Overwatch esports

Overwatch is one of the best and most popular competitive multiplayer first-person shooters out right now and it’s set to experience massive growth in the competitive esports scene in 2024. As Blizzard Entertainment’s flagship title for the past two years, serious money is being thrown around to give Overwatch esports the limelight it needs to reach a wider global audience – and many betting sites have taken note and are offering more options on every match.

With several mainstream sporting leagues, retired professional athletes and other notable executives have invested heavily in the esports Overwatch Champions Series, there is no denying it is quickly getting the mainstream attention it deserves – so there is no better time than now to get familiar with the game’s format, rules, meta and the best players and teams currently leading the pack.

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Latest Overwatch news

Overwatch Champions Series returns bigger and better in 2025

What’s on in esports for week beginning November 18, 2024

Blizzard announces new Overwatch 2 esports series for 2024

Blizzard announce change of direction for its Overwatch League

Overwatch League under a cloud after sixth season finishes

Overwatch League coaches frustrated with OWL finals changes

Can I bet on Overwatch esports?

Overwatch is the type of game that can appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers and esports fans, so it pays to brush up on your basic gameplay knowledge so you can keep up with the fast-paced nature of the high-level play in the Overwatch Champions Series. Before you read on, we advise checking out our beginner’s guide to betting on esports to understand the odds and options available to you at this time and how to actually place a wager on your favourite Overwatch Champions Series team properly.

Ready to check out the best esports betting sites offering Overwatch esports markets? Visit our provided guide to find out which sportsbook accepts wagers on Overwatch esports events, including Overwatch Champions Series and other smaller regional tournaments.

Overview of the Overwatch Champions Series

The Overwatch League (OWL) was the professional esports league for Overwatch, but the league ceased in 2023, and will be taken over by the Overwatch Champions Series. The OWL was first announced at Blizzcon 2016 and was 100% organised and owned by Blizzard Entertainment, who are also the developer and publisher of Overwatch and several other popular esports titles, like Hearthstone and StarCraft II.

The Overwatch Champions Series will be run in partnership with ESL FACEIT Group and WDG. The series will be separated into four stages, with an international Major taking place in between stages two and three. The Overwatch Champions Series Finals will be held at the end of the season and will act as a world championship.

You can watch live streams for free of every Overwatch Champions Series match on your computer, smartphone or tablet – find out where to the best Overwatch esports live streaming sites here.

Major Overwatch events in 2024

Overwatch one of the biggest esports on the planet in 2024 and there are some great events to look forward to, including many that are part of the Overwatch Champions Series. We examine some of the key Overwatch betting events happening this year.

Basics of Overwatch gameplay

Overwatch is a first-person shooter with a large emphasis on team play and entirely multiplayer focused, with both casual and competitive matches. What sets it apart from other popular shooters that have become esports is it’s not about just killing the other team more – every single game mode in competitive play requires the completion of key objectives as a team – so if you ever spot an overzealous competitive player going out on his own and not listening to their teammates, chances are that’s a wager to avoid completely.

Overwatch is both extremely accessible to pick up and play, yet difficult to master. The same thing applies for watching it as a competitive esport, because while understanding the map types, objectives and character classes in Overwatch is fairly straightforward and simple, without a basic scoreboard and more detailed spectator features currently implemented in-game it’s hard to keep track of every player on the field and the chaos that inevitably ensues in such a fast-paced, team-based game. Thankfully, the pre-season showed Blizzard had adequately prepared for their official esports effort with better player tracking and scoreboards so players could keep track of the action without shifting between cameras excessively, as in the past.

Below, we provide a basic run-down of every element of the average Overwatch game to make your OW esports viewing experience easier and your betting experience more informed – keep this page bookmarked as a handy reference in a separate tab to your OWCS live-stream.

Heroes and objectives in Overwatch

In Overwatch, two teams of six go head-to-head on a variety of different maps and varied game modes. Each player chooses from a roster of 20+ characters or ‘heroes’, each with their own unique playstyles, abilities, movesets, pros and cons. Each hero also has an ‘Ultimate’ ability, which is a highly effective power charged during regular play and ideally unleashed at the time it’s most effective to use. Unlike many other multiplayer shooters, Overwatch allows players to switch heroes on-the-fly, meaning strategies and tactics in the typical esports OW match can change dramatically without much notice.

