Overwatch League Summer Showdown starts on June 13

The Overwatch League May Melee tournament was a huge hit and fans asked for more. In response, Overwatch League presents its “Summer Showdown” on June 13. Using the same process and rules from the May Melee event, Summer Showdown is a regional OWL tournament lasting until mid-July. When an Overwatch tournament comes, the issue of Hero Pools is always tricky to assess but the organizer did something special with it.

Overwatch League Summer Showdown

Twenty teams from Asia and North America will compete in this tournament. On June 13, three weeks of qualifiers begin to establish a ranking for this final OWL regional tournament bracket. The Asian bracket features seven teams hoping to follow May Melee victor Shanghai Dragons’ example. In North America, it will be a huge battlefield, which includes thirteen teams in the qualifiers.

Image credits to the Overwatch League

The final NA bracket only features twelve teams, which means that one will be eliminated during the last match of the qualifiers. All participating teams’ ranking affects their future draws. Higher ranked teams skip a round and go directly to the quarterfinals or choose their opponents. This system is part of why the May Melee tournament saw success. It gave the qualifiers tension and importance when it was previously just a formality. Overwatch squads are now giving their all to get higher seeds.

From July 3 to 5, North American and Asian finals take place. Both winners will receive $50 thousand and three bonus OWL wins.

Changes in Hero Pools

Overwatch League’s staff analyzed what went wrong with the previous Hero Pools and talked with players to find a better solution. After some negotiation, it was decided that Hero Pools will now be extended to a two-week format at the beginning of the tournament. For weeks nineteen and twenty, Hero Pools have already been decided. Echo, despite her early release, is still banned from competitive play alongside D.Va, Brigitte, and Sombra.

Image credits to the Overwatch League

After this, there will be no more Hero Pools at all until the end of the tournament. Overwatch League fans already showed their excitement when hearing the news. They will witness high-skilled teams finally using characters without limits. This will allow some unique team compositions and strategies.

Overwatch League does not plan to settle everything with this tournament. After Summer Showdown, another tournament is already in the books. No one really bet on OWL after many of its best players left the boat, but this shows that this league is far from done.

Written by Charles Fuster