Activision Blizzard has announced changes for the format of Overwatch League ahead of the 2020 season.
The third season, which will begin next year, will utilise home and away matches for all 20 franchises.
Having being divided into two divisions from launch, the league will now be split into two conferences and four divisions to help accommodate the requirements of travel. The Pacific and Atlantic Divisions are now Pacific and Atlantic Conferences, and comprise of Atlantic North, Atlantic South, Pacific East, and Pacific West.
Under Atlantic North are Boston Uprising, London Spitfire, New York Excelsior, Paris Eternal, and Toronto Defiant, with Atlantic South housing Atlanta Reign, Florida Mayhem, Houston Outlaws, Philadelphia Fusion, and Washington Justice. Competing in Pacific East are Chengdu Hunters, Guangzhou Charge, Hangzhou Spark, Shanghai Dragons, and Seoul Dynasty, with Pacific West becoming home to Dallas Fuel, Los Angeles Valiant, Los Angeles Gladiators, San Francisco Shock, and Vancouver Titans.
52 homestand weekend events will be hosted throughout the season, with each team hosting at least two homestands – teams in each of the divisions will also collectively host three additional events in their home locations. The full schedule for 2020 will be released in August.
Another major change for the Overwatch League is that it won’t be split into stages from the next season, instead having a mid-season All-Stars event.
Esports Insider says: It’s good to see Activision Blizzard roll with the punches and adapt to the fact that the league’s original premise is too expensive and risky at this point in time. We’re still yet to find out how genuinely successful the recent homestand events have been, which seems to be telling within itself as we feel it’d have been public knowledge instantly if things were looking great.