All heroes play incredibly differently and there’s very little overlap between abilities and playstyles. For example, Soldier 86 plays like the traditional offensive shooter class in any other competitive multiplayer video game, with an automatic rifle as his weapon and the straightforward ability to sprint across the map, heal himself with a and do increased damage with a well-placed rocket. Meanwhile, a character like Genji in the same ‘class’ as Soldier 86 (more explained about classes below) has shurikens for his weapon which require more precise timing and the ability to traverse high walls, deflect projectiles and slice his way through opponents with a quick dash.

It’s fair to say with the amount of patches and testing, OW is incredibly balanced compared to many other competitive multiplayer video games, which is a big reason for its popularity. The different strategies and counters that arise from such diverse team line-ups and the threats of each unique ultimate and the fact players can change up their play by swapping heroes at any moment make Overwatch a thrilling esport to watch via live-streaming sites, as well as bet on – which is why sportsbooks are taking more notice of the rapidly growing fan-base looking to place a wager on their favourite team or player.

Heroes and class types in Overwatch

Overwatch divides its 20+ character roster in four distinct classes, or roles: Offense, Defense, Tank and Support.

Offense

Used to inflict as much damage as possible to the opposing team. Usually are fast and able to get around the map efficiently, and can dish out high amounts of damage per-second, meaning the highest DPS (Damage Per Second) heroes are in this class. They have lower health pools than their counterparts and less creative abilities to offset their damage output. Some examples of heroes in this class include Pharrah, Soldier 86, Reaper and Tracer.

Defense

Used to set up mines, turrets, traps and plays which require a little more finesse and timing. They have more interesting abilities to counter their lower DPS than the offense class. Some examples of heroes in this class include Bastion, Hanzo, Mei, Junkrat and Widowmaker.

Tank

Used to absorb massive amounts of enemy damage or otherwise hold a strategic position due to their large health pool. Most heroes in this class have significant survivability if played properly but are large and slow, making them easy targets for everyone. Some examples of heroes in this class include D.va, Roadhog, Reinhardt and Winston.

Support

Used to support the team with buffing and healing abilities to increase survivability and minimise the amount of respawning required for the team to get back in the game. Low health pools and low DPS, but are able to heal and use creative abilities to keep attackers at bay. Some examples of heroes in this class include Ana, Lucio, Mercy, Moira, Symmetra and Zenyatta.

Winning teams always employ a balanced mixture of heroes from all four classes. The best players are always readily willing to switch characters mid-match whenever the need may arise – there’s nothing worse than watching a stubborn Hanzo or Widowmaker main who won’t swap heroes when sharpshooting is no longer a priority, for example, though thankfully these types of mistakes are never seen in high-level competitive OW esports.

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Game types and maps in Overwatch

Overwatch has four different game formats with set maps for each type of match, called Assault, Control, Escort and Hybrid. In past Overwatch-sponsored esports events, teams play one match on each map type in the following preset order: Hybrid, Control, Assault and finally Escort. Higher seeded teams get to choose the first map, and the loser of each round gets to choose the following map.

Assault

For attacking teams, the objective of Assault is to capture two points on the map; the defending team must prevent them from capturing either points until the timer expires. Maps for Assault include Hanamura, Horizon Lunar Colony, Temple of Anubis and Volskaya Industries.

Control

The objective of Control is the same for both teams – one must capture a specific point in the center of the map. If one team captures the center, each second the point is uncontested awards the occupying team capture points. The first team to reach 100% wins the match, which has been played best out of 3 (rather than best of 5 in regular competitive online play) in past OW esports events. Maps for Control include Ilios, Lijiang Tower, Nepal and Oasis.

