Overwatch League tries to increase interest with May Madness tournament



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Until now, in 2020, teams have been playing for their season records. Games during the first three weekends of May will continue to count towards the overall record for wins and losses. Actual tournament matches will not win, but the top four squads in each region will earn additional earnings for the playoff qualification.

The league also suspends hero groups for the tournament weekend, giving players access to all 32 characters. Matches will be kept in the standard format from first to three maps, except for the finals, which will be the first of four.

With the switch to a homestand format this year, in which teams were required to play all matches in live events in their hometowns, the Overwatch League abandoned the format from previous years, which had three sets of mid-season playoffs. with cash prizes and stage titles on the line. But after a few weeks of homestays, the COVID-19 outbreak prompted the league to switch to playing online solo for the rest of the season and abandon plans for a $ 1.05 mid-season tournament. millions.

The May tournament could revive interest among downed viewers as it brings betting weekly. The audience this season has not reached the heights of 2018 and 2019 after the Overwatch League moved from Twitch to YouTube. The concurrent viewers for a game on Sunday were around 22,000 at one point. The audience was generally at least in the top five figures in 2018 and 2019.

“Our plan is tentatively to try to do more of this while looking at June and July,” Overwatch League vice president Jon Spector said during a league broadcast on Sunday. “I think we could land in a pretty similar structure, then we started to make the playoffs and end of season finale. We want to do more of this, but we will also be monitoring the feedback and making sure it is as amazing and fun as we think it is. it’s before I make a plan later. “

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