Esports tournament organiser ESL FACEIT Group has announced a new Overwatch 2 open circuit featuring a $170,000 (~£135,000) prize pool.
Called the FACEIT League, the multi-tiered team league will also offer qualification to the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this summer.
Per a release, the newly formed league aims to mirror FACEIT’s successes within its Counter-Strike ecosystem through ‘always-on, consistent and rewarding structured competition’.
FACEIT League will run through numerous seven-week seasons each year and will support competition for players in North America, EMEA, Oceania and South America. The release emphasises that competition will be for players of all levels, from amateurs to established teams.
The league’s Regular Season 1 will occur between April 29th and June 9th. This is followed by playoffs for qualifying teams from June 10th to 23rd to compete for a slice of its $170,000 pool. Playoff placements can also grant teams promotion to higher divisions as well as a spot in the Esports World Cup.
The divisions will be split into three or four tiers depending on region. All regions will feature a ‘Master: Road to Esports World Cup’ division as well as ‘Expert’ and ‘Open’ leagues. EMEA and North America will also include an ‘Advanced’ tier between Open and Expert. Both Advanced and Expert will only be playable via an invitation based on players’ elo ratings.
The league builds on the EFG’s recent agreement with Overwatch 2 developer Blizzard Entertainment which sees the organiser run the Overwatch Champions Series, the game’s main esports circuit.
On the FACEIT League, Warren Leigh, Senior Vice President of Product, Digital Platforms at EFG, commented: “The response from Overwatch players on FACEIT has exceeded our expectations and illustrates the need for the robust, sustainable structure that we’re building with FACEIT League. With over 50 seasons of Counter-Strike experience building some of the most successful grassroots esports ecosystems, having the opportunity to support the Overwatch community with a bespoke program is incredibly exciting.”
