After weeks of exciting, high-octane matches and upsets that broke hearts and shattered power rankings, the Overwatch League Countdown Cup is finally here. This tournament is set to look quite different from other trips to Hawaii we’ve seen this year. The Dallas Fuel and Shanghai Dragon’s decision to take their foot off the gas this tournament has manufactured opportunities for other teams to succeed- this means that, not only have none of the teams in this tournament won a stage title in 2021, half of them have never even made it to Hawaii. But no matter how atypical this tournaments roster is, each and every match in this Hawaii-based slugfest is guaranteed to leave fans of the Overwatch League on the edge of their seats.
However, the Countdown Cup won’t be played in the round-robin format that most Overwatch League viewers are used to. Instead, the tournament will be played in a double-elimination style bracket that will require teams to be defeated twice in order to be eliminated. This softens losses for under-performing teams, while heavily rewarding dominant teams who consistently avoid defeat. It’s also sure to excite fans, who will have multiple chances to see their team play. But no matter the format, the matches featured in this tournament are sure to be incredibly exciting, and worth watching whether your favorite team is playing or not. So what will the schedule be for this climatic weekend? And how can you watch these decisive matches live?
| Match | Matchup | Time* |
| Match 1 | Atlanta Reign vs Seoul Dynasty | Thursday, August 19 9:00 pm EST/6:00 pm PST |
| Match 2 | Chengdu Hunters vs Los Angeles Gladiators | Thursday, August 19 10:30 pm EST/7:30 pm PST |
| Match 3 | Winner of Match 1 vs Winner of Match 2 | Friday, August 20 9:00 pm EST/6:00 pm PST |
| Match 4 | Loser of Match 1 vs Loser of Match 2 | Friday, August 20 10:30 pm EST/7:30 pm PST |
| Match 5 | Winner of Match 4 vs Loser of Match 3 | Friday, August 20 12:00 pm EST/9:00 pm PST |
| Match 6 | Winner of Match 3 vs Winner of Match 5 | Saturday, August 21 9:00 pm EST/6:00 pm PST |
*Times are estimations.
Each and every one of these exciting matches will be streamed live on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiAInBL9kUzz1XRxk66v-gw . Though each of the games start later than usual for fans living in mainland North America and Europe, fans in Hawaii will get to watch the games right after work or school, while fans residing in Asia will get the rare treat of watching NA teams before midday.
Despite each match likely starting and ending around the times listed here, extremely close games that go to a fifth map have been extremely common this season, so there’s always a chance that games will go on for far longer than expected.
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