Blizzard announced Overwatch Contenders, the official tournament for NA and Europe regions

Kyeongbeom "Its" Kim, Ji-Eun “Meii” Paek

May 22, 2017

New tournament to be held in NA and Europe!

Blizzard announced on May 22nd that they will be holding Overwatch Contenders to scout gamers in NA and Europe while preparing for Overwatch League.

Overwatch Contenders is an official regional tournament that will be held in NA and Europe and has been modeled after Overwatch APEX in Korea, the Overwatch Pacific Championship in the Asian-Pacific region, and the Overwatch Premier Series in China. Season Zero will be an online-only qualifier to determine which top 8 teams from each region will proceed to play in Season One, with the prize pool of $50,000.

In NA, a total of 8 teams, with the top 6 teams from Season Zero and APEX participants EnVyUs and Rogue, will go through a round-robin play of Season One which will be held for 6 weeks. In this league, the top 4 teams will proceed to play in offline playoffs, which has a $100,000 prize pool. It will be the same for the European league as well.

The match will be broadcasted on TwitchTV and MLG.TV starting on June 3rd, allowing Overwatch fans to witness the debut of new pro gamers.

Overwatch Contenders will be an official tournament in the NA and European regions, and will also serve as an important opportunity for players to appeal to organizations that are looking to fill their roster for the coming Overwatch League. Many teams are expected to join the tournament in both regions as the winning team will be given the opportunity to prove themselves in the Overwatch Open Division, which will be be held prior to the 2018 Overwatch Contenders.

Visit the official site to read more about Overwatch Contenders, and here is the schedule of Season Zero: