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With Overwatch 2 coming soon, Blizzard has been hard at work to get their competitive scene up and running once again. In 2022, we will be seeing the path to pro revisited with the comeback of the Overwatch Contenders. Read on to see what the tournament circuit has in store for up-and-coming pros.
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When Overwatch was released in 2016, it changed everything for esports fans. It was the dream middle ground between a first-person shooter and a multiplayer online battle arena that gave players the fantasy they had always wanted. Overwatch was set to dominate esports games as one of its forerunners with a highly backed franchise league behind its back in the Overwatch League. Though it took a backseat in the past few years, the development of Overwatch 2 is sure to bring the game back to relevancy.
As such, there’s going to be good money to be made from the Overwatch Contenders League. From moneyline wagers, handicap bets, totals, and special bets, there’s a world of opportunities for you to explore. Just look at our ultimate guide to Overwatch betting and you’ll see what we mean.
Though before anything else, you should first familiarize yourself with how a complex game like Overwatch works. With all the playable heroes and game modes, it can be daunting to start betting on a game that you don’t completely understand. You can get started by purchasing Overwatch which retails for $39.99. Despite the asking price, this gives you early access to Overwatch 2, allowing you to get a head start on the competition. You can play the early access of Overwatch 2 by purchasing through Battle.net for Windows, the Nintendo Store for Switch, the XBOX store, and the PlayStation Store.
When you’re ready to dive in, check out our beginner’s guide to FPS titles and start putting in the hours. After learning the basics, it pays to watch channels like ProGuides and GameLeap or tune into former pros turned streamers like Matthew “super” DeLisi. This will allow you to be one step ahead of the curve which will turn you into an Overwatch Betting pro overnight.
From the Overwatch League down to Overwatch Contenders, moneyline bets are still the go-to betting market for punters. Predict the team who you think will win the match and you’re good to go! Moneyline bets are the perfect entry point for rookie punters getting into Overwatch betting. While you’re at it, you can even use betting bonuses to get larger cash outs even on a simple betting market like moneylines.
Just take note that matches in the upcoming development league will feature an all-new game mode released in Overwatched 2 called Push alongside the usual Control, Escort, and Hybrid. As such, keep your eye out on bets such as first control map winner alongside your typical match winner in moneyline bets. The Overwatch Contenders will still see best-of-five matches in 2022.
Best betting sites to use for Moneyline betting: bet365
Next up, bettors can look towards total betting for those who want to up their game. It works in the same way as over/under betting where you predict if the game will go over or under a score or metric. In Overwatch, you can bet on whether a match will see the total maps played go over or under 3.5 or 4.5 maps.
For total bets or any betting market really, it can be useful to look at player and team stats (such as in over.gg) to see the patterns in their playstyle. For example, if you read into the match history of the Los Angeles Gladiators you will find that they stomp their matches 3-0 or 4-0. Compared to the Seoul Dynasty, despite being ranked ahead of them, the tigers like to play it close with a lot of 3-2 matches under their belt. To keep up to date on team rosters, you can even check out OWL’s own player tracker to see which teams are on the rise.
Best betting sites to use for Total betting: Rivalry, 1xBet
As the name suggests, handicap betting puts an advantage or a handicap on a chosen team by requiring them to win by a set margin in order to be considered a win. There are two kinds of handicap bets: positive and negative. This is done to even out the playing field for teams competing. These handicap bets are easier explained by example.
Remember that Overwatch matches are held in best-of-five maps. So, a positive +1.5-map handicap means that the team you’re betting on only needs to win two (2) games to secure your payout. Meanwhile, a +2.5-map handicap requires the team you’re betting on to only win one (1) game.
On the other hand, a negative -1.5-map handicap means that your team needs to win with a two-game lead (3-0 or 3-1) to win your bet. A -2.5-map handicap means they must win straight 3-0. This puts the burden on the stronger team to win convincingly when compared to the positive handicap which doesn’t require the team you’re betting on to win the series.
Best betting sites to use for Handicap betting: Rivalry, GG.BET
Lastly, we have propositional betting which remains as one of the more difficult betting formats – no matter the esports game you’re betting on. In Overwatch, there are events that happen in-game that do not necessarily decide the game such as the team to secure first blood. In prop betting, you can test how well you understand the game by guessing what will exactly go down in-game.
