – 3 Washington 2pm 5pm 10pm

Sunday, September 13

Region Game PT ET BST
Asia Playoffs Losers’ Finals Seoul 3 – 0 New York 2am 5am 10am
NA Playoffs Losers’ Finals Philadelphia 3 – 0 Washington 12pm 3pm 8pm

Week 3 – Grand Finals Weekend

Thursday, October 8

Region Game PT ET BST
Semi-Finals San Francisco 3-2 Seoul 4am 7am 12pm
Semi-Finals Shanghai 3-0 Philadelphia 6am 9am 2pm

Friday, October 9

Region Game PT ET BST
Winners’ Finals San Francisco 3-2 Shanghai 2am 5am 10am
Losers’ Round 1 Seoul 3-0 Philadelphia 4am 7am 12pm
Losers’ Finals Seoul 3-2 Shanghai 6am 9am 2pm

Saturday, October 10

Region Game PT ET BST
Grand Finals Seoul 2-4 San Francisco 6am 9am 2pm

About The Author

Hailing from Perth, Andrew was formerly Dexerto's Australian Managing Editor. They love telling stories across all games and esports, but they have a soft spot for League of Legends and Rainbow Six. Oh, and they're also fascinated by the rise of VTubers.