Overwatch World Cup 2023

The Overwatch World Cup is an international esports tournament centred around Overwatch’s best national teams and their respective regions gathering. They’ll compete in a worldwide competition for the chance at a gold, silver or bronze medal for their country. It’s been a few years, but the Overwatch World Cup is making a triumphant return in 2023 for the first international gauntlet for Overwatch 2.

The return of the Overwatch World Cup this year means a brand-new format and system for finding the top players. We’ve got a whole stretch of events to find the top regional players, with large-scale qualifiers in use. The Overwatch World Cup brings a new level of excitement from the game’s normal League format. This is going to be a huge event that’s inclusive on a global scale.

Watch the Overwatch World Cup 2023 Live:

Overwatch World Cup 2023 Tournament Format

The qualification stage for the 2023 World Cup is much bigger than anything we’ve seen before! It’s all leading up to the Finals though, where the top 16 teams will finally face each other in a direct LAN. This is going to take place in the Fall, slotting right in with normal Overwatch League events.

The event starts off with a Group Stage. Here teams compete in a Round Robin format. At the end, the squads move forward to the Final Playoffs. The Playoffs will be played in a bracket format. This is single elimination though. One mistake could cost a team big. This is where we’ll crown the top Overwatch country for the year.

Which countries are in the Overwatch World Cup?

Overwatch World Cup 2023 features a great spread of national teams. The event is building on the great talent we saw competing in 2019, this time there’s going to be a huge 36 teams in competition at the World Cup! Much more than in any previous year. These teams aren’t organized as simply as you’ll find in a FIFA World Cup event though! Instead, the different countries are being organized into regions, where multiple teams will be competing from each continent. This should ensure a spread of different regions represented alongside countries. It may also help address a bit of an imbalance in the nationality of OWL players.

Each region is fielding two separate teams, Players in various countries will be divided into these teams for the regional qualifiers before the best two in their group move forward. These are all of the teams you’ll see competing at the Overwatch World Cup and which countries they’re facing in the qualifiers.

  • AMER A – Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Puerto Rico, United states
  • AMER B – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
  • EMEC A – Belgium, France, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Spain
  • EMEC B – Germany, Norway, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Turkey
  • APAC A – Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, South Korea
  • APAC B – Australia, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand

There will also be a China team, which will receive a direct invite as Blizzard’s operations in the country have gotten kind of complicated. These 36 countries will be competing over the early days of the competition, they’re trying to earn a slot at the final LAN itself through the World Cup Trials.

Overwatch World Cup Trails – The Road to the World Cup

The first stage of the 2023 Overwatch World Cup is going to be these trials. Starting in February, a committee will begin to select players for this stage of the event so each country has a squad of their top players.

Once teams are selected, World Cup Trials will be hosted over February to decide which of the countries make it to the full event. A Wild Card Challenge qualifier will also be in play, but Blizzard is keeping details of this process close to their chest for now.

Each country listed above will field a squad of their own players. They’ll compete in a separate regional qualifier, with the winner going on to represent their entire region. Not every region is getting the same number of slots though. This is how they’ll break down.

  • AMER A – 3 Teams
  • EMEC A – 3 Teams
  • APAX A – 3 Teams
  • AMER B – 2 Teams
  • EMEC B – 2 Teams
  • APAC B – 2 Teams

OW World Cup 2023

How can I watch the Overwatch World Cup?

For fans of international Overwatch, the ability to watch and relay the game in a multitude of languages is one of the most effective ways in which Blizzard broadcasts the tournament. The event will be broadcast on a number of popular streaming platforms depending on your region, with English-language broadcasting being handled directly via the official Overwatch Twitch channels.

The event is set to be shown in a wide range of countries, and official broadcasts are to be streamed in different languages worldwide. There will be more information on broadcast material and what languages and streaming platforms the event will take place within your region closer to the time of the finals.

Is the Overwatch World Cup on TV?

Previously, Overwatch League had exclusive broadcasting rights with ESPN+ and Disney XD, there is currently no similar TV deal in place for the Overwatch World Cup, therefore all broadcasting for the tournament and qualifiers will be streamed via their Twitch or YouTube outlets. Some localized broadcasting deals may be formed closer to the event, and we will update this section accordingly.

For players of any game within the Blizzard realm, fans will be pleased to know that the Blizzard client will have a special window that will show broadcasted live Overwatch World Cup games once they are set to be played. Whether you are on the go, or simply surfing the web at home, the ability to watch the Overwatch World Cup from anywhere on earth is available through the right channels.

Where can I find the best odds for Overwatch World Cup?

The Overwatch World Cup qualifying rounds are an easy place to make Esports betting decisions, but no decision can be made without the proper channels to know you have the best odds at hand. To find the best Esports Betting Odds, looking up Esports Betting Sites with live and up-to-date odds will be crucial to making those bets that can make or break your spread.

With the multitude of sources and oddsmakers available today, Esports Betting is more accessible than ever before and the Overwatch World Cup will be a robust choosing ground for quality Esports bets once the tournament gets underway.

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Overwatch World Cup Tournaments Archive

Overwatch World Cup 2019

The Overwatch World Cup 2019

The 2019 Overwatch World cup was our last major international event, this is how it all worked back then.
The qualifying teams increased from eight teams in 2017, to a total of 42 qualifying countries in the 2019 qualifying rounds, which will eventually dwindle down to a final ten at the start of the knockout stage. Every year, the Overwatch World Cup brought on a slew of Esports news as national teams start scouting early in the season for the best possible roster available.

overwatch-world-cup-2019

© Blizzard Entertainment

Which countries were in the Overwatch World Cup 2019?

The Overwatch World Cup featured a record-breaking number of national teams in 2019, but the repeating acts that feature often and prominently at the tournament also have plenty of influence on the Overwatch League stage as well.

Countries like South Korea, China, Canada and the United States have had bouts of success within the international Overwatch scene. South Korea was the most successful of these countries prior to 2019. They clinched the Overwatch World Cup Gold medals for three years running.

Fortunately, the international scene for Overwatch heated up severely in the years coming up to 2019. Newer national teams such as France, Australia, United Kingdom and Finland have amassed a formidable lineup. Although the trophies haven’t necessarily followed due to South Korea’s dominance.

For the 2019 Qualifying round, teams like Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Colombia, India and Portugal will all get their first chances at international stardom as a recognized participant at the Overwatch World Cup. Each region in the world will be competing in their own regions qualifiers as they jostled for a spot at the heavily contested knockout stages that started on November 1.

For more information on all the top teams competing at the Overwatch World Cup, refer to our Esports.net Overwatch World Cup Power Rankings for an in-depth look at all the top rosters participating in the event.

Overwatch World Cup 2019 Results

The Overwatch League 2019 World Cup eventually saw the United States take home the victory. This was after a dominant run through the tournament that saw them finish first of their group, destroy South Korea in the Semis, and eventually beat China in the finals.

The favourite going in, South Korea had to settle for third place after beating newcomer France. China might have lost out on first too, but a second-place finish was still a solid result for the squad at the Overwatch World Cup 2019.