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The 2020 Overwatch League will start on February 8, 2020. The Overwatch League 2020 will host some of the most talented teams from across the globe in the fight for supremacy.
For the upcoming season, the developer Blizzard has announced big changes. The Overwatch League will adopt the homestand model which means that the teams this season will play home and away games.
To reduce the travel strain for the players, the organizers have decided to split the Atlantic and Pacific divisions. This means that the Atlantic and Pacific conferences will consist of four divisions in 2020: Pacific West, Pacific East, Atlantic South, and Atlantic North.
Here is how the teams have been distributed in their specific regions for the Overwatch League 2020:
ATLANTIC CONFERENCE
North Division:
- Toronto Defiant
- Paris Eternal
- New York Excelsior
- London Spitfire
- Boston Uprising
South Division:
- Washington Justice
- Philadelphia Fusion
- Houston Outlaws
- Florida Mayhem
- Atlanta Reign
PACIFIC CONFERENCE
East Division:
- Seoul Dynasty
- Shanghai Dragons
- Hangzhou Spark
- Guangzhou Charge
- Chengdu Hunters
West Division:
- Vancouver Titans
- San Francisco Shock
- Los Angeles Gladiators
- Los Angeles Valiant
- Dallas Fuel
Changes for the 2020 Overwatch League season
The Overwatch League will be revamped for the 2020 season, including a change of format and a home and away model. The changes that will impact the Overwatch League season the most are:
Homestand model comes in play for Overwatch League 2020
The upcoming Overwatch season will last for 27 weeks, from February to August. It will host 52 homestand matches, which indicates that each team will host two homestand games and will play 28 matches in the regular season. The double-elimination playoffs will be contested by eight teams. The top six sides of the regular season will qualify automatically. Meanwhile, the teams that finish between seven to 12 will compete in direct elimination play-ins for the last two spots. It is not yet known where the playoffs will take place this year.
Midseason All-Star tournament
A new All-Star OWL tournament will also take place at the midpoint of the season. Four teams will be featured in the competition: The leaders of the Pacific and Atlantic conferences and the two teams with the best records until Week 10. You should know that this All-Star event will only be an exhibition tournament since its results will have no impact on the format of qualification for the postseason.
First-to-three format
The four-game-minimum format of the regular season has also been abandoned by Blizzard and will be replaced by the first-to-three format. In the first couple of seasons, teams would have to play the fourth map even if one of the teams have secured three maps to win the series.
Now the match will end as soon as one team wins three maps. The control map type will kick off each map of the series, while the next three maps will rotate between Escort, Assault, and Hybrid. If necessary, the 5th, 6th and 7th maps played will be control type so teams should focus on preparing this type. In 2019, 12 maps were played. Now the 5 maps will still be available, as well as 3 maps from each other mode.
