In 2025, OWCS built on the foundation of our inaugural year, with the goal of making the ecosystem more intuitive, accessible, and rewarding for everyone involved in Overwatch Esports.
In NA and EMEA, teams could qualify into OWCS each stage directly through their region’s FACEIT League, then compete through Promotion/Relegation to earn a spot in the Champions Series. The result was a truly open ecosystem pipeline, where if you had the skill to prove you belong, anyone could climb for a shot at the crown.
From there, teams clashed in Regular Season matches, where regional seeding was set and the best teams advanced to Playoffs. Those Regional Playoffs gave glory, prize money, and a spot at one of our three international live events: Champions Clash, Midseason Championship, and OWCS World Finals.
In 2026, Overwatch Esports is focused on creating a year-long esports experience with OWCS at the center, and expanding the ecosystem with both new and fan-favorite programs designed to reach more players and fans around the world. That means fans will have more ways to watch, earn, and compete than they have since OWCS launched.
With that, we’re excited to share what is in store in the 2026 Season!
The OWCS 2026 Season doubles down on the success of the 2025 Season by replicating the structure with a few minor tweaks to ensure the highest level competition and entertainment you'll always want to tune in for.
One of the most exciting aspects of OWCS 2025 was seeing how global competitiveness continues to grow in parity for OWCS - and we want to continue to support that. That’s why, to start the year off strong, we’re bringing OWCS Partner Teams together in Seoul, South Korea for the first ever OWCS Pre-Season Bootcamp; an invite only program with a live event tournament at the end and designed to support competitive readiness ahead of OWCS Stage 1.
The Pre-Season Bootcamp provides teams with exclusive early access to the upcoming content and competitive build, along with a structured environment for daily scrims and collaboration. Throughout the program, teams will train and exchange insights with fellow players and coaches from the broader Overwatch competitive community in South Korea, helping set the foundation for the 2026 season.
The Pre-Season Bootcamp will run from February 8 through February 15, with training hosted at T1 Academy at T1 Headquarters in Seoul. The week will culminate in a live Pre-Season Tournament, held from February 12 to February 15 at WDG Studio in Hongdae, giving teams a first chance to put their preparation into action.
A total of 12 teams will participate in the bootcamp, consisting of 11 OWCS Partner Teams from NA, EMEA, Asia, and China, plus one invitational team from Japan.
Bootcamp rosters are independent from OWCS Stage 1 rosters, allowing teams flexibility to test lineups ahead of the season.
NA: Team Liquid, Dallas Fuel, Disguised
EMEA: Twisted Minds, Virtus Pro, Team Peps
Asia (Korea): T1, Team Falcons, Crazy Raccoon
China: TBD 1, TBD 2
Asia (Japan): Varrel
The tournament will feature a 12-team single-elimination bracket, with pre-seeding determined by teams’ performance -both regionally, and at the 2025 OWCS World Finals. Additional details, including the full match schedule and broadcast information, will be shared at a later date.
The OWCS Pre-Season Tournament will be produced and operated by WDG, our Asia esports partner. Their support and contribution will lead the overall operations, broadcast, and show production of the Pre-Season Tournament. The tournament will be broadcast on official OWCS channels in English, Korean, and Japanese, allowing fans across regions to follow the action as teams prepare for the 2026 season.
Tickets for the OWCS Pre-Season Bootcamp Tournament will be available for purchase from Jan 23 in KST via Ticket link at https://www.ticketlink.co.kr.
After the Pre-Season Bootcamp, the 2026 season will kick-off with regional stages across China, NA, EMEA, and Asia. Each stage will crown its top teams, who will then qualify for a global Live Event to compete for glory, their piece of the crowdfunded prizepool, and the title of OWCS Champions.
Each region’s Stages will feature a Qualifying phase, where an Open Qualifier or Promotion/Relegation tournament will decide who competes in the Regular Season. Partner Teams auto-qualify into Stage 1 Regular Season and do not have to participate in the qualifying phase of Stage 1. However, Partner Teams may still end up in a Promotion/Relegation tournament going into Stage 2 and 3. These teams will duke it out in the Regular Season each Stage to qualify for their Region’s Playoffs, where just a few teams will earn the right to represent their Region at one of our three incredible Live Events.
2026 Format DetailsNA and EMEA kick off each of their OWCS 2026 Seasons with an Open Qualifier on FACEIT to determine who will join our Partner Teams in the Stage 1 Regular Season. While Partner Teams will auto-qualify for Stage 1, they can still be relegated like all other Teams going into Stages 2 and 3.
