Blizzard’s hit first-person shooter, Overwatch will be the next game to receive the television treatment with their Overwatch Open tournament, ELEAGUE announced today. In collaboration with FACEIT, the two-month long tournament will award a massive prize pool of $300,000.
After ELEAGUE’s wildly successful foray onto TV with its Friday night showings of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive play, it makes sense to move into another first-person shooter as Overwatch has had its own massive success since its release two months ago. The burgeoning esports scene for Overwatch has given the game even more attention, as some of competitive gaming’s biggest organizations have begun to pick up rosters.
While the scene is currently dominated by squads like Team EnVyUs and Cloud9, Team SoloMid and Fnatic have also recently picked up rosters, as well as FaZe Clan and more. It seems as though Overwatch is the next big esport on the scene, and big companies are starting to take notice.
“This opportunity to feature Blizzard’s popular Overwatch further expands our esports offerings and aligns ELEAGUE with a game that is widely embraced by the community,” said Craig Barry, EVP and Chief Content Officer, Turner Sports. “We look forward to bringing the same level of production and storytelling capabilities we’ve demonstrated throughout the first season of ELEAGUE to this championship event.”
The online phase of the tournament will be run by FACEIT and starts tomorrow, July 23. It culminates with a playoff round to be played Aug. 26-28. After that, EU and NA finals will be broadcast on Twitch at the end of September, with the televised Grand Final being broadcast on TBS on Friday, Sept. 30.
“Overwatch is an exciting new game with thrilling and expertly-balanced action that makes it perfect for competitive play,” said Michelle Attisani, Chief Business Officer, FACEIT. “We are confident that our capabilities as a platform and knowledge as a media partner will make this an exciting tournament for fans.”
While the tournament will undoubtedly feature some of the Overwatch scene’s most well-known talent, anyone can enter to play at OverwatchOpen.com.
What do you think of Overwatch esports? Will your team of six be entering the fray? Let us know in the comments below and follow @GAMURScom on Twitter for further Overwatch esports coverage.
