There’s good news for fans of Overwatch, with news that the Overwatch World Cup, which was last contested back in 2019, is now confirmed as being a key part of the 2023 Overwatch schedule.
The World Cup is slightly different to other Overwatch tournaments as it is a nation-based event, with players able to qualify to represent their country throughout a series of qualifiers and then onto the Finals themselves.
Overwatch World Cup History
There have been four previous Overwatch World Cup events, running from 2016 through to 2019, before the tournament fell victim to the pandemic.
The tournament has been contested in Anaheim, California, for each of the previous four events, and this will likely be the venue for the 2023 tournament. However, no official confirmation has been made about that just yet.
South Korea were the World Champions from 2016 to 2018 but had to settle for third place in 2019 when China defeated them in the semi-finals, with the Chinese team going on to lose to the eventual winners United States in the final.
The tournament is especially popular with those that enjoy betting on Overwatch, given how this is a national or regional team event.
Overwatch World Cup 2023 – Key Details
Blizzard has announced that there will be a number of phases to work through before they reach the stage of hosting the Overwatch World Cup later this year.
These phases are outlined below:
- January 2023: Blizzard will announce which 36 countries and/or regions will compete for a spot at the 2023 Overwatch World Cup. Additionally, applications to become part of the Competition Committee in each region or country will open. Each Competition Committee in each region or country will be responsible for the organisation of the tryouts for players to try and earn their way to a spot on their national team.
- February 2023: The Competition Committee for each region/country will be announced. A World Cup Trials tournament will allow players to earn a spot in the Country and Regional Team Tryouts.
- March 2023: Each region or country’s Competition Committee will host their own Team Tryouts featuring players that qualified from February’s World Cup Trials. From these Tryouts, each Competition Committee will then select their country or region’s representatives for the Qualifying campaign. Blizzard will oversee the selection process to ensure that it is fair and equitable.
- June 2023: All 36 Regional and Country teams will compete in six regional qualifiers. The top 16 teams from those qualifiers will then advance to the Overwatch World Cup Group Stage which takes place in the autumn.
- Autumn 2023: The 16 best Overwatch teams compete in a LAN Round Robin tournament group stage. Eight of the 16 teams will then advance to the Finals. The Finals will see the eight teams compete in a single elimination bracket to determine who is the Overwatch World Cup Champion in 2023.
Minimum Ranking Requirement For Tryouts
Blizzard have announced that there will be a minimum competitive ranking requirement of Diamond or better for the Tryouts in March, so it is a good idea for any player wishing to compete in the tournament to ensure their ranking is sufficiently high to compete in the Tryouts.
The tournament’s return is sure to be a big hit with Overwatch players and those that like to follow and bet on the live streams of each game too.
And remember you can enjoy plenty of great Overwatch World Cup betting when the tournament gets underway!
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