Overwatch League Season 4 brings big changes

Overwatch League is reportedly considering making some huge changes for Season 4 next year. Considering what happened this year, Season 4 could be completely different from what fans are used to with Overwatch esports.

The pandemic dealt a huge blow to Overwatch League. After all, many teams’ revenue came from live events. Even though OWL just struck a deal with its teams regarding their franchise fees, other issues exist.

Overwatch League Season 4

For now, the Overwatch League presented these possible changes to the owners of its franchises. Among these changes is a different date for the start of Season 4. According to the report, OWL wishes for a start in April and an end date in September. As usual, playoffs will last around three weeks.

Image credits to Blizzard Entertainment

A whole new season needs to be planned with measures due to the extreme environment. The Overwatch League is in dire need of time to think and come up with a better format and schedule to discuss with esports owners.

Unfortunately for North America, may not be an audience during future LANs. It isn’t that definitive for Asia, so there is a chance that OWL fans can finally cheer their favorites live.

OWL Format Changes

The New York Excelsior and London Spitfire are allegedly returning to their own market, as a Western team. However, this brings the count of APAC teams to only five. Because of that, the Overwatch League is looking for three more teams to fill the spots for tournaments. Right now, what the league hopes to do is pick a Korean, a Chinese, and a wild card team.

Image credits to Blizzard Entertainment

Even though Overwatch League Season 4 still keeps the two main regions separated, showdowns between the two still occur. Teams from the Asian and North American regions will fight in the mid-season tournament. In addition, playoffs still feature teams from both regions.

And since there are three region-locked tournaments, the best teams in the world must compete in five different events throughout the entire season. Of course, they need to perform well to earn invitations into shared events.

At this point, the report specifies that the Overwatch League is proposing different esports formats to the owners. For example, another type of format where North American teams would travel to Asia was previously on the table. The OWL will of course look out for further development on the state of the pandemic to adjust its final course on Season 4.

Written by Charles FUSTER

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