The Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS) is a new, more open way for players from across their regions to showcase their Overwatch skills. The new structure lets players and fans experience Overwatch esports like never before, and we can’t wait to see the amazing esports competition all year long. But how does it all work? We’re here today to break down the North America (NA) and Europe, Middle-East, and North Africa (EMEA) regions and give you everything you need to know to get involved.
We’ve got a lot to cover, so here’s a quick outline of what to expect as you read on.
OWCS 2024 Season
NA & EMEA Stages
Stage 1
Season Schedule
Circuit Points and Prizing
Eligibility
OWCS International Events
FACEIT x Overwatch 2
Where to Follow
Conclusion
With all that in mind, let’s get to it!
The NA and EMEA OWCS Season will be divided into four stages of competition. Each stage consists of an Open Qualifier and a Main Event. Stage 1 and Stage 2 will qualify teams into the OWCS Major at DreamHack Dallas in May, and performance across Stages 1 to 4 will qualify teams into the OWCS Finals at DreamHack Stockholm in November.
Each competition stage has 3 tournament phases: Swiss, Groups, and the Main Event. The first phase kicks off with the Open Qualifier Swiss phase. Up to 512 teams in each region will have the opportunity to fight their way through the Swiss phase in Week 1, with the top 16 teams advancing to the Groups phase for weeks 2 and 3. There they’ll be split into four groups and seeded by their performance in Swiss. In Groups, teams will be pitted against one another in a GSL-style bracket where the best two teams of each group advance to the third and final phase: the Main Event - an 8-team, double-elimination tournament.
Our OWCS Stage 1: Open Qualifier starts March 1, and you can register right now by clicking the links below.
OWCS Stage 1: Format
Registration
Starts January 30, 2024 and ends Monday, February 29 2024
Head here to register for the Stage 1 Open Qualifier in NA, and here for the Open Qualifier in EMEA.
To participate in the tournament, all members must create an account with FACEIT.
Competition
Takes place from March 1-24, 2024
Watch live on Overwatch Esports Channels
Format
Open registration, up to 512 Teams
Four Weeks of play
Three-phase tournament
Phase 1: Open Qualifier - 512 teams, 9 rounds of Swiss Play
Phase 2: Open Qualifier - 16 teams, GSL Group Play
Phase 3: Main Event - 8 team, Double-Elimination bracket
Prizing
Circuit Points for 1st-16th place
$75,000 USD per Region
For our full schedule of NA & EMEA events for the 2024 OWCS Season, please see below.
OWCS NA/EMEA Stage 1
Roster Lock: March 1
OWCS NA/EMEA Stage 2
Roster Lock: April 5
OWCS Major
Roster Lock: April 5
OWCS NA/EMEA Stage 3
Roster Lock: August 16
OWCS NA/EMEA Stage 4
Roster Lock: September 20
OWCS Finals
Roster Lock: September 20
As mentioned, the OWCS season will have four Stages across the year, with top performers collecting Circuit Points to determine who qualifies for this year’s international LAN events — the OWCS Major at DreamHack Dallas, and the OWCS Finals at DreamHack Stockholm. Speaking of…
Circuit Points will be a vital feature of OWCS in the NA and EMEA regions. They will be used to determine which teams advance into our international LAN events to represent the North America and EMEA regions. But how exactly does the Circuit Points system work, and how does that correlate with prizing for Stages? Let’s take a deeper look.
Prizing - The NA & EMEA OWCS Regions will each have $300,000 USD up for grabs, with International events featuring a crowdfunding model similar to the 2023 Overwatch World Cup. We’ll share more details about crowdfunding as we get closer to DreamHack Dallas.
Circuit Points - The top 16 teams from each OWCS Stage Open Qualifier will earn Circuit Points and prizing based on their performance in Groups and Main Event phases.The higher you place, the more points and prizing you earn - and the further into the season we get, the more valuable your circuit points become for strong performances.