Think you have what it takes? Registration for the 2026 Open Qualifiers is live now!
Registration
Registration Opens: January 19th
Registration Closes: February 20th
Format
Two Phase Tournament (all matches First to 3)
Phase 1: Swiss
Phase 2: Double Elimination Bracket
Open Registration for Phase 1, with top placing teams advancing to Phase 2
Direct placement into Phase 2 for top placing teams from OWCS & FACEIT League Competition in 2025. See the Competition Memo for full details.
NA: Top 2 teams advance to OWCS Stage 1
EMEA: Top 3 teams advance to OWCS Stage 1
Head to the Competition Memo and OWCS Rulebook for all competition and eligibility details.
Regular Season:
Multi-week, six-team Round Robin
Top 4 teams advance to double-elimination Playoffs bracket
Top 4 also auto-qualify for the following OWCS Stage
Bottom 2 teams drop into next Stage’s Promotion/Relegation Tournament
Promotion/Relegation Tournaments:
Take place between Stages (NA/EMEA only)
4 team Double-Elimination Bracket
Top 2 FACEIT League Master Division teams vs Bottom 2 OWCS teams
2 teams advance to the OWCS Regular Season
2 teams relegated to FACEIT League Master
Live Events:
Format and seeding distribution varies per Stage - details coming soon!
Stage 1
Open Qualifiers: Feb 21-22, Feb 28 - Mar 1
Regular Season:
Week 1: Mar 21-22
Week 2: Mar 28-29
Week 3: Apr 4-5
Playoffs: Apr 10-12
2026 Champions Clash: May 22-24
Stage 2
Promo/Relegation Tournament: May 30
Regular Season:
Week 1: Jun 13-14
Week 2: Jun 20-21
Week 3: Jun 27-28
Playoffs: Jul 3-5
2026 Midseason Championship: Jul 29 - Aug 2
Stage 3
Promo/Relegation Tournament: Aug 15
Regular Season:
Week 1: Oct 10-11
Week 2: Oct 17-18
Week 3: Oct 24-25
Playoffs: Oct 30 - Nov 1
2026 OWCS World Finals: Dec 2-6
Open QualifiersThe road to the 2026 OWCS Asia season begins with Open Qualifiers. Teams across our Asia sub-regions of Korea, Japan, and Pacific will compete to secure their spots alongside our Partner Teams in the Stage 1 Regular Season. While our 2026 Partner Teams auto-qualify for Stage 1, they must maintain their performance to avoid relegation in future stages.
Open Qualifiers will take place from Feb 20 – 22. Registration opens in February 2026 at wara.gg.
Korea remains a cornerstone of the OWCS Asia ecosystem, built on a deeply established competitive culture and long-standing rivalries. For the 2026 season, the region will continue with a proven structure that emphasizes consistency, performance, and sustained team development.
The focus remains on rewarding long-term excellence and ensuring that the region continues to produce teams ready to compete at the highest level.
Regular Season:
9-team Round Robin
Top 4 teams advance to the Seeding Decider round to determine playoff positioning
5th – 8th place teams advance to the LCQ (Last Chance Qualifier) for a final shot at the post-season
9th place team is automatically eliminated
Playoffs:
6-team Single Elimination Bracket
Top four teams advance to the OWCS Asia Stage 1 Championship (Online)
Japan’s OWCS ecosystem continues to grow in both competitive depth and fan engagement. For the 2026 season, the regional format places greater emphasis on highlighting top-level competition and accelerating the development of teams capable of competing on the Asia stage.
Alongside the OWCS competition, community and influencer-driven regional publishing programs continue to support regional growth, helping new talent rise and connect with the broader OWCS ecosystem.
Regular Season:
8-team Round Robin.
Top 4 teams advance directly to the Regional Playoffs
Playoffs:
4-team Single Elimination Bracket
Top 3 Teams from Japan and Top 1 team from Pacific will qualify for the OWCS Asia Stage 1 championship (Online)
The Pacific region is focused on delivering a direct and competitive pathway to the OWCS Asia Championship. For the 2026 season, the regional format emphasizes performance at the top level, giving teams a clear objective to represent the region on the OWCS Asia stage.
