Overwatch League unveils format changes for June Joust

Overwatch League teams are going to have to devise new strategies in the June Joust with some of the most powerful strategies being taken out of the fray.

The OWL revealed in a new blog post today the various changes coming to the structure of the June Joust based on the results of the May Melee. This month’s competition will take place on Patch 1.59.1 for all qualifying and tournament matches. 

Following the May Melee where all heroes were available to players, the OWL is reintroducing Hero Pools that will take out selected heroes that had a 10-percent or higher pick rate throughout the first month of the season. For the June Joust, Tracer, Sombra, Reinhardt, and Zenyatta will be blocked from play in qualifying and tournament matches. These heroes won’t be removed from the Hero Pools during the remainder of the season.

The Overwatch League also announced changes to the tiebreaker structure heading into the June Joust, hoping to mitigate the need to play additional tiebreaker matches throughout multiple series. The new tiebreaker structure for the tournament cycle takes into account the following components:

1. Map differential.
2. Head-to-head records in qualifying matches; for ties among three or more teams, this step is only applied if there is a head-to-head sweep (i.e. if one team has defeated each of the others or lost to each of the others).
3. League points of all opponents within the tournament cycle; the team with the most opponent league points will qualify.
4. Map differential of all opponents within the tournament cycle; the team with the highest opponent map differential will qualify.
5. If a tie between two or more teams remains, postseason tiebreakers will be applied.

The map pool is also being updated for the June Joust, introducing some new locations for players to battle it out on. The following maps will be in rotation for the duration of the tournament:

• Control: Busan, Ilios, Lijiang Tower, Nepal, Oasis
• Escort: Dorado, Junkertown, Rialto
• Assault: Hanamura, Temple of Anubis, Volskaya Industries
• Hybrid: Eichenwalde, Hollywood, Numbani

The Overwatch League’s 2021 season will return with the June Joust on May 21, starting with a battle between the Paris Eternal and the Toronto Defiant.