2021 Overwatch League season
The 2021 Overwatch League season was the fourth season of the Overwatch League (OWL), a professional esports league for the video game Overwatch. The regular season began on April 16, 2021, and concluded on August 21. The season featured four midseason tournaments throughout the regular season along with a new point system for season playoff seeding. Similar to the 2020 season, teams are split into two geographical regions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most matches were played online, with the exception of several live events throughout the season. The season marks the second year of the Overwatch League's broadcast partnership with YouTube, their third with Sport1, and their first with Bilibili.
| 2021 Overwatch League season | |
|---|---|
| League | Overwatch League |
| Sport | Overwatch |
| Duration | April 16 – August 21 September 4 – 25 (Playoffs) |
| Number of matches | 16 |
| Number of teams | 20 |
| TV partner(s) |
|
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Shanghai Dragons |
| Season MVP | Xin "Leave" Huang |
| Midseason tournament champions | |
| May Melee | Dallas Fuel |
| June Joust | Shanghai Dragons |
| Summer Showdown | Shanghai Dragons |
| Countdown Cup | Los Angeles Gladiators |
| Grand Finals | |
| Venue | Online |
| Champions | Shanghai Dragons |
| Runners-up | Atlanta Reign |
| Finals MVP | Lee "LIP" Jae-won |
The postseason began on September 4 with two regional play-in tournaments acting as qualifiers for the season playoffs. The playoffs began on September 21 and culminated with the Grand Finals on September 25. The Shanghai Dragons won the Grand Finals over the Atlanta Reign to win their first OWL championship.