Summary
Over the past few months, the future of esports for Blizzard’s hero-shooterOverwatch 2has experienced significant turbulence. In November, it was announced that theOverwatch League was shutting downafter six seasons. Though Blizzard promised a revitalized program would take the Overwatch League’s place, fans were uncertain what this would look like, or when it would debut.
On January 23, news of a fresh esports ecosystem forOverwatch 2began making headlines. Though this means the end of a seven-year journey with the Path to Pro program, the new structure, deemed the “Overwatch Championship Series,” could be the start of a hopeful new chapter. After all, the competitive scene ofOverwatchwas once heralded as the industry’s brightest star. Blizzard’s latest blog post hints at a new strategy that is learning from past mistakes while keeping a format that resonates with the fans.
Overwatch Esports Enters a New Era
OWCS Will Have An Open Infrastructure
According to the official Blizzard website, OWCS will be open to any skillful players looking to get involved in the professional scene. As such, OWCS will be the official way to participate in this open competition, thanks to the exclusive partnership between Blizzard and ESL FACEIT Group (EFC).Unlike the Overwatch League, the multifaceted structure will provide an infrastructure that helps players connect to a team, bracket, competition, and standings.
“OWCS will be open to any skillful players looking to get involved in the professional scene.”
OWCS appears to be a nod to the traditions of the past, while also preparing to build a new era entirely. Additionally, for fans who had expressed discontent with how longoff-seasons of Overwatch Leaguecould be, Blizzard is introducing an “Always On” format for OWCS. According to Overwatch Esports Product Lead, Bailey McCann, there will now be meaningful competition that will occur throughout the year.
OWCS Will Support Three Key Regions
Starting in March, after Calling All Heroes ends, OWCS will be deviating from theOverwatch League’s 12-team format. Instead, the new premier competitive circuit will encompass NA and EMEA, alongside a tailored program for Asia. NA and EMA teams are expected to compete in four stages throughout the year, in addition to two global tournaments: DreamHack Dallas on May 31- Jun 2, and later this year, DreamHack Stockholm. According to Blizzard, the Swedish capital will play host to the first-ever OWCS championship.
“Starting in March, after Calling All Heroes ends, OWCS will be deviating from the Overwatch League’s format.”
OWCS NA Breakdown
NA and EMA will have their own different online open qualifiers wherein the winners will advance to the regional tournaments. Eventually, the top challengers will qualify for theinternational DreamHack events. Double elimination will play a part in these tournaments, so fans will get to see their favorite teams compete a couple of times, regardless of if they win.
OWCS Asia Breakdown
Asia will also participate in online qualifiers that lead to several regional tournaments, though it’s a bit more complex. It’s also important to note that this circuit is made up of three subdivisions: South Korea, Japan, and Pacific. Pacific’s jurisdiction is as follows:
After competing in these stages, three qualifying teams from each region will challenge one another at WDG Esports Studio in South Korea for the chance to represent Asia in the DreamHack tournaments.
In-depth schedules for NA, EMEA, and Asia will be posted at a later date.
OWCS For Unsupported Regions
Top 500 damage player, Neuuish, commented in a tweet that, going forth, it doesn’t look like OCE will be supported in T2. McCann later clarified that for those who don’t live in the aforementioned regions,Blizzard is actively working toward a solution. While no concrete details were offered just yet, it was specifically mentioned that ANZ players are eligible to participate in NA under the non-residency rules, but they won’t be considered residents of Asia’s region.
Considering that many Overwatch League andOverwatch Contenders players hail from Australiaand New Zealand, it appears that the talent pool is growing quite a bit. With each team consisting of a maximum of eight players and two non-residential players per team, rosters should be stacked. Due to this, some have speculated that players from unsupported regions could see a division of their own opening up.
