That was blisteringly fast; in the first playoff day for the 2020 Season of the Overwatch League, almost every bracket has already been trashed for the $100,000 competition for fans to predict the perfect bracket.
How it managed to surprise everyone, however, is still a bit befuddling to consider.
Specifically, the Boston Uprising, who have cemented their team as having one of the worst seasons in Overwatch League barring the Shanghai Dragons, managed to upset a semi-competent Houston Outlaws in the Bo5 that took place this evening across only four maps.
Boston Uprising took the first map of Lijang Tower, and Houston responded in kind by nabbing Numbani. Volskaya Industries and Dorado were up next, and Boston managed to take them both from an Outlaws that appeared shocked that the Boston Uprising were putting forward a competent appearance after an entire season of what one would be hard-pressed to declare as anything other than a comedy of errors, to the point that an analyst for the team stated that throwing matches were common.
It is difficult to overstate how surprising this upset was; Houston Outlaws were similarly shocked to find that they are the first team to be removed from the playoffs after a single match.
ggs @BostonUprising
this season has been so pathetic for me personally and it's such a low point in my life I don't know what the fuck to do anymore
— LiNkzr (@LiNkzrOW) September 3, 2020
The Washington Justice faced off against the Vancouver Titans as they both attempted to make their own arguments for playoff contention.
The Tians have admittedly looked weak since their team entirely disbanded, resulting in Vancouver picking up a T2 team in their stead. The Justice had similarly received a bit of a nerf when Corey opted to leave the season half-way through to pursue Valorant‘s professional scene.
The Vancouver Titans failed to net a single point across three maps, with the Justice taking them in quick succession: Oasis, Numbani, and Volskaya all quickly fell to the Justice on the back of Decay’s DPS play.
Now, only 291 ‘Perfect Brackets’ remain, meaning only 291 are currently up for contention regarding the massive $100,000 payout that Blizzard has promised. Not to fret if you’re already struggling: Blizzard will similarly offer $10,000 to the next closest bracket to reality.
Who's left in the 5.2%? Show us the receipts! https://t.co/Fa2pJ7eXbG
— Boston Uprising (@BostonUprising) September 3, 2020
Unfortunately, dropping out this early in the run almost certainly spells doom for the remaining bracket, considering that, somehow, users correctly predicted that the Boston Uprising would win against the Houston Outlaws.
The Overwatch League playoffs continue early tomorrow morning with the Chengdu Hunters facing off against the London Spitfire, and restarting in the evening. Plenty more Overwatch action is set to take place as the best teams within the League all vie for their piece of the prize pool.
