Overwatch League Playoffs: Who Will Make it in?

Overwatch League Playoffs will be starting soon. Aug. 30, 2019 marks the beginning of the 2019 season playoffs, with the notable addition of Sigma who is allowed to be used during the playoffs. With the conclusion of stage four coming soon, it begs the question, who will make it into the playoffs?

Overwatch League Playoffs: Who Will Make it in?

A recent post on Reddit by user feliperc1, showcased a graphic which he created that would predict the probability of each team making the playoffs in the top six or top 12, as well as the probabilities for the outcomes of the remaining matches in stage four. This was based on a power ranking formula that he has been updating, and the data presented was based on a total of 10,000,000 simulations of the formula in action.

So far, only three teams have officially made the playoffs, those teams being the Vancouver Titans, New York Excelsior, and San Francisco Shock, who have clenched the first, second, and third seeds respectively, meaning they are all in the top six. Likewise, only four teams have been officially eliminated from playoff contention. Those teams are the Florida Mayhem, Washington Justice, Toronto Defiant, and Houston Outlaws. That leaves 13 other teams who have yet to officially achieve a spot in the playoffs.

The Fallen Few /

From the graphic, however, we can see that the Los Angeles Gladiators, London Spitfire, Hangzhou Spark, Seoul Dynasty, Atlanta Reign, Guangzhou Charge, Philadelphia Fusion, and Shanghai Dragons are almost guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. In fact, the Gladiators, Spitfire, and Spark are expected to make the top six.

The 12th spot appears to be in contention between the Los Angeles Valiant and the Chengdu Hunters. While the Valiant appears to have a greater chance at making the playoffs, it is completely possible that the Hunters can steal their spot for the 12th seed.

Finally, the playoff potential looks bleak for fans of the Paris Eternal, Dallas Fuel, and Boston Uprising who have virtually no chance at being seeded for the playoffs, unless we happen to live in the one reality where any one of these teams manages to make it in. These teams have been performing poorly for several stages in a row, and it is unlikely that they will be able to gather the wins necessary to push forward.

Regardless of who makes it into the playoffs, with Sigma being added to the Overwatch League patch, it will certainly be an exciting month for professional Overwatch.

Photo courtesy of feliperc1