Be wary because this kind of betting needs a lot of research. But exactly because of that risk, prop betting has a higher payoff. To start with, you can bet on the correct match score from 3-0, 3-1, and 3-2 depending on which team you favor. Then depending on the game mode, there are special bets that you can place.
For control maps, you can bet on the winner per round and the correct score (which will be either 2-0 or 2-1). In hybrid, push, and escort maps, you can bet on whether both teams will complete the map and whether a team will not be able to capture Point A. Though you won’t always be able to find these bets up and running, it can be fun to test your hand at them when you do get the chance!
Best betting sites to use for Prop betting: betway
The Overwatch Contenders is an amateur development series meant to pave the path to pro for those who want to compete in the Overwatch League. The tournament series is held across the world with a $1.3 million global prize pool. Being the development league of OWL itself, Overwatch Contenders is hosted by Blizzard Entertainment. Starting next month, Overwatch Contenders will be played on Overwatch 2.
Ready to cap point? We're excited to share with you more details on upcoming Path to Pro competitions. Summer Series is going to rock! 😎https://t.co/0LuEFsuitt pic.twitter.com/NQQPHXrJqN — Overwatch Path to Pro (@owpathtopro) June 22, 2022
Ready to cap point? We're excited to share with you more details on upcoming Path to Pro competitions. Summer Series is going to rock! 😎https://t.co/0LuEFsuitt pic.twitter.com/NQQPHXrJqN
— Overwatch Path to Pro (@owpathtopro) June 22, 2022
The Overwatch Contenders League began in 2017 with the intention of developing talent for the Overwatch League. But seeing as the game was still growing, Season Zero and Season One (which were held in succession of each other) saw tournaments only being played in North America and Europe. They had a prize bank of $50,000 per region and were a shell of what the league was going to be. Nevertheless, the Overwatch Contenders had hundreds of teams in the open qualifiers fighting for a chance to be scouted in the Overwatch League.
Come into 2018, Overwatch esports had grown exponentially. As such, Contenders expanded to seven regions including:
Starting that year, OWL teams established their own Academy teams as well to develop talent in Contenders. Contenders would play out in two-month seasons thrice a year all year-round.
Over the years, Blizzard yearly introduced a host of changes to the format of Overwatch Contenders with changes to participating teams and regions and tournament format. It would only be in this year, 2022, that Contenders would be completely overhauled pivoting into an open tournament system. But in the 2022 Season, there are only five remaining regions left in Contenders’ competitive ecosystem after the regions of Pacific and South America were cut in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Season 2022 of the Overwatch Contenders began with the Open Divison which ran from May to June, giving the top ranked teams the opportunity to have a head start in the Overwatch 2 PvP beta. However, the competitive season will be held from July to August across all regions. Contenders will be featuring a 64-team single elimination tournament format followed by a double-elimination playoffs with the Top 8 teams qualified.
The first Contenders event will be called the Overwatch Contenders 2022 Summer Series. The Summer series is divided into the A-sides and B-sides, with A-sides serving as the qualifying event for B-sides. A-sides will include Contender teams from the 2021 competitive season alongside the Top 32 teams in the previous Open Division tournament. Meanwhile, the Summer Series B-sides tournament will likewise be inviting Overwatch Contenders teams from the 2021 competitive season with the top Open Division teams from when A-Sides is finished.
For B-Sides, the tournament format differs per region. For example, North America, Europe, and South Korea will be featuring a round robin invitational with the top teams advancing into a double-elimination playoffs bracket. On the other hand, you have Australia and China which will go straight into a double-elimination tournament. Among all the regions, only Australia will have eight (8) competing teams while the rest of the regions will have a 12-team tourney format.
As for its competing teams, Contenders B-Sides will be inviting the top seeds from the Summer Series A-sides, the Open Division, and previous top-performing Overwatch Contenders teams from 2021. Though the details have already been announced, always check the Contenders news page as the tournament format is still subject to change.
Since Contenders is a development league, you’d suspect that its prize pool is going to pale in comparison to the $900,000 that the Overwatch League gave out in 2021. However, the entirety of the Overwatch Contenders League has a global prize pool of $1.3 million dollars! With this big of a prize pool up for grabs, hopefully that will give players and teams an even bigger incentive to invest in their talent.
Each series side and region has its own individual prize pool depending on its competitiveness, player base, etc. For Summer Series A-Sides, it has the following prizing distribution:
For Summer Series B-Sides, the prizing distribution is as follows:
To get into Overwatch Contenders, aspiring pros will have to climb the ropes from ranked leaderboards and open qualifiers. No matter what country you’re coming from, if you’re good enough, players will have the opportunity to prove themselves in Contenders.
