What replaced Overwatch League?
The Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS) is the premier international Overwatch circuit, introduced in 2024 as the successor to the Overwatch League. Built around an open format, teams compete in regional circuits across NA, EMEA, China, and Asia, qualifying for international events against the world’s best. The OWCS 2026 season will commence with regional stages across China, North America, EMEA, and Asia. Each stage will crown its top teams, who will then qualify for a global Live Event to compete for glory, their piece of the crowdfunded prizepol, and the title of OWCS Champions.The tournament will feature a 12-team single-elimination bracket, with pre-seeding determined by teams’ performance -both regionally, and at the 2025 OWCS World Finals. Additional details, including the full match schedule and broadcast information, will be shared at a later date.How does the last-16 draw work? The eight winners of the play-offs will meet the top-eight finishers from the league phase. From this point onward the competition adopts a knockout format, with each fixture other than the final contested over two legs.How do knockout rounds work? Beginning in the Round of 32, the tournament will proceed with single-elimination matches culminating in the tournament final on Sunday, July 19. From this stage onward, the tournament will feature single-elimination, playoff matches. Matches consist of two 45-minute halves in regulation.