Overwatch World Cup returns in 2017, finals to take place at BlizzCon 2017
Blizzard has announced the 2017 Overwatch World Cup, with the finals set to take place at BlizzCon 2017.
Beginning Wednesday, Blizzard will track the skill rating for the top 100 Overwatch players in every country to determine a country’s “average rating” during Phase 1 of the event. Using those ratings, Blizzard will identify the 32 countries with the most skilled Overwatch players. Those countries will move on in the tournament.
In Phase 2, each of these 32 countries will assemble an Overwatch World Cup National Committee, where three representatives will determine the roster picks for the competition. The committee will suggest team selections based on “players’ synergies, hero pools, and past game performances.”
Committee nominations spans two phases of its own. Each country will have ten nominees, which includes Overwatch analysts, coaches, statisticians, and other community authorities, and players can then vote for the nominees they want to represent their country, beginning in April.
Phase 3 will host four live group stage qualifiers in Europe, North America, and Asia, with eight teams competing in each group stage. The top two finishers qualify for the Overwatch World Cup Finals.
Phase 4 is the BlizzCon Finals, taking place in the Anaheim Convention Center on November 3-4. Tickets for BlizzCon 2017 go on sale next month.
South Korea won Overwatch World Cup 2016 without losing a single map. Winston player Jin Hyuk “Miro” Gong was named MVP of the finals.
In related Overwatch news, an example of the proposed Overwatch League cities recently circulated online. Overwatch League was announced at BlizzCon 2016. According to a recent report, prospective Overwatch League teams could cost up to $30 million.
Michael Martin is the filthiest of Overwatch casuals. He even plays it on Xbox One. Follow him on Twitter @BIzarro_Mike.
