ABOUT OVERWATCH LEAGUE
The Overwatch League is an international esports league comprising 20 city-based teams, featuring the best Overwatch players on the planet. The 280-match regular season begins in February and concludes with postseason playoffs in the fall.
With USD $5 million in prizes, thrilling storylines, guaranteed player salaries, and cutting-edge production value, the Overwatch League is the world’s premier esports league.
WHAT IS OVERWATCH
Overwatch is an intense 6v6 action game that emphasizes teamwork and individual skill. Players choose heroes with diverse and powerful abilities, then clash on a variety of maps set in famous locations across the globe.
HOW DOES THE OVERWATCH LEAGUE WORK ?
Regular-season matches are played live at the Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles each Thursday through Sunday, beginning on February 14, 2019. The regular season is divided into four stages of 70 matches each. Stage Playoffs take place after the first three stages. Postseason playoffs take place after Stage 4. Throughout the season, teams are ranked by match wins, with ties broken by map differential.
Stage Playoffs
After each of the first three stages, the eight teams with the most match wins in the corresponding stage qualify for the Stage Playoffs, a seeded playoff bracket with prizes and glory on the line.
Overwatch League All-Stars
Between the second and third stages, the Overwatch League will celebrate the best players in the league with two days of exciting challenges between the Atlantic and Pacific divisions, including custom games and an official All-Star match.
Postseason Playoffs
The two division winners, along with the next best four teams by match record (regardless of division), will automatically qualify for the playoffs. Two additional teams will qualify through a play-in tournament between the seventh- through 12th-place teams. Those final eight teams will compete for the league championship—and a share of the USD $3.5 million prize pool—in a double-elimination bracket.
Grand Finals
The two teams that survive the postseason playoff bracket will meet in the Overwatch League Grand Finals to crown a 2019 world champion!