Overwatch has seen an increase growth in its pro scene, especially now after launch. While the Gosugamers Weekly and ESL Cups only offer a prize pool of around the thousands, there has yet to be a major tournament with a six figure prize pool, the highest was the OG Invitational at $25,000. Until now.
The ESL are partnering with developers Blizzard to host the Atlantic Showdown, an Overwatch tournament with the biggest prize pool to date: $100,000. 4 teams from North America and another 4 from Europe will be brawling for the big money this August at Gamescom, Europe’s premier gaming convention- similar like E3. To secure a place for the main event in Cologne, Germany next month, teams have to go on a qualifying rounds that is currently running throughout the month.
While the huge prize money is certainly the draw here, it is not an entirely positive note. With Blizzard having more presence with this tournament, the ESL are forgoing the current standard tournament formats both the ESL and Gosugamers have run: Ban 2CP (2 Control Points a.k.a Assault) maps, one hero limit, and stopwatch rules. We have written an explanation on stopwatch rules in this quick primer for following the Overwatch e-sports scene.
As such, 2CP maps will be played, no hero limit and ruleset will follow the standard competitive mode format, like the one available in the recent patch. However, no sudden death is played on payload maps. Instead, teams score a point for finishing the map. You can read up the new ruleset here. We will talk about the current issues with the new format in due time.
You can follow the qualifying matches casted by the ESL team here.