IntroAfter a phenomenal start to the year, Overwatch Champions Series is ready to kick off Stage 2 of the 2025 Season!
Stage 1 was historic, but it is just the beginning to an epic 2025 Season. A 16-team Midseason Championship serves as the perfect follow up to such an exciting Stage 1. As we kickoff this stage, expect nothing less than the most riveting competition from every team across all regions!!
There’s plenty to go over in this Viewers Guide, so let’s get to it. Read on to learn about:
Stage 1 Recap
Stage 2 Overview
2025 Midseason Championship & World Finals [Tickets available now!]
Viewership Incentives - Stage 2 Regular Season
Where to Follow OWCS
Opening Weekend Featured Co-Streamers
Stage 1 kicked off in February, where each region gathered its eight best teams for the first Regular Season of the year. In NA and EMEA, those teams were determined by Open Qualifiers, who would join each region’s Partner teams.
After six weeks of Regular Season play, the bottom two OWCS teams in North America and EMEA were sent down to the Stage 1 Promotion/Relegation Tournament to face off against the two best teams from FACEIT League’s Master Division.
When we developed the Promo/Relegation system, our goal was to create an ecosystem where any team, through skill and grit, could fight their way into OWCS. That system has yielded some excellent results this Stage! Congratulations to our 4 FACEIT League teams Supernova (NA), DhillDucks (NA), Quick Esports (EMEA), and Frost Tails (EMEA), who triumphed over the relegated OWCS Stage 1 Teams, earning their spot in Stage 2.
Top teams in each region fought their way through their own regional Playoffs to determine who would represent their region in Champions Clash at the Hangzhou Esports Center. Spoilers below… but why are you reading this if you’re not caught up yet? Go check out our VOD playlists and come back!
After three days of intense competition, Crazy Raccoon once again held a trophy high. While they’re now the only team to hold two OWCS Tournament titles, they faced more pushback in Hangzhou than ever before - and not just by their usual rivals, Team Falcons.
NTMR came out swinging, handing CR their first loss to a Western team ever in the Upper Bracket Semifinals. To say this was the greatest upset in OWCS history might be underselling it a bit! If you haven’t watched that VOD yet, you’re missing out.
Once Crazy Raccoon were pushed to the Lower Bracket, though, we were reminded that their name is not “Kind, Reasonable Raccoon”. The team played lights out through the rest of the tournament, winning every single map on their way to their contentious rematch in the Champions Clash Grand Finals against Team Falcons.
Hangzhou’s other pleasant surprise was its team of hometown heroes, Once Again. With the China region just joining OWCS this year, many were uncertain as to how OA would perform - but a crushing victory against Virtus.pro and a 3-2 loss against Team Falcons that was decided by a single teamfight showed us that they certainly haven’t lost their spark.
With the first Live Event of the year done and dusted, these eight teams return home in Stage 2 with a fire in their eyes. The road back to the international stage is a little different this time, though - lets find out why.
Competition kicks off on May 10 for Stage 2 in NA/EMEA:
EMEA: May 10 @ 10am PT/7pm CEST
NA: May 10 @ approx. 1pm PT/4pm ET
CN: May 24 @ 2am PT/11am CEST
ASIA: May 9 @ 1am PT/9am CEST
As in Stage 1, Stage 2’s competitors (eight to twelve per region) will fight through their Regular Season to determine which six teams advance to their region’s respective Playoffs. From there, things get a little different than Stage 1, with a unique path to the Midseason Championship available to more teams than ever before.
The 2025 Midseason Championship takes place from July 31 - August 3, and you can grab your tickets right now! Sixteen of the greatest Overwatch teams will converge in Riyadh to fight for their share of the $1,000,000 prize pool.
The path to the Midseason Championship begins with a Last Chance Qualifier to determine the final team on our list. Stay tuned for more details on the LCQ, including participating teams and where you can watch!
Once all sixteen teams are locked in, we move into the Groups Stage, taking place from July 31 - August 1. Teams earn their place at the Midseason Championship by securing any of the places shown above. The top two teams from each group advance into Playoffs (Aug 2 - 3), for an 8-team single-elimination showdown to crown our Midseason Champion.
Don’t stress - we haven’t forgotten the drops! You’ll be able to earn in two campaigns of in-game drops across Stage 2, beginning with OWCS Asia starting May 9.
Campaign 1: Stage 2 Regular Season pt.1 (May 8 - 28)
2 hours: OWCS GGWP Spray
4 hours: Adventurer’s Pack Spray
6 hours: Unleashed Potential Name Card
8 hours: OWCS Mandala Icon
Campaign 2: Stage 2 Regular Season pt.2 (May 29 - Jun 15)
2 hours: OWCS Potionmaker Spray
4 hours: Queen Gains Icon
6 hours: PC Bang Spray
8 hours: OWCS Night Sky Name Card
We’ll also have a new set of drops for OWCS Stage 2 Playoffs - stay tuned to our social channels for news on those rewards within the next couple of weeks!
As always, you can follow all the OWCS action and get updates on all things Overwatch Esports from a variety of channels. No matter where you spend your time online, follow along with us and tune in to earn drops and see the best of the best do their thing!
In addition to all of our usual channels, you can now follow the action in OWCS China on the Blizzard CN website, linked below!
SocialEvery Stage, we make it a point to highlight streamers and creators in the Overwatch Esports community that bring people together and make this experience better for everyone around them. We’re excited to be continuing that initiative in Stage 2!
At the end of every broadcast in NA/EMEA, we’ll be raiding our chosen streamer of the day to give you more opportunities to earn your drops - and maybe even a few other goodies, too…
A Featured Co-Stream is an event you’ll NEVER want to miss - so let’s say hello to our first Featured Co-Streamers of the Stage!
Saturday, May 10: Rakattack
Sunday, May 11: Cowfee
In addition, you can tune in with any of our Partner Team Co-Streamers to earn your drops all year long! These streamers represent some of the best teams in Overwatch Esports, so you know you’re in for a good time.
If you want to co-stream OWCS - and maybe even end up as our Featured Co-Streamer one day - you can become an approved OWCS co-streamer here! Assuming your account is in good standing, you’re automatically approved to start following the matches on stream with your community.
OWCS got off to a great start in Stage 1, and we’re excited to build on that momentum as Stage 2 kicks off in earnest. With the biggest tournament of the year on the horizon, every map counts - so don’t miss out on any of the action!
As always, stay locked in on our social feeds (linked above) to get all your OWCS updates. We’ll see you in game!
