This past weekend, Overwatch eSports dominated the gaming world with the Overwatch World Cup, featuring three rounds of incredible matches that was eventually won by South Korea. Even though Blizzcon is over, Overwatch still continues to stay strong in the eSports world with the upcoming Overwatch League. As opposed to the World Cup, the Overwatch League is structured more like a season of the NHL.
The Teams
The Overwatch League will start with 12 teams representing different cities all around the world. There are two separate divisions, the Atlantic and Pacific Division, that divide the teams into two groups of six. They are as follows:
- Atlantic Division: Boston Uprising, Florida Mayhem, Houston Outlaws, London Spitfire, New York Excelsior, & Philadelphia Fusion
- Pacific Division: Dallas Fuel, Los Angeles Gladiators, Los Angeles Valiant, San Francisco Shock, Seoul Dynasty, & Shanghai Dragons
Each team will play 40 games, half of each division. The top team in each division automatically qualifies for the playoffs and gets a first-round bye, while the other spots are based on overall win/loss record.
The Regular Season Schedule
The season is broken down into five sections, with a preseason from December 6-9. This is just a period of exhibition games where the players get a feel for the league without anything affecting their season status. Each stage is a five-week long period that has a 10-day break in between. Each stage takes place on the following dates:
- Stage 1: January 10—February 10
- Stage 2: February 21—March 24
- Stage 3: April 4—May 5
- Stage 4: May 16—June 16
On the last day of each stage, the 2nd and 3rd place teams in each division compete with the winner facing the top team in their respective division. The top teams in this mini-playoff will win a “total of $125,000 in total performance bonuses.” This helps some teams earn some bonuses even if they cannot make the playoffs.
Although the only current venue for the Overwatch League is the Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles, which already hosts two teams. There will technically be home and away games, with the plan in the future being where the home team plays in their city. This means while the Valiant and Gladiators won’t have to travel to face each other, every team at some point will have to travel across the globe to or from South Korea and China.
The Postseason
The postseason will take place from July 11-22, with the Grand Finals happening from July 26-28. The winning team will take home the Overwatch League trophy and a performance bonus of $1 million.
Blizzard has provided a thorough breakdown of how the performance bonuses will be distributed:
Regular Season placement bonuses:
- First place: USD $300,000
- Second place: USD $200,000
- Third and fourth place: USD $150,000
- Fifth and sixth place: USD $100,000
- Seventh and eighth place: USD $75,000
- Ninth and tenth place: USD $50,000
- Eleventh and twelfth place: USD $25,000
- Total: USD $1.3 million
Championship playoffs placement bonuses:
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World Champion: USD $1 million
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Runner-up: USD $400,000
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Third and fourth place: USD $100,000
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Fifth and sixth place: USD $50,000
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Total: USD $1.7 million
Standout Players
Closer to the beginning of the preseason, there will be a complete breakdown of each team. However, we do want to highlight some of the notable players that fans might have recognized from the Overwatch World Cup this past weekend.
xQc (Tank) – Dallas Fuel
Voted the MVP of the Overwatch World Cup by viewers on Twitch, xQc dazzled fans with his Winston play, helping Team Canada advance the finals against South Korea.
Surefour (Offense) – Los Angeles Gladiators
Another player from Team Canada, Surefour was seen a lot in the kill feed throughout Blizzcon, primarily as Tracer.
Ryujehong (Support) – Seoul Dynasty
Anyone watching South Korea competing on Junkertown remembers Ryujehong’s superb Ana play. His biggest highlight was during a payload push where he singlehandedly out-dueled a Genji.
With just a month away from the debut of the Overwatch League, things are very exciting for the world of eSports. With owners drafting teams based on skill instead of region, there should be some fascinating matchups.