Regular Season:
6-team Round Robin
Top 4 teams advance directly to the Regional Playoffs
Playoffs:
4-team Single Elimination Bracket
Winner qualifies for the OWCS Asia Stage 1 championship (Online)
Stage 1
Open Qualifiers: Feb 27 - Mar 1
Regular Season
Week 1: Mar 16 - 22
Week 2: Mar 23 - 29 (OWCS Korea Bye-week)
Week 3: Mar 30 - Apr 5
Week 4: Apr 6 - 12
Week 5: Apr 13 - 19
LCQ / Seeding
Korea: Apr 24 - 26
Playoffs
Pacific: Apr 23
Japan: Apr 27
Korea: May 1 - 3
While the overall competitive structure remains consistent from stage to stage, additional details for Stage 2 and Stage 3 will be shared at a later date.
Our newest region to OWCS, OWCS China, kicked off an amazing return to Overwatch Esports in 2025 - and the competition continues to heat up. With a new format and new OWCS China Partner Teams coming to the Region, expect the stakes to get even higher this year!
To learn all about what is in store for OWCS China, head here.
Regular Season:
8 team Swiss Stage
Top 6 teams advance to Round Robin Stage7-8th Place Teams are automatically eliminated
Round Robin Stage:
Remaining 6 teams compete in a single Round Robin
Top 4 teams advance to the Playoffs.
Playoffs:
4-team Double Elimination Bracket
Stage 1
Open Qualifiers: Feb 27-Mar 1, Mar 6-8
Regular Season
Week 1: Mar 21-22
Week 2: Mar 28-29
Week 3: Apr 4-5
Week 4: Apr 11-12
Week 5: Apr 18-19
Playoffs: Apr 25-26
Stage 2
Open Qualifiers: May 8-10, May 15-17
Regular Season
Week 1: Jun 6-7
Week 2: Jun 13-14
Week 3: Jun 19-21
Week 4: Jun 26-28
Playoffs: Jul 4-5
Stage 3
Open Qualifiers: Aug 28-30, Sep 4-6
Regular Season
Week 1: Oct 3-4
Week 2: Oct 10-11
Week 3: Oct 17-18
Week 4: Oct 24-25
Week 5: Oct 30 - Nov 1
Playoffs: Nov 7-8
The OWCS Partner Program returns in 2026, bigger than ever. This upcoming year, we’re expanding from nine teams to eleven, and on top of that we will be adding OWCS China Teams to the official Partner Program. Here is a quick crash course on how the Partner Teams across each region shake out!
The EMEA region enters 2026 as the new dominant force in Overwatch Esports. The region’s top teams stood tall in our last two Live Events of 2025, taking series and eliminating formerly unbeatable teams like Crazy Raccoon and Team Falcons. The 2026 World Finals culminated in a match between Twisted Minds and Al Qadsiah, where TM took a thrilling 4-1 victory to secure their title as 2025’s OWCS World Champions.
Virtus.pro and the region’s newest Partner Team, Team Peps, are joining Twisted Mindsas the three biggest names in what is quickly becoming the hottest region in the world. Only time will tell if they can carry last year’s momentum forward as we enter Stage 1!
Asia’s four partner teams - Team Falcons, Crazy Raccoon, T1, and ZETA DIVISION - represent some of the greatest Overwatch players ever assembled. In 2026, all four are ready to reestablish their dominance against teams like Twisted Minds after the results of the 2025 World Finals. As the meta shifts and rosters shuffle, the biggest story of the year will be whether or not Asia can re-close the gap!
NA enters 2026 with two new Partner Teams! The Dallas Fuel are back in Overwatch Esports, and Disguised are making their 2026 debut alongside returning Partner Teams Spacestation and Team Liquid. The region is shaping up to be the most competitive version of itself as Stage 1 kicks off - keep an eye on their performance in our pre-season Bootcamp in February!
We’re excited for OWCS China to join the OWCS Partner Team program in 2026. We’re not quite ready to share all the details yet, so keep an eye on our socials (linked below) for more updates. We can’t wait to introduce you to the region’s Partner Teams!
Overwatch Esports will be available on all the same channels you know and love from 2025, make sure to follow so you don’t miss a beat!
The passion you bring to Overwatch and Overwatch Esports is at the heart of everything we do. Your energy and commitment are the reason we can look ahead to an incredible 2026. We’ll have more details to share on when and where to watch as we get closer to the start of the new year. See you at the Pre-Season Bootcamp in February!