Summer Series registration opens soon! Who do you want to see back in the mix? 🌴 https://t.co/yXskeUnubo — Overwatch Path to Pro (@owpathtopro) June 26, 2022
Summer Series registration opens soon! Who do you want to see back in the mix? 🌴 https://t.co/yXskeUnubo
— Overwatch Path to Pro (@owpathtopro) June 26, 2022
As of right now, only teams from the 2021 Overwatch Contenders October have been announced as invited to the Summer Series B-sides tournament. Out of all the regions, China is the only region to have no invited teams with Korea yet to announce its invited teams. Here are the confirmed competing teams thus far in July across the globe:
Overwatch Contenders is the path to pro for the Overwatch League, the dream of amateur players. As such, you’ll notice how chaotic the competitive scene is because of the number of roster changes being made. This is all in the hopes of finding the perfect player and putting together the perfect team. That’s why you always have to look towards which teams are making it big in the respective regions. Frequently check the live streams and the tournament updates in Liquipedia to up your chances in Overwatch Contenders betting.
As of now, there are no odds to be included because bookies have not yet set up their respective betting markets. Once they do, we will be updating the article.
With the limited release of Overwatch 2, top teams from the 2021 Contenders will have a head start over the competition when the 2022 Contenders season begins in July. Therefore, it can be good to look at the previous teams and rosters that placed in the October season of the 2021 Overwatch Contenders. If you look at successful collegiate and Contenders teams in the past year, you’ll see that a good chunk of their players would have left the team to join an Overwatch League squad.
As such, there’s bound to be a new team to take their spot once the dust has settled. Right now, it can be even too early to call any of the invited teams contenders as they have yet to announce their competing rosters for July. However, given the track record that these teams have had in the past season, they still have the opportunity to strike first in the 2022 Overwatch Contenders season.
But for your convenience, we’ve laid out a few of the standout teams from the past season that continue to make moves today:
Despite the early October release of Overwatch 2, the Overwatch Contenders will already be debuting by mid-July of 2022. For the Contenders Summer Series A-Sides, the qualifying tourney will run for about two to three weeks until the start of August. Contenders Summer Series B-Sides will immediately follow around August 15 until September 20 for all the playing regions.
Since there’s still the rest of the year to go, the Summer Series won’t be the only Overwatch Contenders tournament in 2022. As such, it’s always good to stay up to date on the schedule of upcoming game whether it’s the A-Sides or B-Sides tourneys.
As a reference, Overwatch Contenders run the entire year long separately from the Overwatch League’s regular season scheduling. In 2022, the Overwatch League started May 5 and will end by October 22, 2022.
Starting as early as July 11, you can stay tuned to the debut of the Overwatch Contenders in the Summer Series A-Sides on their partnered streaming platform, YouTube. You can also follow all the action in your own time on Liquipedia, the Overwatch League page, and Twitter. The nearest live match on the Overwatch Contenders schedule is from Australia’s Winter Series: A-Sides starting 6:00 P.M. AEST.
The Overwatch Contenders is a global development circuit for the Overwatch League with regions all the way from North America to China. Given that it will be played on Overwatch 2, matches will be more unpredictable with players and teams still figuring out the meta. With the number of possible games available, the 2022 Overwatch Contenders Summer Series will be a good place to bet on aside from the more predictable Overwatch League betting market. Just be sure to do your research beforehand so you don’t go and wasting your hard-earned cash.
The Overwatch Contenders is a regional tournament which has separate start dates for each of its regions. Its debut, the Summer series, starts as early as July 11 for South Korea.
The format of the Overwatch Contenders depends per region. The common formats used are round robin group stage followed by a double-elimination playoff bracket.
To earn Overwatch Contenders hero skins, just link your YouTube and Battle.net accounts then watch live on YouTube with your linked account logged in! After that, just claim your rewards!
Overwatch Contenders can have unorganized rookies to amateur pros playing in their tournament circuit. As such, the minimum pay ranges from $0 to those with OWL contracts worth at least $50,000.
To get in on Overwatch Contenders betting, head on over to our recommended bookmakers Rivalry, 1xBet, or bet365. To get to know these bookies better, check our bookmaker reviews on esports betting.