For the first time in the history of the Overwatch League, a LAN tournament will be held outside the United States for the grand final. This time the final will take place in Canada.
The Overwatch League Grand Final 2023
The grand finals of the Overwatch League have been known to draw large crowds to different locations in the United States. This way, fans can support their favorite players from around the world. However, this year the grand final will not be the same as the previous ones. This important event will occur outside the United States for the first time in the league’s history.
League organizers decided to hold the playoffs and the 2023 Grand Final at the Toronto Defiant in Canada. Arguably, the OWL’s biggest event of the year will take place at Mattamy Athletic Centre. This venue was the site of the 2022 LAN Summer Showdown competition.
For its part, the entire Overwatch community must wait until September 28 for the start of the playoffs, with the grand finals scheduled for October 1.
#OWL2023 Grand Finals is heading to Canada 🇨🇦
8 teams clash in Toronto, Sept 28th – Oct 1st, in our season finale co-hosted by @TorontoDefiant.
Tickets & details 🎟️ https://t.co/Xe1qocPt3W pic.twitter.com/7kPmi8fg0q
— Overwatch Esports (@OW_Esports) July 15, 2023
History of OWL Grand Finals
Historically, regardless of how far the “home” team goes in the championship, OWL finals have historically been held in the United States. The first league grand final was held in 2018 in Boston. For this competition, the New York Excelsior was the host. In 2018 the “home” team lost to the London Spitfire and the Philadelphia Fusion.
The following year history repeated itself, the grand final was between Vancouver Titans and the San Francisco Shock, but it was held in Philadelphia. In the following years, 2020 and 2021, the finals had to be held by streaming due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, some games at the end of the season were held LAN. However, the grand finals could not be held this way because of the Delta variant of Covid-19.
Finally, in 2022, the grand final was again held in LAN form, and fans could again support their favorite players. Last year’s grand final was held at the same location as the BlizzCon events. In the 2022 finals, the Dallas Fuel took on the San Francisco Shock in Anaheim, California.
For 2023, a new team has a chance similar to what Excelsior and Fusion had in the 2020 finals. Considering the Toronto Defiant, they did not participate well in the spring season and had an early elimination. In the summer season, this team must fight to get a pass to the playoffs; on the contrary, they must fight to get into the playoffs. The Toronto Defiant will fight with all their strength to break the curse of missing the tournament at home.