The Overwatch League is back for the 2021 season. The start of fifth season officially kicked off on April 16th, with teams from all over the world competing for a total prize pool of $4.5 million. This season will feature a variety of changes, including new teams and an updated tournament system that promises to make this year’s competition even more exciting than ever before.
New Teams Joining the Overwatch League
The fifth season of the Overwatch League welcomes five new teams to the league – Dallas Fuel, Florida Mayhem, Atlanta Reign, Toronto Defiant, and Paris Eternal. Each team brings something unique and will be looking to make its mark this season. This is sure to add some extra excitement to the mix as these new teams fight to prove themselves against veteran teams in the league.
Tournament System Changes
In addition to welcoming new teams into the fold, this year’s Overwatch League has also seen some changes to its tournament system. Instead of playing in a best-of-three format like last year, matches will now be played in best-of-five formats throughout each stage of play. This means that games will last longer and give teams more time for strategies and counterplay. There have also been some tweaks made to how points are awarded this season; rather than awarding points based on wins or losses alone, teams can expect bonus points depending on how well they perform during each match.
This season there are some big changes coming to Overwatch League 2. For starters, there are two new expansion teams joining the fray – Shanghai Dragons and Chengdu Hunters. These two Chinese squads will bring a unique energy and style of play to the competition that is sure to shake things up for all the other teams involved. Additionally, there will be more regular season matches than ever before – 28 matches per team this season compared to 24 from last season. This means more opportunities for teams to prove themselves and make an impression on fans around the world.
Finally, this season also introduces a new map pool system that should make things even more interesting going forward. Maps will now be drawn randomly from a pool instead of predetermined match-ups between teams – something that could potentially shift strategies and matchups if prepared correctly by each team involved in any given match-up. This should lead to more variance in matches and keep fans on their toes as they attempt to predict what strategies will be used by each team throughout the course of a match or series.
The Big Picture
With all these changes and additions, it’s no surprise that Overwatch League 2 has become one of the biggest esports leagues in existence today – not just among FPS titles but among all video game genres overall. With millions of viewers tuning in every week from all over the world, OWL2 has come a long way since its inception back in 2016 when it was first announced by Blizzard Entertainment at BlizzCon 2016. It’s clear that OWL2 is here to stay, and it’s only getting bigger with each passing year as new players enter the fray and old ones refine their skills further still!
Reigning Champions Return
Finally, it’s worth noting that last year’s champions – San Francisco Shock – have returned for another shot at victory this season! It looks like they will face stiff competition from other veteran teams in the league such as London Spitfire and New York Excelsior who are both looking for redemption after missing out on last season’s title run. It’ll be interesting to see who comes out ahead this time around!
Conclusion:
The 2021 Overwatch League season is off and running! With five new teams joining existing veterans in the fray and an updated tournament system providing an even more competitive environment than before, there’s sure to be plenty of exciting matches throughout this year’s competition. The next few months should provide some intense gameplay as we find out who will reign supreme in 2021! Esports fans won’t want to miss out on all of the action!
