Blizzard has revealed that the Overwatch World Cup will resume in 2023, including teams from 36 nations and territories. After the United States defeated China 3-0 in 2019 to win its first Overwatch World Cup, the tournament was put on hold indefinitely. Blizzard hasn’t hosted the competition since the COVID-19 outbreak, but with limitations easing off on a country-by-country basis and the release of Overwatch 2, the timing appears ideal to restart the contest.
The inaugural Overwatch World Cup took place in 2016, the same year the game was released. Overwatch gamers from all around the world voted on their favorite gamers from each area to establish squads. Six teams were seeded directly into the Overwatch World Cup group stage, while the other 50 teams competed in a tournament for the remaining slots. The 2019 Overwatch World Cup will consist of three phases, the first of which is open to participation from any nation.
Planning for the 2023 Overwatch World Cup is more involved for Blizzard. There are still preliminary rounds, a group phase, and a final round. But Blizzard has further divided its ideas into three parts for organizational reasons. In January, the first round entails choosing 36 nations and regions and soliciting proposals for committees to establish regional teams. Step two entails establishing regional committees, including auditions, squad selection, a World Cup Tryouts Overwatch 2 open event, and finally, the qualifiers.
The road to crowning the 2023 Overwatch World Cup Champion kicks off next month 🎉 And it’s gonna be a wild ride 🎢
Get the full rundown 🏆: https://t.co/eKcSF0LggD pic.twitter.com/qFFxJpB2eD
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) December 17, 2022
Blizzard’s Stage 2 will culminate in June with the World Cup Qualifier events. There will be six regional qualifying events for the 36 groups from all around the globe to play in, with the top 16 teams moving on to Stage 3 as well as the Overwatch World Cup group stage. In the coming autumn, the world’s best eight Overwatch 2 teams will compete in a live, in-person round-robin group stage and championship.
Blizzard seems to want to make it plain to Overwatch 2 players everywhere that they don’t have to be a certain kind of person to participate. Even if they aren’t professional Overwatch 2 gamers, casual gamers can still help establish panels, and the best players in their regions can attempt out for such teams. Blizzard will be active at every stage, but it is important for the company that each nation or area take responsibility for its own team.
It’s a novel way to choose players for the Overwatch World Cup squads, and it’s more democratic and convenient than polls. Hopefully, this will lead to some exciting international Overwatch 2 rivalry, the emergence of some young talent, and a fun event for everyone involved. The details of the 2023 Overwatch World Cup will become clearer in the next weeks and months.
