{"id":1958,"date":"2018-01-05T05:22:17","date_gmt":"2018-01-05T05:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/?p=1958"},"modified":"2020-10-05T22:00:42","modified_gmt":"2020-10-06T02:00:42","slug":"overwatch-league-starts-january-10-here-is-what-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/overwatch-league-starts-january-10-here-is-what-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Overwatch League starts January 10, here is what you need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"

In less than a week’s time, the Overwatch League will officially begin its inaugural season, giving the best players of Blizzard’s massively successful team-based hero shooter the chance to prove their worth on the world stage. <\/p>\n

Unique in both its format and structure compared to other professional esports leagues, with 12 teams representing 11 major cities to give old fans and new the chance to cheer for home-grown talent, the OW League is organized entirely by the creators of the game and serious money has been thrown in to make it the biggest esport league ever. <\/p>\n

If you are an Overwatch esports fan and want to know more about the upcoming Overwatch League, including the schedule, players, teams, rules and betting tips, we have you well covered.<\/p>\n

What is the Overwatch League?<\/h2>\n

The Overwatch League<\/a> is the premier esport league for the first-person, team-based hero shooter video game, Overwatch. It is a multi-million dollar venture launched by Blizzard, the official developers and creators of the game who also run leagues for other popular esport titles, such as Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm and StarCraft II<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The Overwatch League aims to bring together the world’s best Overwatch players and have them duke it out competitively for the top prize and title, with Blizzard providing full licensing, marketing, prize-pools, salaries, sponsorship and even the venue to guarantee it becomes the esports game everybody points to when discussing the booming industry. <\/p>\n

If you’ve watched any esports before, you will be familiar with the basic premise and format of the Overwatch League. If you’re a sports fan but haven’t necessarily gotten into esports, think of the Overwatch League like any other traditional North American sporting league: Talented teams around the world play for top position in the regular season, playoffs and finals, the best talent are signed, professional commentators (called ‘casters’ in esports) provide commentary during each match, and there will be mid-game replays and post-game analysis and highlights.<\/p>\n

While other third-party organizers have held Overwatch esports tournamnents in the past, such as the South Korean Apex League and the Overwatch World Cup, the OWL is on a much higher level of play and investment. The official backing from Blizzard themselves for the Overwatch League is sure to take the competitive scene of Overwatch to the next level.<\/p>\n

How is Overwatch played competitively?<\/h2>\n

If you’re not familiar with Overwatch, it is a heavily team-based first-person shooter game with an emphasis on ‘hero’ characters. Essentially, two teams of six players duke it out across a variety of different maps to complete objectives before the opposing team does to claim victory, which is different from many other popular esports shooters which focus on killing the other team to win. The aforementioned hero characters are from a roster of 20 that each player can choose to play as, each with their own widely different abilities, weapons, advantages, disadvantages and potential strategies that must be taken into consideration alongside the overall team-composition, making for an incredibly balanced and thrilling competitive esport.<\/p>\n

Read our Overwatch esports guide<\/a> for more information on gameplay, rules, heroes, objectives, maps and betting tips.<\/p>\n

When does the Overwatch League season begin?<\/h2>\n

\"Overwatch

The official season for the Overwatch League begins on January 10 with Opening Day, running through to July. The league will feature a 20-week regular season, Championship Playoffs with the top six teams and culminate in the US$1 million championship finals between the two very best professional Overwatch teams. <\/p>\n

The regular season of Overwatch League will be split into four stages, and the performance of each team within each stage counts towards their standing in the overall season. At the end of each of these stages, the four highest-ranking teams will compete against each other to win the title of Stage Champion and a prize-pool of US$125,000. Every stage will have its own pool of eight game maps that matches will be played on, and each match will feature a set of four maps, keeping all players on their toes.<\/p>\n

Overwatch League Season 1 – Stages<\/strong><\/p>\n