The second year of the Overwatch League has come to a resounding end. Over the weekend, the final matches were played in another showdown in the storied rivalry of OWL Year 2 between San Francisco Shock and the Vancouver Titans. The Shock came into the weekend with authority while the Titans - gods of the former GOATS comp - still managed to keep their strength in a post-GOATS world. In the end, it was San Francisco Shock that took the Grand Finals with an authoritative 4-0 sweep over the Titans, achieving their second playoffs win of Overwatch League Year 2 and the championship title of the entire 2019 season.
The Vancouver Titans and San Francisco Shock met in Philadelphia on Sunday, September 29, 2019. This was their third Finals meeting, with the Shock having also come up against the Titans in Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the year’s competition. Where the Titans won the first time and lost the second, the Shock also made it to the Finals in Stage 3. Although they lost to the Shanghai Dragons, they cemented themselves in the Grand Finals picture throughout the year. The Titans, for all of their commendable efforts, had a force of nature to slay on Sunday. You can see the entirety of the match-up below.
Playing for around 2 hours and 15 minutes, the match was close at a number of times. Vancouver could have easily taken a match point off of San Fran at a number of spots, but some very last-minute crumbles assuredly took their toll on the mentality of the team. Eichenwald saw the two teams come down to a crucial 3-3 tie for match point. However, while the Vancouver Titans had the best laid plans, it was exhilarating plays like Hyobin “ChoiHyoBin” Choi completely stuffing a Reaper Death Blossom from Titans DPS Seo Min-soo with Sigma's Kinetic Grasp ability that allowed Shock to take match points and crush the Titans’ dreams. It was plays like the Eichenwald denial that earned ChoiHyoBin the MVP Award for the 2019 Overwatch Grand Finals
The Titans for their part did their best to come back against tight losses, but by the fourth match, one could feel they had been whittled down by the close and heartbreaking games. San Francisco finished out their dominance on Gibraltar with a 4-2 victory to achieve their 2019 Championship win. For their efforts, they walked away with the Overwatch League 2019 trophy and a prize of $1,100,000. Titans would take the second place prize of $600,000.
Even if the Grand Finals saw a lot of Vancouver and San Francisco throwdowns, it was still a year of great competitions. As more teams join the fray in Year 3, we’ll look forward to seeing what each team puts together for their 2020 Overwatch League season. Be sure to follow our Overwatch League coverage as teams gear up for Year 3!
