Overwatch League Overview
Tournament Overview
Overwatch League (OWL) is the premier professional esports league for Overwatch, organized by Blizzard Entertainment since 2018. The first season, in January 2018, had 12 teams and expanded to 20 teams for the 2019 season till today. The other important Overwatch tournament is Overwatch Contenders.
The League has a Regular Season, Play-ins and Play-off. The Regular Season is divided in 4 divisions:
- May Melee
- June Joust
- Summer Showdown
- Countdown Cup
Some of the Overwatch League sponsors are Cheez-It Grooves, Coca-Cola, IBM, Indeed, NetApp, Pringles Wavy, or Xfinity.
Schedule
Last year’s leagues took place between April and September 2021.
- Regular Season: April 16th – August 22nd, 2021
- Play-Ins: September 4th – 5th, 2021
- Playoffs: September 16th – 25th, 2021
The Offseason Key dates are the limits in which the teams that want to participate have to submit.
Format
The format of Overwatch League has a Regular Season, Play-ins and Playoffs.
The Regular Season has matches played as First of 3, the Play-ins are single elimination brackets and Playoffs are double-elimination brackets.
Regular Season’s Format
General Rules:
The teams are split into the East and the West region. There are 4 tournaments with three weeks of qualifiers each. Teams earn one League Point per win. Each win brings one League Point for the team.
Teams are seeded into the tournaments according to the League Points in qualifying matches. It is preferred that the top two teams from the two regions meet at the end of the tournaments. All matches are First of three and the top 3 places ear extra League Points.
The Top 3 teams from the West and the top two from the East region qualify for Playoffs. West Region 4th – 9th and East Region 3rd – 5th may qualify for Playoffs via regional Play-Ins.
Regular Season has 4 tournaments that have some common rules:
Qualifiers
- Have three weeks of Qualifiers
- The teams are split into the East and the West region.
- The top six teams from the West and four from the East regions qualify for the Regional Knockouts.
Regional Knockouts
- Regional Knockouts are single elimination
- The top two from the East and the top two from the West regions qualify for the Tournament Weekend
The Tournament Weekend
- Tournament Weekend is a double-elimination bracket.
- Champion earns three, runner-up earns two, and third place earns one League Point.
Play-ins format
The play-ins are a single-elimination bracket with three spots. West region plays for 2 spots and East region for one.
Playoffs format
Playoffs are being held with 8 teams, in a double-elimination bracket. The top three teams choose their first-round opponents in succession.
Prize Pool
The total prize pool for the event is $4,200,000 USD. Each tournament has $225,000 USD and the playoff’s first place will get $1,500,000 USD.
Teams participating in Overwatch League 2021
The teams participating at Overwatch League 2021 from the West region are:
- San Francisco Shock
- Washington Justice
- Toronto Defiant
- Houston Outlaws
- Paris Eternal
- Boston Uprising
- Atlanta Reign
- Dallas Fuel
- Florida Mayhem
- London Spitfire
- Los Angeles Gladiators
- Vancouver Titans
The teams participating at the League from the West Region are:
- Philadelphia Fusion
- Seoul Dynasty
- Hangzhou Spark
- Chengdu Hunters,
- Guangzhou Charge
- Los Angeles Valiant
- New York Excelsior
- Shanghai Dragons
Previous Winners:
| Season | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2018 | London Spitfire |
| 2019 | San Francisco Shock |
| 2020 | San Francisco Shock |
| 2021 | Shanghai Dragons |
Find out more on their Official Site.
Where to watch Overwatch League:
| Channel | URL |
|---|---|
| YouTube | Overwatch League |