There are two ways to qualify for a place at a DreamHack Major under the Circuit Points system: Qualify via points, or win select stages. At the end of the Stage 2 Main Event, the tournament winners in NA & EMEA alongside the top two remaining teams by points in NA & EMEA will earn a spot at the OWCS Major in DreamHack Dallas. At the conclusion of the Stage 4 Main Event, this same process will determine our DreamHack Stockholm attendees, with Stage 1, 2, 3 & 4 results factoring into a team’s qualification.
The Asia region will function a little differently, where they will not have circuit points and instead, the top two teams of OWCS Asia: Stage 1 Championships and OWCS Asia: Stage 2 Championships will earn a DreamHack berth, joining the six qualifying teams from NA and EMEA for each respective event.
With this new Circuit Point system, teams and players will need to be careful when constructing their rosters. While Circuit Points will remain with Players, we want to incentivize rosters sticking together in the ecosystem. Head to the official OWCS NA & EMEA rulebook to learn more.
We’re still finalizing how you can view Circuit Point totals at this time - we’ll post an update on X when this feature goes live, so you can track the standings throughout the season.
OWCS competition will be divided across three major regions: North America (NA), Europe, Middle East, & North Africa (EMEA), and Asia (Japan, Korean, Pacific).
Each region has a list of jurisdictions considered eligible to play for that region. If you’re a legal resident of one of those jurisdictions, you are considered eligible to play in that region as a resident player. If you’re not from one of that region’s jurisdictions, you can still play in that region as a non-resident player.
When constructing your team to participate in OWCS, please note that there are a few limitations when constructing your roster:
Rosters may have a maximum of 8 players
All players must be at least 17 years of age
Rosters may have a maximum of 2 non-resident players across OWCS regions
All players on a given roster must have an account in good standing on FACEIT, Overwatch 2, & Blizzard Entertainment
For more specifics on eligibility rules, feel free to consult the official OWCS rulebook.
We’re thrilled to bring Overwatch Esports fans two spectacular LAN events as part of the OWCS this year - the OWCS Major at DreamHack Dallas, taking place May 31 - June 2, and the OWCS Finals at DreamHack Stockholm, taking place November 22-24.
DreamHack Dallas will take place at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in the heart of downtown Dallas, Texas, and will feature three days of competition in an 8-team, double elimination format. Co-streamers are invited to host watch parties and entertain Overwatch fans from around the globe on their own channels - keep an eye on our official OWCS channels for more specifics on our co-streaming policy coming soon.
Tickets for DreamHack Dallas are already on sale here.
To attend the OWCS Major in person please note that you’ll need to purchase both (i) a General Admission and (ii) a tournament specific ticket.
Our goals for the esports landscape of Overwatch extend far beyond the esport itself. Through our new partnership with FACEIT, we want to transform the player experience from top to bottom, and integrate new ways to engage in the esports ecosystem that make playing competitively more satisfying, transparent, and rewarding.
FACEIT will be the first platform to fully integrate into the Overwatch experience. You’ll be able to seamlessly configure map and server selections, join a match, and automatically review your in-game statistics, events, and results directly on the FACEIT platform.
Players can create an account on the FACEIT platform and connect their Battle Net account in a few simple clicks.
Check out FACEIT’s newest blog for step by step guides on setting up your FACEIT account, joining your first match, and more.
We intend to have FACEIT integration fully live and ready for everyone to use soon, so stay tuned to the new FACEIT_OW page on X and sign up for email alerts to be the first in the loop on all things FACEIT.
We’re excited to bring you all new ways to fall in love with grinding it out on Overwatch.
The best way to stay up to date on all things OWCS will be to follow us on your social media platform of choice. You can find us on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.
Stay tuned for future announcements regarding where to watch and how to earn all manner of the goodies by watching - or participating in - the OWCS.
We are tremendously excited to kick off OWCS in NA & EMEA and to see how the best from around the region answer the call to glory. It means the world to all of us on the OWCS team that we get to bring you the very best esports Overwatch experience we can.
We hope that this blog helped answer your questions around the 2024 OWCS Season - but if you have any more, feel free to contact us on Social Media or at overwatchesportssupport@blizzard.com.
