This morning we reported that the start of the Overwatch League's second season had seen a viewership increase year-on-year, and now Blizzard has revealed the playoff format for Stage 1 of the competition, taking place between March 21 and 24.
Two more weekends of play sit between now and then, and eight teams will qualify, with New York Excelsior already qualifying due to their good performance. The Pacific and Atlantic division winners have the top two seeds in a single-elimination bracket, and the first quarter-finals are a first-to-three series taking place between March 21 and 22. Semi-finals and finals are first-to-four though, scheduled for March 23 and 24 respectively. After the first round the bracket is re-seeded, and the higher seeded team will pick the first map, with the losing team selecting the next map.
The playoffs prize pool gives $200,000 USD for the winner, with half of that for the runner-up, $50,000 for third and fourth, and $25,000 each for the rest.
Tickets cost $20 for Thursday and Friday, raising to $30 at the weekend (you can get them here). If you can't watch in person though, there are the usual streaming avenues available, although the semi-finals and finals will be broadcast on March 23 and 24 on ABC from 15:00 PST as well.
For the full Overwatch League schedule head this way. Who can take victory in the playoffs?