First championship LAN outside of the US will take place in Canada in 2023 for the Overwatch League grand finals

Even though it hasn't occurred in almost four years, the curse of missing a home event is still widely accepted. The OWL Summer Stage Qualifiers are this week, and the last-chance play-ins are scheduled for mid-September.

First championship LAN outside of the US will take place in Canada in 2023 for the Overwatch League grand finals, Credit: Sean Cadet (Youtube)
By Shubham Dalal | Jul 16, 2023 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

The grand finals of the Overwatch League are a constant fixture of the league’s schedule, typically drawing a sizable crowd somewhere in the United States to support the world’s top players. The league finals, however, will take place outside of the United States for the first time ever in 2023. The Toronto Defiant will host the grand finals and the playoffs’ final games in downtown Toronto, Canada, in 2023.

The biggest OWL tournament of the year will now take place at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, which previously played host to the 2022 Summer Showdown LAN tournament. Sept. 28 marks the start of the playoffs, and Oct. 1 is the date of the championship game. If you need more information about First championship LAN outside of the US will take place in Canada in 2023 for the Overwatch League grand finals, then read carefully, and don’t forget to share with your friends.

First championship LAN outside of the US will take place in Canada in 2023 for the Overwatch League grand finals:

No matter how far into the tournament the “home” team advances, it has long been tradition for the U.S. to host the OWL finals. Despite losing to the London Spitfire and Philadelphia Fusion, the New York Excelsior hosted the first OWL grand finals in Brooklyn in 2018. The final between the Vancouver Titans and San Francisco Shock was held in Philadelphia the following year, repeating the situation.

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The finals in 2020 and 2021 were streamed after the COVID-19 pandemic spread, with some LANs resuming near the end of the 2021 season. Los Angeles was planned as the finals location for that second season, but it was canceled due to health issues brought on by the COVID-19 Delta variant.

In 2022, at the same location as previous BlizzCon events, OWL fans finally witnessed the return of live finals. Dallas Fuel and San Francisco Shock squared off in Anaheim, California, in what turned out to be an exciting series that resulted in the victory of the Fuel.

The grand event will now serve as a new team’s homestand, much like it did for Excelsior and Fusion prior to the pandemic. Given their early exit from the Spring Stage Knockouts, the Toronto Defiant would need to have a stronger performance in the Summer Stage to automatically qualify for the playoffs; otherwise, they would have to compete in the play-in round.

Even though it hasn’t occurred in almost four years, the curse of missing a home event is still widely accepted. The OWL Summer Stage Qualifiers are this week, and the last-chance play-ins are scheduled for mid-September.

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