The Evolution of Overwatch Esports: Introducing Overwatch Champions Series
Overwatch Esports is making a comeback with a brand-new tournament format called Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS). Savvy Games Group, a subsidiary of Faceit, is organizing these open competitions that are set to revolutionize the Overwatch competitive scene.
In November, Overwatch League announced the end of its operations after six successful seasons. John Nomis, the Deputy PR Director of Overwatch League, stated, “We are transitioning from Overwatch League and taking competitive Overwatch in a new direction,” confirming that although the League itself was no more, the competitive Overwatch scene would be making a comeback. Today, we have the exciting details about the Overwatch competition in 2024 with the introduction of Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS).
“The OWCS is our new international premier tournament open to players from North America, Europe, Middle East, North Africa, and Asia,” stated the official announcement post.
Unlike the franchise-based Overwatch League, Overwatch Champions Series will feature an open format. Eligible players from different regions will form their teams and compete in open qualifiers, progressing through regional tournaments to two major events: the summer main tournament held at DreamHack Dallas and the finals in November, taking place during DreamHack Stockholm.
For additional details, such as tournament structures for each region, the official post contains the necessary information. The Asian region, due to its large size, has a slightly different format, divided into three subregions: South Korea, Japan, and Pacific. Previously, countries like Australia and New Zealand were part of the Pacific region, but they have been excluded from the Overwatch Champions Series Pacific region. In response to inquiries from The Verge, Kevin Scarpati, Overwatch’s Communications Manager, said, “We are working with [FACEIT] to add regular Overwatch tournaments to other regions where the Overwatch Champions Series isn’t active.” (No worries, South America, even though you oddly don’t have your own region, you can still compete as part of the North America region.)
China has also been excluded from the Asian region, likely because Activision Blizzard has yet to find a publishing partner for games in the country following the termination of (seemingly contentious) ties with NetEase. Some Blizzard games, including Overwatch, have not been officially available for play in China for a year.
Previously, Activision Blizzard operated the Overwatch League internally. However, to manage the Overwatch Champions Series, they have partnered with ESL FACEIT, a London-based esports tournament organizer and a part of Savvy Games Group, which is owned by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, focusing on video games. Last year, seasoned esports journalist Jacob Wolf reported that Activision Blizzard was working with this Saudi entity to organize Overwatch esports after the dissolution of Overwatch League.
Details about where fans can watch Overwatch Champions Series have not been revealed yet, as Blizzard has announced that this information will be provided at a later date. We hope to receive these details soon, as open qualifiers for the Asian region kick off in February, while North America and EMEA regions begin their competition in March.
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