The inaugural season of the Overwatch League kicked-off, or more appropriately “shot-off” today at 4pm Pacific Time! But the way the teams and the season works overall is a little complicated, so I wanted to break it down for you guys. Here’s what you need to know: Teams and Divisions There are 12 teams, which are “permanent franchises representing cities around the globe” The members of each team are players from around the world who were the best of the best during the preseason games which took place December 6-9 The 12 teams are split into two divisions of 6: Pacific and Atlantic Pacific Division: Dallas Fuel, Los Angeles Gladiators, Los Angeles Valiant, San Francisco Shock, Seoul Dynasty, Shanghai Dragons Atlantic Division: Boston Uprising, Florida Mayhem, Houston Outlaws, London Spitfire, New York Excelsior, Philadelphia Fusion The Season It’s about 5 months long: starting today Jan 10 through June 16 The season is divided into four stages (5 weeks each), with 10 day breaks between them Three games are played each week (Wed - Sat) at Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles The final Saturday of each stage will be a “title match”, which is a mini championship for bragging rights and a cash bonus— it does not affect a team's full season record or postseason seeding What Are They Playing For? Teams are competing for the Overwatch League title and lots of money $3.5 million in total prize money is up for grabs on top of the players' salaries: Title Match Bonuses: First place: USD $100,000 Second place: USD $25,000 Total: USD $500,000 over four stages Regular Season Bonuses: First place: USD $300,000 Second place: USD $200,000 Third and fourth place: USD $150,000 Fifth and sixth place: USD $100,000 Seventh and eighth place: USD $75,000 Ninth and tenth place: USD $50,000 Eleventh and twelfth place: USD $25,000 Total: USD $1.3 million Championship Playoffs Placement Bonuses: World Champion: USD $1 million Runner-up: USD $400,000 Third and fourth place: USD $100,000 Fifth and sixth place: USD $50,000 Total: USD $1.7 million For more information check out these official Overwatch League links: Twitter Facebook YouTube Instagram And you can watch it all here: Twitch
