The organizers behind the Overwatch World Cup have announced Saturday that, following a three-year hiatus, the esports competition is coming back in 2023. Revealed in an announcement on the game's official Twitter page, the competition is scheduled to begin in January.Featuring a 45-second promo video, the social media post confirmed this will be the first time the event has been held since 2019. A total of 36 teams hailing from around the world will be invited into the June Qualifiers round of the tournament, and the narrator of the video urges viewers to "compete for your homeland to become the first World Cup champions of Overwatch 2."
A more fleshed-out timeline established on Blizzard's official Website clarifies that the first stage of the competition will be held in January, as the publisher selects the 36 countries and regions that will host teams to compete for the title. The trials will then take place in February with open tournaments, through which teams can secure their spots in the national and regional tryouts, held in March. The six regional qualifier rounds will take place in June, rounding the field down from 36 teams to just the top 16. Finally, in fall of next year, the teams will compete in a round-robin style tournament, and the top eight will then be placed into a final single-elimination tournament to crown the champion.
The trials are a new addition to the competition, offering the ability for teams to cement their places in the later tryout rounds, although Blizzard states that teams can also apply directly for tryout spots if they have achieved at minimum a Diamond-level competitive ranking. "Whether you’re a pro, aspiring pro, or casual player, there are tons of ways to get involved," the Website states. In addition to Blizzard, Overwatch League has also made the announcement of the World Cup's return, but its Web page remains mostly blank for now.
The first Overwatch World Cup was hosted in 2016, with three more tournaments following in subequent years before the hiatus. Teams representing South Korea won the first three consecutive titles, with a U.S.-based team beating China in the finals of the most recent event, which was held in 2019. As stated in the video announcement, this will be the first World Cup since the launch of Overwatch 2 in early October.