New Overwatch league announced for aspiring teams
This Summer, Blizzard is launching the first official tournament of its kind in the west for Overwatch aspiring pros, giving them the chance to gain their deserved recognition.
Overwatch League might not be ready yet, but Activision Blizzard isn’t going to wait around, and it’s launching a smaller-scale tournament called Overwatch Contenders specifically targeted at unknown pro teams in NA and EU. Something like Pacific, APEX, and Premier which have been going on in Asia.
“Over the first year of organized Overwatch competition, we’ve seen an incredible exhibition of skill at Overwatch APEX in South Korea, the Overwatch Pacific Championship in the Asia-Pacific region, and the Overwatch Premier Series in China,” the press release said. “It’s time to bring that level of competition to the West.”
Overwatch Contenders will be kicking off in June with Season Zero, which is going to be an online-only qualifier for both NA and EU. Both regions will compete in tournaments to determine the top eight teams from each, and both of these tournaments will have a prize pool of $50,000.
In Europe, the top eight teams from Season Zero will also play in a six-week regular season to make up Season One. The top four from this season will then play for a $100,000 prize pool in their own offline playoff bracket.
Top six teams from Season Zero in North America will be joined by Apex season three participants Team EnVyUs and Rogue for six weeks of round robin play. The top four teams from this phase will advance to an offline playoff bracket to fight for a share of $100,000.
While the prize pool is enticing enough on its own, Blizzard says the real reward will be the publicity that these teams and players will get, especially as organizations look to fill out their rosters for the inevitable launch of the Overwatch League.
The NA open qualifier runs June 3 to 4, while the EU qualifier runs June 10 to 11. Playoffs begin on July 1 for NA and July 2 for EU. Registration for both regions starts today at the league’s official website.
