Blizzard Announce Overwatch Contenders 2019

Overwatch Contenders, the Blizzard-sanctioned tournament series which serves as a proving ground for aspiring Overwatch professionals, has just been confirmed to return in 2019. The organisers are looking to introduce structural changes to the competition in the upcoming season. 

The first point being addressed is prize distribution - Blizzard intend to put more focus on rewarding top performers in the league. Although the prize purse has not yet been confirmed, it is reasonable to expect it won’t go down below this year’s $3.2 million. The number of teams competing in each region will be brought down to eight (from twelve this year). In order to offset this change, Blizzard are splitting the North American region into two divisions - West and East. Overwatch League teams, who don’t have rosters competing in Contenders, will be offered a spot in the first season of 2019. Depending on how many of said teams accept, the remaining spots are to be filled by top performers of the 2018 season of Overwatch Contenders.

Although a soft region lock will still be in place for 2019, Blizzard are looking at opportunities for cross-region play