The San Francisco Shock defeated the Los Angeles Gladiators in five maps on Friday to reach Saturday’s grand final of the Overwatch League Midseason Madness tournament.
The Shock await their opponent from the lower bracket, which will be decided earlier Saturday between the Gladiators and the Atlanta Reign.
The Reign won two matches Friday to stay alive, first besting the Shanghai Dragons 3-1 in a lower bracket quarterfinal, then knocking out the Philadelphia Fusion 3-2. The Fusion had advanced with a quarterfinal win in five maps over the Hangzhou Spark.
With their second losses in the double-elimination event, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Philadelphia were eliminated.
The tournament winner receives $500,000 and four league points, with second place taking home $250,000 and three points.
The Gladiators got the jump on the Shock with a 2-0 win on Ilios, but the Shock bounced back with victories on Eichenwalde (2-1) and Circuit Royal (3-1). Los Angeles eked out a 1-0 win on Colosseo to tie the match, but the Shock prevailed 2-0 on Oasis.
In the lower bracket semifinal, the Reign began with consecutive 2-0 victories on Lijiang Tower and Kings’s Row. The Fusion answered with a 2-1 win on Route 66, but the Reign pulled out a 1-0 clincher on Colosseo.
Earlier, the Reign began their match with the Dragons with a 2-1 win on Lijiang Tower. After the Dragons took King’s Row 2-1, the Reign put the match away with victories on Circuit Royal 3-2 and Colosseo 1-0.
In the other lower bracket quarterfinal, the Fusion and Spark went back and forth in the first four games. The Spark prevailed on Oasis 2-1, but lost 3-2 on King’s Row. Again the Spark grabbed the advantage with a 3-2 win on Dorado, and the Fusion again knotted the match on New Queen Street 1-0.
The Fusion ultimately clinched with a 2-1 win on Lijiang Tower.
Saturday’s matches:
(Lower bracket final)
Los Angeles Gladiators vs. Reign/Fusion winner
(Grand final)
San Francisco Shock vs. lower bracket winner
Midseason Madness prize pool, league points:
1st place, $500,000, 4 points, TBA
2nd place, $250,000, 3 points, TBA
3rd place, $125,000, 2 points, TBA
4th place, $75,000, 1 point, Philadelphia Fusion
5th-6th place, $25,000, 1 point, Shanghai Dragons, Hangzhou Spark
7th-8th place, no money, 1 point, Florida Mayhem, Houston Outlaws
9th-12th place, no money, 1 point, Seoul Dynasty, Toronto Defiant, Dallas Fuel, London Spitfire
–Field Level Media
