Blizzard aims to revive esports around Overwatch 2, one of their most successful releases in recent years. Since the United States became champion in 2019, the World Cup has not taken place, but it will return in 2023. The participating countries are already known, and the format and schedule of the competition have been detailed.
Which teams participate in the Overwatch World Cup 2023
The program will feature three conferences, each with two groups of six countries and regions, which were selected based on Overwatch 2 demographic data. Here are the 36 teams and the 6 groups for the qualifiers:
America Conference (AMER)
Group A:
• Canada
• Costa Rica
• Guatemala
• Mexico
• Puerto Rico
• United States
Group B:
• Argentina
• Brazil
• Chile
• Colombia
• Ecuador
• Peru
Europe and Middle East Conference (EMEC)
Group A
• Belgium
• France
• United Kingdom
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Spain
Group B
• Germany
• Norway
• Poland
• Saudi Arabia
• Sweden
• Turkey
Asia and Pacific Conference (APAC)
Group A:
• Chinese Taipei
• Hong Kong
• Indonesia
• Japan
• Philippines
• South Korea
Group B:
• Australia
• India
• Malaysia
• New Zealand
• Singapore
• Thailand
What is the format and schedule of the Overwatch World Cup 2023
In each participating region and country, tests for the World Cup will be held over a period of three weekends (February 10-12, 17-19, and 24-26). Competition Committees will be responsible for organizing additional team tests in March and completing a seven-player team in April.
In June, the teams will compete in their groups to win one of the sixteen spots in the LAN finals, which are scheduled for autumn 2023. "Considering the current situation in China, and that teams from that country have always performed well, including two second places in the last two Overwatch World Cups, a team from China will receive a direct invitation to the group stage," explained Blizzard.