Escort

For attacking teams, the objective of Escort is to push the payload through the checkpoints on the map, with the timer extending if successful and the game ending if the final point is reached. The defending team must prevent them from pushing the payload forward to win the match. Maps for Escort include Dorado, Junkertown, Route 66 and Watchpoint: Gibraltar.

Hybrid

A mixture of both Assault and Control in that order. For attacking teams, the objective of Hybrid is split into two phases: They must first capture the point on the map, then escort the payload to the final point. The defending team must prevent the attacking team on each front from succeeding. Maps for Hybrid include Eichenwald, Hollywood, King’s Row and Numbani.

A winning team will always be prepared to swap up their line-up upon changing game modes, because not every character will suit the terrain or the objectives that each arena imposes. The likes of Widowmaker, for example, is wasted on Assault maps like Horizon Lunar Colony with all of its tight enclosed spaces on the first capture point, while Lucio may be incredibly useful on maps with plenty of places to be pushed off such as Ilios Lighthouse and Lijiang Tower.

Overwatch esports jargon and terminology

Most matches of competitive Overwatch will involve the rapid-fire use of many game-specific and community-created terms and slang. If you are serious about betting on your favourite Overwatch esports events and want an informed edge for your wagers, it’s best to brush up on the esports jargon prior to placing your bets so you can properly understand what’s going on in-play.

• Boop
  A player who uses Lucio to knock enemy players off a map’s boundaries using his special ability.
• Carry
  A player or players(s) protected by the team in order to deal the most damage to the opposition.
• Deathball
  When a team is crunched behind the shield of a tank hero, moving forward slowly as a unit until there is an opportunity to break through and scatter, which is a fairly uncommon play in esports-level Overwatch.
• Discorded
  A player who has been inflicted with Zenyatta’s useful Discord ability and who should be the focus of any good team’s efforts to eliminate.
• Dive comp
  When a team’s composition is made up of very mobile, aggressive heroes to quickly attack and overwhelm the other team’s enemy lines and distpatch the biggest threat on the field to scatter the rest – an alternative play to focusing on a choke-point and a very common play in esports-level Overwatch.
• Hooked
  A player who has been trapped by Roadhog’s Hook ability.
• Nano
  A player who has or wants to be boosted by Ana’s Ultimate ability.
• Pharmercy
  Two players on the same team playing as Mercy and Pharrah, a deadly combo due to Mercy’s damage boost ability and Pharrah’s ability to fly around the map and shoot from above.
• Rez
  When a player is resurrected or is requesting a friendly Mercy to resurrect them on the battlefield with her unique ability.
• Ult stack
  When a team conserves their ultimate abilities to unleash them in an ideally well coordinated assault.

Competitive Overwatch tips – what to watch out for in a winning team

The Overwatch League pre-season held in 2018 showed plenty of decent examples into what makes a winning team worth watching (and betting on). While hardcore players and the overall community may debate on the effectiveness of certain team compositions, strategies and the current meta, it’s safe to see the following plays were very successful.

• A Pharmercy duo who really stick together
  Seok-woo “Wekeed” Choi and Jin-mo “tobi” Yang of Seoul Dynasty pretty much dominated the Shanghai Dragons with the well coordinated and always effective match-up of a Mercy-boosted Pharrah, and both of them clearly knew the importance of constantly moving around the map, sweeping in on foes and retreating whenever necessary to keep alive and together, along with some well-placed rocket concussive blasts to escape firefights efficiently. An overly confident Pharrah who flies out of range of poor Mercy, they were not.
• Genji mains who actually time their Dragon Strike
  Ted “Silkthread” Wang of Los Angeles Valiant knew what was up during his debut match against the San Francisco Shock, reserving Genji’s ult until the last possible second to hold the final point on Junkertown and win the match. It may seem like Genji 101, but too many Genji mains wasted their alts throughout the other preseason match-ups without the element of surprise – thankfully, Silkthread did not disappoint, though it was unfortunately not captured live.

Overwatch 2

After a long time of getting leaks, rumors and various reports about the new Overwatch game, we have finally gotten some official information regarding it during BlizzCon 2019. At one of the panels at Blizzcon 2019, Overwatch 2 has been confirmed along with a bunch of new things that will be coming with it, so let’s take a look at what we know so far about the new upcoming Overwatch 2 game.

