Overwatch Champions Series: 2025 Season

In 2025 , OWCS will build on the foundation of 2024, where we created a more open ecosystem that culminated at international Live Events at DreamHack in Dallas and Stockholm.

Entering the 2025 Season, we are focused on making competition more rewarding for competitors and viewers alike through an intuitive & streamlined esports program with three international Live Events.

Read below to learn more about the OWCS 2025 Competitive Season and how FACEIT League now directly promotes to NA & EMEA OWCS.

2025 Format - Live Events - NA & EMEA Format - Asia Format - Eligibility

FACEIT League now qualifies for OWCS in NA/EMEA

Opening Weekend, Stage 1 Schedule, & Viewership Incentives

The OWCS 2025 Season offers a more streamlined & cohesive international format, supporting competition across three competitive stages.

Each stage will feature Regional Competition leading into that stage’s international Live Event.

Depending on the Stage, our three regions of NA, EMEA, & Asia will each host an (a) Open Qualifier or Promotion & Relegation Tournament, from which Teams will qualify into the (b) Regular Season, where Teams will compete for a spot at their (c) Regional Playoffs. Each Regional Playoffs will determine which Teams get the opportunity to represent their region at each Stage’s International Live Event.

Partner Teams will auto-qualify for Stage 1 Regular Season, but can be relegated like all other Teams during Promotion & Relegation Tournaments going into Stages 2 & 3.

Here is how the 2025 season breaks down;

Stage 1 [January to April 2025] - Regular Season - Regional Playoffs - Promotion & Relegation (Stage 2) from FACEIT League - Live Event [TBD]

Stage 2 [Q2 to Q3 2025] - Regular Season - Regional Playoffs - Promotion & Relegation (Stage 3) from FACEIT League - Live Event

Stage 3 [Q3 to Q4 2025] - Phase 1: Regular Season - Phase 2: Regional Playoffs - OWCS 2025 World Finals

Head here to read more on the 2025 OWCS Ruleset. (Please note that the rules will be available soon, and all dates are subject to change.)

In the 2025 season, OWCS will be ditching circuit points, with teams qualifying for each of our three international Live Events directly through their region’s playoff performance.

Stage 1 culminates with our first international Live Event, with competition from top teams across all OWCS. Teams will qualify via performance in their respective Stage 1 regional Playoffs The full format for Stage 1’s Live Event will be shared at a later date. Additional details around Stage 2 and 3 Live Events will be shared at a later date.

North America and EMEA kick off each of their OWCS 2025 Seasons with an Open Qualifier on FACEIT determining which teams will participate in the Stage 1 Regular Season joining Partner Teams who will then be subject to Promotion & Relegation into Stages 2 & 3.

At the end of each Stage in NA and EMEA, the bottom two OWCS teams in each region will play in a promotion and relegation tournament against the top two FACEIT League teams from Master to determine who competes in the next stage.

Registration Timeline: - Open: Saturday, November 23, 2024 - Close: Thursday, January 16, 2025

Competition Dates: - 1/16/2025 -1/17/2025 -1/18/2025 -1/19/2025

Here is how the 2025 Season will be structured in NA and EMEA;

Rank Restriction: Masters+ Rank minimum to participate

Two Phase Tournament - Swiss Play: Top Teams advance to Double Elimination - Double Elimination: Top Teams advance to Regular Season, joining Partner Teams. - The number of teams advancing from the Open Qualifier will be shared at a later date

Further details on Open Qualifier format may be found here .

Top 6 Teams advance to Playoffs & automatically qualify for Stage 2 Regular Season

Bottom 2 Teams relegated to Promotion and Relegation

Prizepool - $100,000 USD NA - $100,000 USD EMEA

Top Teams advance to Live Event - The number of teams advancing to each Live Event will be shared at a later date.

