Overwatch Monthly Melee tournaments will cease after the May event.
Tournament organizers confirmed to Overwatch site Over.gg that the monthly series will be discontinued. Beginning in April 2016 with small prize pools, the Overwatch Monthly Melee has grown into a beloved community tournament with prize pools up to $10,000. A lack of LAN Overwatch tournaments pushed big name teams toward the event, too, increasing its prestige.
Uncertainty in Overwatch licensing has dissuaded the organizers from pursuing the monthly tournaments. “For two months it still wasn’t 100 percent certain that we wouldn’t be able to do events past June 1,” Overwatch Monthly Melee tournament organizer MrAlexDanger told Over.gg.
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Because of that, MrAlexDanger decided to end the Monthly Melee series. Apparently, MrAlexDanger was told that all third-party Overwatch tournament licenses were suspended past June 1.
Other tournaments are reportedly in the works by third-party organizers, however, MrAlexDanger added. “I’m not sure what their conversations look like with Blizzard. Maybe they figured something out.”
With Overwatch League allegedly starting this summer, it makes sense that Blizzard would halt third-party tournaments to make room for its big event. With little details available, however, the community is left in a state of limbo. Blizzard has not responded to Dot Esports’ request for comment on the state of the Overwatch League.
Overwatch Monthly Melee’s May event is scheduled for May 20 to 21. Teams participating have not yet been announced.
H/T Over.gg
Published: May 4, 2017 11:49 am