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| Game | Overwatch 2 |
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| Founded | 2024 |
| Owner(s) | Blizzard Entertainment |
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| Official website | esports |
The Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS) is a global competitive esports tournament series for the video game Overwatch 2 , owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The circuit is divided into three regions: North America, EMEA, and Asia. The North America and EMEA regions are operated by ESL FaceIt Group, while Asia is by operated by Korean esports tournament organizer WDG.
Overwatch initially showed promise for an esports scene during its beta phase in 2015, attracting teams from around the world to compete upon its full release. While an open ecosystem for its esport was quickly established, its publisher Activision Blizzard elected to create the Overwatch League, a franchised league akin to that of North America's NBA, with slots being sold for a reported US$20 million for its inaugural season in 2018. The league faced challenges early on, including a slow start in its inaugural years and logistical issues exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Additionally, the announcement of Overwatch 2 in 2019 brought about changes to the game's format and gameplay, which received a lukewarm response upon release in 2022. These challenges, coupled with controversies such as the sexual harassment lawsuit in 2021, led to mounting pressure from teams to exit the league. Months before Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, teams were offered the chance to leave the Overwatch League, ultimately leading to its closure in January 2024. [1]
The Overwatch Champions series (OWCS) was established in January 2024 following the folding of Overwatch League. Unlike the previous approach of independently managing the league, Blizzard Entertainment opted for partnerships to oversee specific regions, with ESL FaceIt Group operating the North America and EMEA regions, while WDG was selected to operate the Asia region. The Overwatch Champions Series adopted open format, departing from the franchise structure of the Overwatch League. [2] [3] This transition opened up opportunities for both established organizations and new entrants, with teams like ENCE and Team Falcons joining the series well-established teams such as Fnatic and TSM. Former Overwatch League teams such as the Toronto Defiant also remained active after the closure of the Overwatch League, competing with a new roster in the OWCS. Early concerns for OWCS included the lack of well-defined prize pools, the lack of a clear roadmap, and challenges in maintaining consistent viewership, compared to that of the Overwatch League. [1]
The OWCS follows an open tournament format, allowing any team to compete in open qualifiers that lead into regional and international tournaments. The OWCS is divided into three regions: North America (NA); Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa (EMEA); and Asia. Both North America and EMEA follow the same format structure, with Asia following a different structure due to its size. [3] The 2024 season has two international events: the Dallas Major, which will take place in June 2024, and the Stockholm Finals, which takes place at the end of the season. [4]
The Asia region has two competitive stages and is further divided into three subregions: South Korea, Japan, and Pacific. Stage 1 begins with each subregion hosting its respective Open Qualifiers, which then feed into Regional Tournaments. From there, the top teams from each region advance to the OWCS Asia Championship, an eight-team event held at the WDG Esports Studio. Qualification from this championship secures slots in the Dallas Major at DreamHack. Stage 2 mirrors Stage 1's format, with top performers advancing to the Stockholm Finals. [5]
For North America and EMEA, the OWCS consists of four stages. Each stage comprises three phases: Swiss, Groups, and the Main Event. The Swiss phase accommodates up to 512 teams, with the top 16 proceeding to the Group stage. From there, teams compete in groups of four, with the top two from each group advancing to the Main Event – an eight-team, double-elimination tournament. Circuit points are awarded to top finishers in the Main Event, determining qualification for international tournaments. Stages 1 and 2 lead into the Dallas Major, while Stages 3 and 4 lead into the Stockholm Finals. [5]
For the 2024 season, OWCS matches are broadcast across various platforms. In North America and Europe, matches are broadcast on YouTube and Twitch. In Asia, the broadcast is available on platforms such as YouTube, CHZZK, AfreecaTV (Korean), and Twitch (WDG and PlayOverwatchJP for Japanese audiences). Viewers can earn exclusive in-game rewards, such as OWCS-themed cosmetics, through Twitch Drops during official match streams. [6]
Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams.
The StarCraft II World Championship Series (WCS) was a StarCraft II professional tournament series organized and sanctioned by Blizzard Entertainment that ran from 2012 to 2019. For all but its first year of operation, it was the highest tier of professional StarCraft II competition. Its longest-running iteration featured two regions, World Championship Series Korea and World Championship Series Circuit, with World Championship Series Global events featuring players from both regions. Grand finals were held annually at BlizzCon in Anaheim, California, except for the first year of competition, when the finals were held in Shanghai, China. WCS Circuit events were streamed on Twitch while WCS Korea events were available on Twitch, YouTube, and afreecaTV.
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Toronto Defiant is a Canadian professional Overwatch esports team based in Toronto which currently participates in the Overwatch Champions Series. Founded in 2018 as an expansion team for the Overwatch League (OWL), Toronto began play in 2019 and was one of two OWL teams based in Canada. The team is owned by OverActive Media, who also owned the Montreal Rebellion, a former academy team for the Defiant that competed in Overwatch Contenders (OWC).
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The 2021 Overwatch League season was the fourth season of the Overwatch League (OWL), a professional esports league for the video game Overwatch. The regular season began on April 16, 2021, and concluded on August 21. The season featured four midseason tournaments throughout the regular season along with a new point system for season playoff seeding. Similar to the 2020 season, teams are split into two geographical regions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most matches were played online, with the exception of several live events throughout the season. The season marks the second year of the Overwatch League's broadcast partnership with YouTube, their third with Sport1, and their first with Bilibili.
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This topic lists the esports events for the 2024 year.
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