Overwatch League is Blizzard’s attempt at turning its highly successful multiplayer shooter into a fully fledged esport. So far the game has had a rather successful run with its Overwatch World Cup events among many others, so what sets this league apart? Here’s everything you need to know and every team you can get behind.
THE LEAGUE
Overwatch League will pit 12 teams from around the world against each other in round-based competitive games. The inaugural season will run from Jan. 10 to Jun. 16, with the regular season divided into four stages of six weeks each. Wins and losses across each stage will combine to form a team’s seeding for the postseason, along with bonuses for teams who finish top of each stage.
There are 12 teams all up, split into two conferences; Atlantic and Pacific. The top four teams from each division at the end of the regular season will compete in the postseason, played across Jul. 11-22, with the final on Jul. 26–28 determining the champion and winner of the USD $1 million grand prize.
Schedules and results can be found via the official Overwatch League website, where every game is telecast live.
THE RULES
Overwatch tournaments are generally run under a particular set of rules. Two teams will compete across four rounds, plus an optional sudden death round if teams are tied 2-2, with 1 point awarded to the winner of each round and 0 points for either a draw or defeat. General rules are similar across previous tournaments and the Overwatch World Cup.
Players are free to choose their character, though most have a chosen particular roles to play within each team (either DPS, Support, Tank or Flex). All games are played out of Blizzard Arena in Burbank, California.
MERCH AND SKINS
As with traditional sports, each team has a designated collection of merchandise and gear for fans that can be purchased via the official website, with team jerseys and the like.
For Overwatch players in particular, Blizzard will add a new currency that can be collected in-game that can spent on skins representing each team. Called League Tokens, they can be used to purchase specific team skins in their particular color, and will be implemented in 2018. Players will be given enough tokens at launch to select at least one skin to begin with, though currently it is unclear if tokens are only available for purchase or can be collected in-game during particular online modes.
THE TEAMS
The first season of Overwatch League consists of 12 teams, spanning the US, Europe, and Asia. Click through to discover more about each team, their in-game skins and more.
Division: Atlantic
Roster:
- Nam-joo ‘Striker’ Kwon, South Korea
- Stanislav ‘Mistakes’ Danilov, Russia
- Jonathan ‘DreamKazper’ Sanchez, USA
- Lucas ‘NotE’ Meissner, Canada
- Woo-yeol ‘Kalios’ Shin, South Korea
- Yeong-jin ‘Gamsu’ Noh, South Korea
- Mikias ‘Snow’ Yohannes, Ethiopia
- Kristian ‘Kellex’ Keller, Denmark
- Se-hyeon ‘Neko’ Park, South Korea
- Connor ‘Avast’ Prince, USA
Coach: Da-hee ‘Crusty’ Park
Assistant Coach(s): Jackson ‘Shake’ Kaplan and Rollon ‘Mini’ Hamelin
Owners: Robert Kraft (Kraft Group)
Owned by the company that has made a living out of winning titles through the New England Patriots, Boston Uprising houses a number of players from various Overwatch teams and international locations. Given the ownership’s lack of esports experience, it’ll be interesting to see whether they can make an impact in their first season together.
Player to Watch: When you’re the lone Tank on the team, that can put a lot of pressure on you to perform, but Gamsu has shown some early skill so far in his Overwatch career. His plays could make or break any defensive strategies, along with his support crew.
Division: Atlantic
Roster:
- Kevyn ‘TviQ’ Lindström, Sweden
- Andreas ‘Logix’ Berghmans, Belgium
- Tim ‘Manneten’ Bylund, Sweden
- Johan ‘CWoosH’ Klingestedt, Sweden
- Sebastian ‘Zebbosai’ Olsson, Sweden
- Aleksi ‘Zuppeh’ Kuntsi, Finland
Coach: Vytis ‘Mineral’ Lasaitis
Owners: Ben Spoont (Misfits)
The UK-based Misfits have their hand in a number of esports leagues, including CS:GO and League of Legends, and the entirety of the Florida Mayhem roster comes from their existing Overwatch team, giving them an advantage as the season opens thanks to their previous experiences as a team.
Player to Watch: Given most of the Mistfits squad also played a hand in Sweden’s performance at this year’s Overwatch World Cup (you’ll find that a common reference), any one of them could have a big role to play. Zebbosai, however, has been to the past two world cups and has had past success in Team Fortress in a similar supportive role. That experience will no doubt be a big boost to any teams confidence, though he has also played as Widowmaker from time to time.
Division: Atlantic
Roster:
- Matt ‘Clockwork’ Dias, USA
- Jiri ‘LiNkzr’ Masalin, Finland
- Jake ‘JAKE’ Lyon, USA
- Lucas ‘Mendokusaii’ Håkansson, Sweden
- Matt ‘coolmatt69’ Iorio, USA
- Alexandre ‘SPREE’ Vanhomwegen, Belgium
- Austin ‘Muma’ Wilmot, USA
- Daniel ‘Boink’ Pence, USA
- Christopher ‘Bani’ Benell, Canada
- Shane ‘Rawkus’ Flaherty, USA
Coach: Tae-yeong ‘TaiRong’ Kim
Owners: Hector Rodriquez (OpTic Gaming)
OpTic Gaming is another long running esports team out of the US, having had success in Halo, Gears of War, and CS:GO in the past. Much of the Houston roster hails from the US National team that put up a strong fight against eventual 2017 Overwatch World Cup winners South Korea, so they should continue to be a threat here.
Player to Watch: JAKE might not have as much experience under his belt as many other players in the competition, but he proved his leadership potential with a gutsy World Cup performance against South Korea. Whether he can continue with that newfound confidence in front of major crowds is another challenge he will no doubt relish.
Division: Atlantic
Roster:
- Ji-hyuk ‘birdring’ Kim, South Korea
- Dong-jun ‘Rascal’ Kim, South Korea
- Joon-yeong ‘Profit’ Park, South Korea
- Dong-eun ‘Hooreg’ Lee, South Korea
- Jun-ho ‘Fury’ Kim, South Korea
- Seung-hyun ‘WOOHYAL’ Sung, South Korea
- Chan-hyung ‘Fissure’ Baek, South Korea
- Jae-hee ‘Gesture’ Hong, South Korea
- Hyeon-woo ‘HaGoPeun’ Jo, South Korea
- Won-sik ‘Closer’ Jung, South Korea
- Choi-tae ‘Bdosin’ Seung, South Korea
- Jong-seok ‘NUS’ Kim, South Korea
Coach: Jeong-min ‘Jjfeel’ Kim, Chang-geun ‘changgoon’ Park, Beoum-jun ‘Bishop’ Lee and Seon-woo ‘Claire’ Jeon
Owners: Jack Etienne and Danan Flander (Cloud9)
Cloud9 is one of the more successful esports teams to make an appearance in the inaugural Overwatch league, and has multiple teams representing new and existing esports competitions including PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, League of Legends, and Rocket League. They have also been recipients of the Best Esports Team award from the Game Awards for the past two years running. As for the Spitfire, the London-based team is entirely comprised of top quality South Korean Overwatch players.
Player to Watch: Any one of the talented roster could make this list, all of which have had amazing success through both Cloud9 and the 2017 APAC Premiers, GC Busan. But keep a close an eye on WOOHYAL, who could very well become one of the top D.Va players of the season.
Division: Atlantic
Roster:
- Jong-yeol ‘Saebyeolbe’ Park, South Korea
- Do-hyun ‘Pine’ Kim, South Korea
- Hye-sung ‘Libero’ Kim, South Korea
- Tae-hong ‘Mek0’ Kim, South Korea
- Jun-hwa ‘Janus’ Song, South Korea
- Dong-gyu ‘Mano’ Kim, South Korea
- Sung-hyeon ‘JjoNak’ Bang, South Korea
- Yeon-joon ‘ArK’ Hong, South Korea
Coach: Hyeong-seok ‘WizardHyeong’ Kim and Hyeon-sang ‘Pavane’ Yu
Owners: Jeff Wilpon (The New York Mets / Sterling Equities)
New York’s representative team has been put together, again, with a host of South Korean players. However, the most important asset to the team is a player who can’t play yet due to the age restrictions of the competition. Fl0w3R, one of the most well-rounded and dangerous Overwatch players and a member of the successful South Korean Overwatch World Cup winning squad, is currently waiting in the wings as an inactive player until he comes of age. That’s a dangerous not-so-secret weapon for the team when the time comes.
Player to Watch: With Fl0w3R sidelined for now, fellow World Cup winner Saebyeolbe should grab plenty of attention with some quickfire Tracer and the occasional Roadhog. The 21 year-old should cause plenty of headaches either way.
