The playoff matches were moved to Sunday the next stage, so the players and viewers could rest. The 2nd and 3rd place in the stage would face off, then play the #1 seed in the final match of the night on the Saturday after the regular season matches were completed. Originally the top 3 teams would play in the 2-match playoff. The stage playoff format changed since the first stage of the inaugural season. The stage playoff takes place on the last week of the stage on Sunday. The matches take place from Wednesday-Saturday, with 3 matches each day. The format for this first season is to have 4 stages, which would last 5 weeks each. The first season had a month-long preseason before the season began. The map pool changes every stage to make it fair and give the games variety.Įach team will play 40 matches, divided in half between teams within their division and outside of it. Each match has 4 maps unless there is a tie, then there is a 5th map. These are experts in the league that genuinely love their jobs and don’t seem to take themselves too seriously.Įach day, there are 3 matches that are played, starting at 4pm PST. There is a “pre-game” show and halftime shows at the halfway point of each match.
#OVERWATCH ONLINE LEAGUE PROFESSIONAL#
Like professional sport leagues, there is a team of commentators and analysts that break down the action for fans. Teams play matches against other teams according to a set schedule to fight for a coveted playoff spot. The league is run by Major League Gaming, which is owned by Activision (the parent company of Blizzard).
#OVERWATCH ONLINE LEAGUE CODE#
The Code of Conduct is especially strict about memes, Twitch behavior, and other internet activities that are deemed inappropriate or offensive. They can’t be sponsored by “morally questionable” companies or endorse any politics. The Code of Conduct is a lengthy rulebook, but the main idea is to not do anything that would embarrass or tarnish the reputation of anyone associated with the league. Players are expected to represent the league even when they’re not on the stage, including on their personal Twitch streams. They also have to abide by Blizzard’s Code of Conduct, otherwise they face fines or suspensions. Players in OWL have to be at least 18 years old to participate and must be able to travel to other countries. (Sinatraa is the highest paid player currently, making a cool $150,000 at just barely 18.) Every team in OWL is backed by an owner and receives a minimum salary with benefits and revenue-sharing. In OWL, teams are permanently organized into divisions. In traditional eSports leagues, teams get switched around higher/lower divisions depending on their performance. What makes this league so different from other eSports leagues is that it was designed to more closely resemble traditional professional sports leagues. with 2 teams from Asia and 1 from Europe. OWL currently features 12 teams, primarily from the U.S. The Overwatch League (OWL) is an eSports league based on the very popular Blizzard game Overwatch. Cue the jealousy over these teens making more money for playing video games than a good majority of adults. That’s certainly no small chunk of money, especially since most of the players are still teenagers.
Up for grabs is a total $3.5 million prize pool for the entire first season. When Blizzard announced the Overwatch League at Blizzcon in 2016, they promised to revolutionize the eSports industry. If you are new to OWL, read on to learn more about this revolutionary eSports league. It’ll also only be the Chinese teams that will compete on location, with the others still competing online out of Korea.įans had to wait quite a long while to see their favorite players compete in-person again, but the moment finally seems to have come again.Skeptics didn’t believe that the Overwatch League was going to see a lot of success, but the league is currently thriving.
While the events are in fact returning to LAN, there won’t be a big crowd present as all the participating venues will operate with a reduced audience and crowd to ensure safety. The events will be played from June 4 to June 6 hosted by Hangzhou Spark (June Joust), July 9 to July 11 by Shanghai Dragons (Summer Showdown) and from August 7 to August 8 by Guangzhou Charge (The Countdown Cup). There will be three live events in China this season for #OWL2021