The world of Overwatch esports majorly revolves around the Overwatch League. In the League, teams from all over the world represent their respective cities and compete for millions of dollars. However, the Overwatch esports is a lot more than just the League. The majority of the players compete in the Contender’s League before their talents are recognized and are drafted into Overwatch League. In this article, we will give you a comprehensive look into the Overwatch Contenders. We will know its structure, it’s differences from the League, and more.
Where everyone is a Contender for the title
Very synonymous with the Overwatch League, the Contenders also consist of two divisions: Pacific and Atlantic Conferences. Since a lot of teams compete for supremacy, they are distributed into regions: Korea, China, Australia, and Pacific are included in the Pacific Division. Meanwhile, South America, North America, and Europe are included in the Atlantic Division.
Three tournaments take place throughout the entire calendar year: The Overwatch Contender, Contenders Trails, and Open Division. The competing teams participate in these competitions after ranking through the relegation and promotion system. It kicks off from the Open Division and ends on the Contenders Playoffs.
Every week the best teams from each competition compete for a spot in the upper tournament. Meanwhile, the lower-ranked teams compete in easier competitions. The lowest tier competition is the Open Division, then we have the Trials, after that the Contenders and then we finally have the Contenders Playoffs.
Academy Teams
Almost all the teams competing in the Overwatch League have another team competing in the Contenders, called “academy team”. Initially, each Overwatch League team had an academy team but things changed in 2020. Here are some of the Overwatch League teams that still hold academy teams:
- In North America, Boston Uprising has Uprising Academy
- In China, Shanghai Dragons have Team CC
- Korea hosts two academy teams. One is Philadelphia Fusion, with T1 and the other one is Seoul Dynasty, with Gen.G esports
- Europe has one representative, London Spitfire, with British Hurricane
- Lastly, we have China as Hangzhou Spark, has Bilibili Gaming
Overwatch Contenders Recent Results
All the seven regions that participate in the Overwatch Contenders have their own rivals that they are reluctant to take down. Sydney Drop was unstoppable in Australia, with the season victories in 2018. However, their celebrations were cut short by ORDER, who won two seasons in 2019. In Pacific, Talon Esports is a force to reckon with as they hold three consecutive season wins.
The region where the action never stops is South Korea. Since here, the talent never stops emerging. The region also has retired Overwatch League players, which form their own legendary rosters. The latest example is the recruitment of the 2018 RunAway roster by the Vancouver Titans.
We hope that this article has helped you in your understanding of the competitive landscape of the Contender League. If you have any questions, feel free to let us know in the comments.
