Get those calendars out, we have a date 🙌 #OWL2021 officially kicks off on April 16th!
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) February 20, 2021
We're moving broadcast times, bringing back tournaments, and updating our scoring system ➡ https://t.co/Hnr1TFDY0j pic.twitter.com/aGZ6ccc4kR
Eastern region ;
It consists of eight teams competing in China and South Korea.
West region ;
Includes European and North American teams. Teams in both regions will play four matches per cycle to determine qualification and standings for each of the tournaments. The six best qualifying teams from the west and the top four teams from the east will play the qualifying matches. As a result, two teams from each region will advance to the tournament weekend, where a tournament champion will be determined.
The Overwatch 2021 season will take place entirely over four independent tournaments. As the season progresses, The June Joust, Summer Showdown, and Countdown Cup will take place. Teams will play four matches in each tournament division to qualify for the final tournament. This means all Overwatch League teams will play at least 16 regular season games in 2021, but most will play more.
As the league is split into two regions, East and West, teams will need to play qualifiers in their respective regions to advance to the double elimination global tier. For each tournament, the top six Western teams will play the qualifiers, with only the top four Eastern teams playing. The real fun will come when two teams from each region face off. As long as the global pandemic situation allows, the two West region teams will head to Hawaii for lower ping to play the top two East teams in the double elimination group. The winning team will take home a $100,000 prize as the winner of the tournament, as well as additional league points for the postseason.
The 2021 Overwatch league is moving to a new scoring system that awards League Points for qualifying and tournament wins. Within each tournament cycle, any win during the three weeks of qualifying will count as a qualifying for a seasonal tournament. A knockout win is worth 1 League Points, while tournament placement is worth more and the first prize is 3 League Points.
All League Points earned during the season will be used to determine playoff qualification and standings, with the top three teams from the west and the top two teams from the east qualifying directly for the playoffs. A play-in tournament for each region will then place the additional three teams in the remaining spots in the eight-team double elimination playoff group.
