Overwatch developer Blizzard Entertainment will host one-month tournament in North America and Europe, with a $100,00 prize pool. The tournament has been named Overwatch Contenders in anticipation of Blizzard's upcoming Overwatch League, the game developer announced on Monday.
Both regions will field eight teams each. The majority of the North American teams have yet to be announced, but OGN APEX participants Team EnVyUs and Rogue will participate. The remainder of the North American and European teams will be determined in online qualifiers, which are set to begin June 3-4 in North America and June 10-11 in Europe. Once the teams have qualified, they will compete in two weeks of group stage play, with the top four teams of each region competing in an offline playoff tournament on July 1-2. The location for the offline event has yet to be announced.
Overwatch Contenders launches after third-party organizers have hosted various leagues across the globe. North America featured the Overwatch Carbon Series, alongside a string of other independently organized tournaments, such as Alienware's Monthly Melee. In South Korea, television broadcaster and prolific esports organizer OGN has hosted APEX, which has mostly consisted of domestic teams but has invited foreign teams as well. Meanwhile in China, the Overwatch Premier Series has seen a wide array of both Chinese and international competition.
The Contenders tournament will supplement competition after certain events like Monthly Melee decided to close their doors. It will also fill the void for a potential delay in the Overwatch League, which was announced to launch in fiscal quarter three of 2017, but is more than likely to expect delays due to a lack of buyers involved, according to sources.