The second tier of competitive Overwatch, known as Contenders, has its North American and European regions returning Sept. 6, 2021. After a break from play, these two regions are coming back with a lot of big changes. Most of the North American changes apply the teams and rosters themselves, with the former champion American Tornado gone. At the same time, the European region has a lot of familiar faces, all looking to get their first tournament wins.
School is back in session: Contenders style.
NA and EU #Contenders2021 starts back up on September 6th pic.twitter.com/yi1EULh3YU
— Overwatch Path to Pro (@owpathtopro) September 2, 2021
North American Contenders returns
Starting on Sept. 6, at 7 p.m. EST, NA Overwatch Contenders is back. The teams participating so far include:
- Bobby Wasabi
- Uprising Academy
- Ardour
- Redbird Esports
- WISP
- Drifters
- Dice Gaming
This leaves one open spot for another NA Contenders team to join. This fourth spot was open to a team from the previous season, but enough teams disbanded that no one has filled the spot. WISP, Uprising Academy and Ardour are the returning teams from the previous season, while the others are new or promoted teams. Bobby Wasabi is looking to get hot fast, as a new team formed around half of American Tornado’s former roster: Christian “Ojee” Han, Nick “False” Wiseman and Nicholas “Speedily” Zou. The other three from the Tornado team – Benjamin “UltraViolet” David, Corey “Reiner” Scoda and Isaiah “Hydron” Rodriguez – are on Redbird Esports, bringing some interesting potential matches between the two.
European Overwatch Contenders returns
Starting on the same day at 1 p.m. local time, is the European Contenders league’s comeback. The teams confirmed in the league so far include:
- Falcons Esports EU
- British Hurricane
- Shu’s Money Crew EU
- Raspberry Racers
- Sheer Cold
- AWW YEAH
- 01 Esports
- RIP
Unlike the North American division, the European region has all its required teams. They include the top four squads from the previous European Contenders season, along with four new ones. Those four new teams consist of the winners of the top four from European Contenders Trials. In terms of legacy, the British Hurricane are trying to reclaim the throne they lost to Falcons Esports EU in July. At the same time, Fusion University didn’t continue in July, which is why they aren’t qualified. Now, the four new teams try to make their mark and top some big names in Contenders history.
All the action starts on Sept. 6, 2021, on the Overwatch Contenders website and YouTube channel. These matches also contain drops for Contenders skins, so make sure to connect your Blizzard account while watching.
Edit: The last team to join Contenders in North America is Altiora.
