The Los Angeles Qualifier for the Overwatch World Cup 2018 begins today. Six teams will compete over the course of three days for a position at the Main Event at BlizzCon in Anaheim.
Tournament Format
The Los Angeles Qualifier will take the Round Robin format, where each of the competitors will face off against one another in one-on-one matches. Matches will include four different map types – Control, Hybrid, Assault and Escort – and all will be played in that order to determine the winner. In the event, that both teams score an even number of points, then a best-of-3 match will be played on a Control map to break the tie.
The included maps go as follows:
| Control | Hybrid | Assault | Escort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ilios | Blizzard World | Hanamura | Dorado |
| Lijiang Tower | Eichennwalde | Horizon Lunar Colony | Junkertown |
| Nepal | Hollywoord | Temple of Anubis | Route 66 |
| Oasis | King’s Row | Volskaya Industries | Watchpoint:Gibraltar |
| – | Numbani | – | Rialto |
The prize pool for the event is $90,000 and each participating team will receive $15,000. The first place winner and the runner-up will both receive a spot in the Main Event of the Overwatch World Championship Series in Anaheim, where they will play against the winners of the Incheon, Bangkok, and Paris Qualifiers. The Incheon Qualifier concluded on 19 August, with South Korea in first place and Finland in second.
Team Line-Up
The Overwatch World Cup series does not feature individual teams, rather it deals with national ones, where each member is also a citizen of that team’s country. As a result, teams in Overwatch are dealt with on a nationality basis. In the Los Angeles Qualifier, there will be six countries competing for a spot in the tournament at BlizzCon. These countries include the United States, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Norway and Switzerland.
Schedule
The tournament will take place over the course of three days, starting from 7 September and concluding on 9 September. Every day, each team will play up to two matches against two different countries. Teams will get to rest for at least, one match interval, before they can play again.
On the first day, we will be treated to the following line-up:
Austria vs Canada
Norway vs Switzerland
Canada vs Brazil
Austria vs United States
Norway vs Brazil
On day two, the following matches will take place:
Switzerland vs Austria
Brazil vs United States
Norway vs Canada
United States vs Switzerland
Brazil vs Austria
On the third and final day, the line-up will be the following:
Norway vs Austria
Canada vs Switzerland
Norway vs United States
Switzerland vs Brazil
United States vs Canada
The event will be broadcast on Twitch.tv with commentary in a variety of different languages, including English, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Russian, Thai, Chinese and possibly more.
Following the Los Angeles Qualifiers, viewers can look forward to the Bangkok and Paris Qualifiers, which are set to take place on 14 – 16 September and 21 – 23 September, respectively. The Main Event at BlizzCon is scheduled for 2 – 3 November, where the World Champion will be determined.
