Overwatch fans, the wait is over. Blizzard is revealing the schedule for the second season of Overwatch League.
Starting now, get #OWL2018 inaugural season home AND away skins for 100 League Tokens!
Learn more here: https://t.co/pFjzOtQQXK pic.twitter.com/TD8MgMgXXp
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) December 11, 2018
The season will be kicking off on Thursday, February 14. It’s Valentine’s Day, so love will be in the air and Helix rockets will be in the air too! You can check on the Overwatch League schedule here, or by downloading the PDF of the schedule of the official Overwatch League website. Additionally, Overwatch League tickets are also available for purchase now, for every week and every stage. Now, let us hop into some of the changes heading to the league this upcoming year!
New Year, New League
First, Blizzard will be introducing a new event called the “Homestand Weekend Series“. The Dallas Fuel, Atlanta Reign, and Los Angeles Valiant will all be hosting games in the home cities. The Dallas games will be held on April 27 and 28. The games in Atlanta will be on the 6th and 7th of July, while the series in Los Angeles will be held on August 25 and 26. This should provide their fans with a glimpse into live professional Overwatch gameplay before they return to Los Angeles for the rest of the season.
Also, the Overwatch playoffs will be different in 2019, with the league’s top six teams automatically qualifying. The winners of the Atlantic and Pacific Division will also be receiving top seeds. Afterward, two more teams will qualify for the playoffs through a play-in tournament between the seventh-through-twelfth teams. When the eight teams are decided, they will battle it out in a double-elimination style bracket.
Also, the prize pool for the Overwatch League will be increasing from $3.5 million to $5 million. Here is the breakdown, according to Blizzard:
- Stage Playoffs:
- First place: $200,000
- Runner-up: $100,000
- Third and fourth place: $50,000 each
- Fifth through eighth: $25,000 each
- Season Playoffs:
- Champion: $1.1 million
- Runner-up: $600,000
- Third place: $450,000
- Fourth place: $350,000
- Fifth and sixth place: $300,000 each
- Seventh and eighth place: $200,000 each
Finally, the map pool for competitive play is expanding from eight maps to twelve. All teams will also be playing a 28-match schedule, which is down dramatically from the 40 matches they would have to play from last season. We will need to see if this can have good, lasting effects on the league and its players. Many people were complaining about player fatigue and burnout due to a long and arduous season. Hopefully, these changes are good enough for the fans and more importantly, for the players.
Where to Watch?
This season, Overwatch League will be streaming on OverwatchLeague.com, Twitch.tv, and MLG. That is not all though, as Blizzard did sign a deal with Disney. Therefore, a select number of Overwatch League matches will be broadcasted on ESPN, DisneyXD and the ABC family of networks. There will be further information given on the broadcasts soon, but for now, here’s the schedule for week one on Disney XD:
There are some notable matchups in the first week of the league. For example, the first match of the season is a Grand Finals rematch between the Philadelphia Fusion and London Spitfire. With so many new teams and challengers in the league this year, there’s no telling who will come out on top. Hopefully, we get some competitive and exciting action all year round!
What are your thoughts on the Overwatch League 2019 schedule? Let us know what you think in the comments below! If you want more Overwatch coverage, check us out here!
