Blizzard announced plans to bring back an Overwatch World Cup for 2023, featuring 36 different countries and regions around the world. The Overwatch World Cup is scheduled to begin in June 2023, with Regional Qualifiers taking place to determine the Top 16 teams who will participate in the group stage and finals during Fall 2023. The top 16 teams from each region are expected to participate, and 36 countries will undergo trials and selections over the course of a year, prior to competing at World Cup Qualifier in June 2023.
After team compositions are completed, the Overwatch World Championship Qualifier is scheduled to take place via a regional online tournament, whittling down 36 teams to 16 for the next stage of the tournament. “In January, we will be announcing the 36 countries and regions competing in Overwatch World Cup, which is also when application submissions to the Competition Committee open”. The grand finale for the event is set for sometime during the fall of next year, but Blizzard is planning on announcing the countries and regions competing at next month’s event, which is set for January.
Despite a three-year hiatus, Blizzard says that returning is going to be bigger than ever, especially because the Overwatch League will be the first one played on Overwatch 2. In addition to Blizzard, Overwatch League has made announcements about coming, though for now, its webpage remains mostly empty. The return suggests that the competitive scene is in a healthier place than last year, with Overwatch League losing major sponsors due to an ongoing problem of perceived mistreatment at Activision Blizzard.
https://twitter.com/PlayOverwatch/status/1604159997507538945
Blizzard wants to entice more fans into participating, which is why Blizzard is offering regular events as well as the new Open Tournament format. The organizers announced they would introduce a new way for players to compete for their team’s roster spots via a “World Championship Challenges” tournament, which is in the format of an open tournament. While it may seem like those spots would likely be dominated by the pros from Overwatch League and Overwatch Contenders, Blizzard is holding an open February tournament called World Cup Trials, which will grant the winning players a guaranteed spot on the team’s tryouts.
The group stages, a person-to-person round-robin tournament, and finals, which feature the world’s 8 best Overwatch 2 teams, are set to happen this fall. Six Regional Qualifiers will be held in June, narrowing down the field from 36 teams down to the Top 16. A more detailed schedule set up on Blizzard’s official site makes it clear the Overwatch World Cups opening stages are set for January, with the publisher selecting 36 countries and regions to host teams competing for the title.
