Qualification is required to enter any of Overwatch’s many tournaments. This means that these events do not impose entry fees. As for other popular eSports disciplines, they imply stiffer competition. Based on this, we can conclude that the Overwatch betting arena is still unstable. While even small events generate huge prize pools, the Overwatch premier divisions are what every player dream of. Presumably, their prize pools will grow over time as Blizzard counts Overwatch as one of their favorites in the eSports market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Announced at BlizzCon in 2016, the Overwatch League kicked off in Q3 2017. Organized by Blizzard, it accepts 20 teams representing their cities. Notably, the total prize pool for Season 1 was US $ 3.5 million distributed among the participating teams, with a grand prize of US $ 1 million awarded to the winning team. The eSports Overwatch League is played in the same format used by North American professional sports leagues. This means that all teams play with each other strictly according to the schedule, trying to reach the playoffs. It is noteworthy that Season 2 was preceded by pre-season games not included in the main regulations. The 2020 season was marked by a number of changes due, in particular, to the quarantine measures introduced due to the pandemic. As the Overwatch League is the largest competitive event of the year, it is featured on the websites of most major betting providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to the Overwatch League, there are several other side leagues hosted by Blizzard. First launched in 2017, the Open Division is an amateur league where members compete against each other in a structured season. The Open Division covers 7 major regions including Australia, China, Europe, Korea, North America, Pacific, and South America. It is noteworthy that successful players and teams that participated in Open Division can move up to Overwatch Contenders, the minor league in relation to the Overwatch League. Teams from the latter can use Overwatch Contenders to scout outstanding players and train new ones. With a total of 68 teams, this league is divided into 8 regions. As for Overwatch betting, the Overwatch Contenders invites bettors to place bets for 9 months annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Different in format from the Overwatch League, the Overwatch World Cup was first held in 2016. It is noteworthy that in 2016, the organizers allowed users to choose the teams that will represent their region or country by voting. Held the following year, the 2017 Overwatch World Cup featured users voting for the Overwatch World Cup National Committee so that its analysts, coaches, and extras could choose the best teams for themselves. The OWC uses a format reminiscent of the FIFA World Cup with a group stage and knockout playoffs. Broadcast online on Twitch, OWC has amassed tens of thousands of viewers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, OWC 2019 is the last global cup format event to date. Notably, the South Korean team won the Overwatch World Cup three times in a row from 2016 to 2018 inclusive. Considered favorites at the last event, the representatives of South Korea took only 3rd place, while the team from the United States became the triumphant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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