Top 2 Teams from FACEIT League: Master Series Playoffs

Bottom 2 Teams from OWCS Stage 1 Regular Season

2 Teams advance to OWCS Stage 2 Regular Season

2 Teams relegated to FACEIT League Master

Top 6 Teams automatically qualify for Stage 3 Regular Season

Bottom 2 Teams relegated to Promotion & Relegation Tournament

2 Teams advance to Stage 2 Regular Season

For information on the Asia region’s format, including details for Korea, Japan, and the Pacific sub-regions, head to our Overwatch Esports Asia channels here .

OWCS 2025 Eligibility will mirror 2024 with a few distinct changes;

Australia is now included as a resident country of the Pacific sub-region

OWCS Organizations may only host one team within the OWCS Ecosystem.

Organizations may still feature multiple teams in FACEIT League Master, Expert, Advanced, and Open Series.

When constructing your OWCS team, keep in mind:

All players must be at least 17 years of age

Rosters may have a maximum of 2 non-resident players across OWCS regions

All players on a given roster must have an account in good standing on FACEIT, WARA.GG, Overwatch 2, & Blizzard Entertainment

All residency reclassifications and eligibility standings are at the full discretion of the administration

For more specifics on eligibility rules and regions, feel free to consult the Tournament Page here .

FACEIT League now qualifies teams into NA and EMEA OWCS

Start your climb to OWCS with FACEIT. FACEIT League is now directly connected to NA & EMEA OWCS. The FACEIT League Master Series is your pathway to reach OWCS 2025: Stage 2 and 3, as the sole pathway to the OWCS Promotion & Relegation tournament.

Registration for FACEIT League Season 4 is now live and closes on January 29th:

FACEIT is the platform for players seeking more open, rewarding, and aspirational competitions. Exciting new programs will soon be introduced — stay tuned for more information!

In 2025, NA and EMEA regional competitions will be broadcast across Overwatch Esports channels on YouTube, Twitch, X, and more.

We’re excited to bring the action to fans around the world. Follow us on each platform to get those go-live notifications ready and be the first to hear updates regarding future Overwatch Esports programs and news!

NA & EMEA - Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - Discord

Opening Weekend, Viewership Incentives, & Stage 1 Schedule

The first broadcast of the NA and EMEA 2025 OWCS Stage 1 Regular Season begins on Friday, January 31, 2025. To celebrate the start of the new season, viewers can earn a full suite of in-game rewards by tuning in.

Throughout the 2025 Season we will continue to deliver in-game rewards to viewers across each stage of OWCS. We will share further details on what items you can earn at a later date.

Here is the Stage 1 Schedule for OWCS 2025 NA and EMEA Season;

Open Qualifier - 1/16/2025 - 1/17/2025 - 1/18/2025 - 1/19/2025

Regular Season - 1/31/2025 - 2/1/2025 - 2/2/2025 - 2/7/2025 - 2/8/2025 - 2/9/2025 - 2/14/2025 - 2/15/2025 - 2/16/2025 - 2/21/2025 - 2/22/2025 - 2/23/2025

Playoffs - 3/1/2025 - 3/2/2025 - 3/8/2025 - 3/9/2025

Live Event: To be announced at a later date

The full OWCS 2025 Season schedule, including the Stage 1 Live Event, Stage 2, & Stage 3 dates, will be shared at a later time.

The 2025 OWCS Season will continue to deliver in-game rewards for our participants.

All players competing in OWCS & FACEIT League , regardless of match record or division, will have the opportunity to earn new in-game cosmetics before anyone else.

In 2025, we have simplified the Third-Party Tournament Licensing program. Visit here to learn more. Here’s a breakdown of the key improvements:

Community tournaments abiding to the Blizzard Community Competition License are now conditionally approved. This means more tournaments for our fans and community members.

We’ve increased the permissible prize pool amounts and competition durations for Community Licenses, giving you more flexibility to create engaging and rewarding tournaments.

That’s all we have for today! We’ll share more details soon, so you’re fully prepped for the start of the 2025 OWCS season. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us on Social Media . Thanks for being a part of the Overwatch Esports community!