- The next Overwatch League season will commence on May 5
- The league will receive some minor changes with New York Excelsior returning to the West Region
- The League Points system has also received a few tweaks
With the next OWL season approaching, Blizzard revealed more about what to expect.
Blizzard Speaks about the New Season
The new Overwatch League season means two things – a new batch of competitive content, as well as Overwatch 2. As Activision Blizzard had previously confirmed, the new esports season will be played in an early build of the company’s upcoming title. With hype building up, Blizzard has unveiled more details about OWL 2022.
The company confirmed that the fifth season of the Overwatch League will begin on May 5 this year. The announcement was followed by more details about the structure of the season and revealed a revamped League Points system.
It was also confirmed that live events will be making a return. Although the OWL spokespeople preferred to not reveal everything they have in store yet, this is some exciting news. The fifth OWL season will open with a match between New York Excelsior and Los Angeles Gladiators for the West Region and between Philadelphia Fusion and Shanghai Dragons for the East.
While it wasn’t outright stated whether those clashes will be played live or not, the Houston Outlaws confirmed that the Battle for Texas match against the Dallas Fuel will be played in person on May 6.
What Will Be Different?
Blizzard was sparing with the date drops. However, it provided a sneak peek into what’s to come. The company explained that regions won’t receive many changes and will remain more or less the same. The sole exception is the New York Excelsior franchise which will return to its home city and will compete in the West Region. This means that the new season will have seven teams in the East Region and thirteen teams in the West Region.
Like in 2021, the new season will separate the competition into several stages. The Kickoff Clash and the Summer Showdown – the first and third stage respectively, will be strictly regional. A Midseason Madness double-elimination event will allow for some cross-region competition and will include eight teams from the West and four teams from the East. Blizzard confirmed that the Midseason Madness has $1 million in store for the winners.
The fifth OWL season will culminate with a Countdown Cup event that will conclude the year with a bang. To make things more exciting, Blizzard will allow two wild card teams to qualify even if they don’t have enough League Points.
Speaking of League Points, Blizzard intends to fix some of the system’s faulty aspects. The 2022 season will see teams win a single point for each qualifier match victory and one point for qualifying. Teams that grab second place in any event will be granted two points and the tournament winners will receive three.
The Midseason Madness will be an exception to the rule and will grant its champions four points instead of three.
