The Overwatch World Cup was first launched in 2016, and Blizzard Entertainment has just announced it’ll be returning for a third year. The worldwide event will take place in Southern California this November.
Qualification for the tournament begins today, March 27th, and will last until April 28. Blizzard will track the average skill rating of each country’s top 150 players, and players can keep track via the official Overwatch World Cup website.
The top 20 countries after this period will be invited to compete at the tournament later this year. The four Group Stage host countries are France, South Korea, Thailand, and the United States – meaning they’ve automatically qualified for the event. This, subsequently, means there will be a total of 24 teams battling it out.
A general manager, a coach, and a community lead will head up each countries’ National Competition Committee this year. Members of the committee will be compensated for their time, including travel and accommodation throughout the Group Stages and Finals.
Said committees will stage tryouts from June 1st to July 5th for players who want to represent their country – this involves players who compete in the Overwatch League, so it’s safe to assume there will be plenty of familiar faces. Rosters, which can contain up to a total of 12 players, are due to be submitted between June 15th and July 5th. Blizzard will work alongside the committees and players to decide seven players that will ultimately compete in the live portions of the tournament.
South Korea managed to hold on to its title of World Champions for a second year in a row last year, and it’ll be looking to do it once more come November.
Esports Insider says: It’s good to see the Overwatch World Cup return for a third year, and we’re looking forward to seeing a lot of the talent from the Overwatch League compete against other talented players from their home nation.
