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Leagues and Governing Bodies

Blizzard Announces Format, Schedule For Overwatch League's Inaugural Season

The inaugural Overwatch League regular season will begin Jan. 10 and see "each of the 12 teams play twice per week across the four game days of Wednesday to Saturday," according to Aaron Mamiit of the TECH TIMES. There will be "three matches played every day, and the start times of the matches will vary so that more people will be able to watch them." The first season will be "made up of four stages, with each stage running for five weeks." At the end of each stage, a seeded playoff for the top three teams "will be held to determine the winner of that stage, with that team taking home a prize of $125,000." There will be a "10-day break before the next stage begins." The 12 teams have been divided into the Atlantic and Pacific divisions. Throughout the course of the season, each team will "play 20 games against teams within their division and 20 games against teams of the other division" (TECHTIMES.com, 11/5). ESPN.com's Jacob Wolf noted the league will "take place at the new Blizzard Arena" in Burbank, Calif., and will have a preseason beginning Dec. 6. The $125,000 prize for the winner of each stage will add up to a "$500,000 total across the stages," and half of that "will go to players per Overwatch League rules." The remaining half will be "paid to the organizations." Playoffs "will start July 11," but the location has "not been determined." However, OWL Commissioner Nate Nanzer said that it "will be outside" of the L.A. area in a "larger venue than Blizzard Arena" (ESPN.com, 11/5).

MAKING GAME MORE VIEWER FRIENDLY: Blizzard this weekend debuted numerous changes to the spectating system in “Overwatch” during the game’s World Cup as a test run for the OWL. Since the game’s release, one criticism “Overwatch” has received regarding its potential as an esport has been its watchability. Often times, the action is too fast and in-game camera angles limit what the audience can see. In an effort to make pro competitions easier to follow, Blizzard has added features to the game’s competitive spectating that include in-game team “uniforms” and an enhanced replay system. Additionally, the developer added a third-person “smart camera” perspective that can more seamlessly follow the high-paced game. This spectating overhaul is the first major step Blizzard has taken to address viewing issues that could stymie the OWL (Max Miceli, Staff Writer).

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