Division: Atlantic
Roster:
- Jae-hyeok ‘Carpe’ Lee, South Korea
- Josh ‘Eqo’ Corona, Israel
- George ‘ShaDowBurn’ Gushcha, Russia
- Hong-joon ‘HOTBA’ Choi, South Korea
- Gael ‘Poko’ Gouzerch, France
- Joona ‘Fragi’ Laine, Finland
- Su-min ‘SADO’ Kim, South Korea
- Isaac ‘Boombox’ Charles, United Kingdom
- Jeong-hwan ‘Dayfly’ Park, South Korea
- Joe ‘Joemeister’ Gramano, Canada
- Alberto ‘neptuNo’ González, Spain
Coach: Yann ‘Kirby’ Luu
Owners: Comcast Spectacor
Sports and entertainment owner Comcast has put together a Fusion squad full of talented players, including UK World Cup member Boombox, mixed with a few lesser known players. They will also be missing SADO for most of the inaugural season following a suspension handed down by Blizzard for breaching Overwatch League rules and Overwatch’s EULA. He won’t return to action until stage four.
Player to Watch: While Mercy will play a pivotal role on any team given her high level of healing, UK support player Boombox will bring his Zenyatta into the fray, which could lead to both some clutch support moments along with an extra level of attack. Boombox will look to go one better than his UK team’s disappointing performance at the World Cup.
Division: Pacific
Roster:
- Kim ‘EFFECT’ Hyeon, South Korea
- Timo ‘Taimou’ Kettunen, Finland
- Brandon ‘Seagull’ Larned, USA
- Pongphop ‘Mickie’ Rattanasangchod, Thailand
- Sebastian ‘chipshajen’ Widlund, Sweden
- Christian ‘cocco’ Jonsson, Sweden
- Félix ‘xQc’ Lengyel, Canada
- Jonathan ‘HarryHook’ Tejedor Rua, Spain
- Scott ‘Custa’ Kennedy, Australia
Coach: Kyle ‘KyKy’ Souder
Owners: EnVyUs
Long running esports organisation Team EnVyUs already has plenty of experience in Overwatch, having previously won the first season of Overwatch Contenders North America. They’ve since strengthened their squad for Overwatch League and should go in as strong contenders, plus they will no doubt be a fan-favorite thanks to Seagull, one of the most popular Overwatch streamers.
Player to Watch: Popularity aside, Seagull has a lot to live up to as his Pharah roams the skies and his Genji stalks below. Whichever role he does play, expect plenty of skill on show and perhaps a little entertainment on the sidelines as the season goes on. His insight into the league during its first season should go down a treat, if his team affords him the chance to stream on off-days that is.
Division: Pacific
Roster:
- Lane ‘Surefour’ Roberts, Canada
- Joon-seong ‘Asher’ Choi, South Korea
- João ‘Hydration’ Pedro Goes Telles, Brazil
- Aaron ‘Bischu’ Kim, South Korea
- Luis ‘iReMiix’ Galarza Figueroa, Puerto Rico
- Jonas ‘Shaz’ Suovaara, Finland
- Benjamin ‘BigG00se’ Isohanni, Finland
Coach: David ‘Dpei’ Pei
Owners: Kroenke Sports & Entertainment
The Gladiators have a heavy hitting owner backing them, an organization that has multiple existing sports teams under their portfolio. Whether that support will lead them to success is another story entirely, but the roster is a solid mix of experience and youth.
Player to Watch: Surefour will play an important part of his teams potential in the inaugural season. As a DPS specialist and one of the more experienced players tournament-wise, Surefour played a main role in Canada’s successful run in the 2017 World Cup and should be a handful for opposing teams as either Pharah or Tracer.
Division: Pacific
Roster:
- Christopher ‘GrimReality’ Schaefer, USA
- Brady ‘Agilities’ Girardi, Canada
- Terrence ‘SoOn’ Tarlier, France
- Ted ‘silkthread’ Wang, USA
- Benjamin ‘uNKOE’ Chevasson, France
- Stefano ‘Verbo’ Disalvo, Canada
- Young-seo ‘KariV’ Park, South Korea
- Kang-jae ‘envy’ Lee, South Korea
- Indy ‘SPACE’ Halpern, USA
- Pan-seung ‘Fate’ Koo, South Korea
- Seb ‘numlocked’ Barton, United Kingdom
Coach: Dong ‘Ookz’ Wook Kim
Owners: Immortals
As far as Overwatch goes, the Immortals have been in the thick of it from almost the beginning, winning a number of major tournaments throughout 2017. The team has changed considerably since those early successful runs before forming the Valiant Overwatch League squad, with a number of new players brought in to fill out bench roles, but there’s a sense that they should continue to find success and cause a little havoc against less experienced squads.
Player to Watch: One of the newest members brought in from outside of the Immortals stable is uNKOE, well known for his attacking and clinically defensive Ana. It should also come as no surprise that he can also pull off a solid Widowmaker too when the case requires it, but it will be interesting to see whether he can work well together with his new and somewhat stable teammates as the season goes on.
Division: Pacific
Roster:
- André ‘IDDQD’ Dahlström, Sweden
- Dante ‘Danteh’ Cruz, USA
- Andrej ‘Babybay’ Francisty, USA
- Nikola ‘Sleepy’ Andrews, USA
- Daniel ‘dhaK’ Martinez Paz, Spain
- David ‘Nomy’ Ramirez, Mexico
- Andreas ‘Nevix’ Karlsson, Sweden
Coach: Brad Rajani
Owners: NRG Esports
NRG hasn’t been on the scene for too long, but with championship caliber teams in Rocket League, League of Legends, and a major tournament victory in Smite behind them, they certainly aren’t inexperienced. Having said that, their current Overwatch squad has the least amount of tournament experience compared to the rest of the competition and are untested as a group. The pressure might be off them to perform, however, so expect a surprise or two.
Player to Watch: Given the small roster (with two inactive players due to age restrictions), it’s up to the rest of the team to find common ground early on. IDDQD will no doubt lead that charge as one of the most feared McCree’s of the tournament and one of the more experienced Overwatch players overall on the team.
Division: Pacific
Roster:
- In-Jae ‘EscA’ Kim, South Korea
- Sang-Beom ‘Munchkin’ Byun, South Korea
- Byung-Sun ‘Fleta’ Lim, South Korea
- Gi-Do ‘Gido’ Moon, South Korea
- Joon-Hyuk ‘Zunba’ Kim, South Korea
- Jae-Mo ‘xepheR’ Koo, South Korea
- Je-Hong ‘ryujehong’ Ryu, South Korea
- Jin-Mo ‘Tobi’ Yang, South Korea
- Jin-Hyuk ‘Miro’ Gong, South Korea
- Seok-woo ‘Wekeed’ Choi, South Korea
- Joon-hyuk ‘Bunny’ Chae, South Korea
- Dae-kuk ‘KuKi’ Kim, South Korea
Coach: Kwang-jin Baek, Ho-jeong ‘alwaysoov’ Chae and Yo-han ‘nuGget’ Kim
Owners: KSV Esports
One of only two Asian-based teams, Seoul Dynasty boasts one of the dangerous lineups of the tournament and are considered an early favorite because of that. The team is dominated by former Lunatic-Hai squad members, which won two straight APEX seasons in 2017, along with a handful of members from South Korea’s highly successful World Cup squad. To underestimate the Dynasty is to court death, as they say.
Player to Watch: It’s not hard to see why ryujehong has been chosen as Dynasty’s team captain. A highly talented support player, ryujehong has been a member of both World Cup winning squads and Lunatic-Hai’s incredible APEX run. He’s regarded by many as one of the best support players not just in this tournament but overall, and that talent will be worth watching among one super quality roster.
Division: Pacific
Roster:
- Lu ‘Diya’ Weida, China
- Fang ‘Undead’ Chao, China
- Liu ‘Xushu’ Junjie, China
- Jing ‘Roshan’ Wenhao, China
- Wu ‘MG’ Dongjian, China
- Cheng ‘Altering’ Yage, China
- Chen ‘Fiveking’ Zhaoyu, China
- Xu ‘Freefeel’ Peixuan, China
Coach: Chen ‘U4’ Congshan
Owners: NetEase
You’d be forgiven for thinking that South Korea is the only place out of Asia that plays Overwatch, but this lone Chinese team is certainly out to prove they deserve their spot in this first season. NetEase already has a preexisting relationship with Blizzard, having distributed their games into China for a number of years, whilst many of the squad competed for China during the World Cup this year, finishing in the top 8 overall.
Player to Watch: The team has a decent amount of experience across the board, but not a lot of major success stories or competition victories in the process. If that’s going to change, it’s up to the likes of Roshan and his Winston to turn the competition in their favor. It’s a big ask given the talent that awaits them elsewhere, but a good Winston leading the charge can be all the difference a team needs.
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