• When was it released?

  Overwatch 2 was released on October 4th, 2022, with only the PvP part of the game to be announced as of yet. The PvE part of Overwatch 2 is yet to be announced but we expect a date to be confirmed after the PvP release. Overwatch 2 will bring new heroes and hero changes that will hopefully increase the level of enjoyment for the much loved Overwatch game series.

• What is Overwatch 2

  Overwatch 2 is exactly what its name suggests, a sequel to the popular team-based FPS game Overwatch, however, it is not a sequel in a traditional sense. Overwatch 2 seems to be more of an expansion to Overwatch than a real sequel and will be heavily focused on the upcoming PvE missions rather than anything else. The game itself will likely expand on the lore and the story of its predecessor and feature more cutscenes and dialogues rather than a large number of limited-time events.

• Overwatch 2 And Overwatch Compatibility

  It has been confirmed by numerous sources that Overwatch 2 will be compatible with the original game of Overwatch. What this means is that the players who own the original Overwatch game will be able to create and join parties alongside players who own a copy of Overwatch 2 and play together in multiplayer matches, which certainly is a good thing but this feature opens a whole array of questions that we don’t have any answers to yet.

  We know that Overwatch 2 will be receiving an improvement in the graphics department which would mean that players who play the two different games will be seeing things slightly differently. We also know that new heroes will be introduced in Overwatch 2. Does that mean that they will also be brought into the original game or will players who play Overwatch not be able to play as any of the new heroes until they purchase the sequel and if that is the case, how will the matchmaking system set up balanced teams. On the other hand, if new heroes get put into the original game, is there a point to buying the sequel other than the PvE missions and single-player stuff? It is all unclear at the moment and we just have to wait and see how is Blizzard going to go about all of these issues.

• How can Overwatch 2 be played – Platform availability

  It has been officially confirmed during one of Blizzard’s What’s Next panels that Overwatch 2 will be available across multiple platforms including PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

• What’s new In Overwatch 2

  So far, we have only received small glimpses and ideas of what is supposedly coming packaged into the Overwatch sequel, and while a lot of things are still up in the air in those regards, we do have some idea of what to expect in Overwatch 2.

  The campaign of the game will consist of multiple co-op missions called Story Missions which will team up players and put them up against the Null Sector which is a robotic army that we have already faced in the Uprising event of the original Overwatch. These missions will also feature items that players can pick up that will slightly change the playstyle of heroes and thus allowing for a little more customization.

  Hero missions are another new PvE feature which will allow the player to choose and level up their favorite heroes. These missions will have high replay-ability value and will let players unlock various customization options and rewards.

  Finally, we know that new modes will be coming to the game and one of them was confirmed to be called the Push mode. In this mode, two teams of players will be battling over the control of a robot that pushes two barriers across the map. The winner will be the team that pushes the barrier further into enemy territory.

  Alongside everything that we have mentioned, we can also expect the usual stuff to appear like new maps, skins, and cosmetics as well as a bunch of new heroes for the player to get acquainted with.

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Types of bets in competitive Overwatch

The Overwatch Champions Series has yet to properly debut aside from its brief pre-season, so there is not many bookmakers/sportsbooks that are offering wagers beyond match winner, which involves placing a bet on the winning team of the overall match. Visit our guide on Overwatch esports betting to find out the available markets and types of bets you can currently place on Overwatch competitive tournaments.

We will update this section with more detail, including what type of prop/game-specific bets the bets esports betting sites will be offering for aspiring Overwatch bettors when the first OWCS season goes into full swing.

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Overwatch Contenders

The Overwatch Contenders competition is played by eight different regions around the globe and is used as a breeding ground for future Overwatch Champions Series stars. Many of the pro teams in North America and other places have teams competing in Overwatch Contenders with their reserves playing. This League is really about the emerging talent though, with ESB predicting many great stories to come out of the official feeder competition which has over $3 million USD in prize money for the 2019 season and culminates in an event called the Gauntlet.