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Read on for everything you need to know about OWCS 2025, including the schedule, format, how the circuit works, what to expect, and more.
What’s next for Overwatch 2 esports? The next major tournament is the 2025 Midseason Championship, which happens after its Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) event. Read on for everything you need to know about this year’s Overwatch Champion Series (OWCS) circuit, including the schedule, format, what to expect, results, and more. We also explain the new Promotion & Relegation tournament and OWCS Team Partner program.
OWCS Midseason Championship LCQ 2025 heats up with $100,000 at stake
The final invitation to OWCS Midseason Championship 2025, which has an even larger prize pool of $1,050,000, is also on the line.
Crazy Raccoon players win OWCS Champions Clash: “We won the championship thanks to all the fans who believed in us and supported us!”
Crazy Raccoon players won OWCS Champions Clash! Here’s what the players said about their victory and more.
Amy Chen
Overwatch 2 OWCS 2025 explained
OWCS 2025 kicked off in January 2025 with an Open Qualifier for the North America (NA) and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) regions. This Open Qualifier determined which Overwatch 2 teams advanced to the OWCS Stage 1 Regular Season.
Every match in theStage 1 Regular Seasongot a broadcast as well. Six teams then advanced to the OWCS Stage 1 Playoffs and automatically qualified for the OWCS Stage 2 Regular Season. The top teams from the OWCS Stage 1 Playoffs then advanced tothis year’s first live event.
Meanwhile, the bottom two teams from the OWCS Stage 1 Regular Season entered the Promotion & Relegation tournament and fought against the top two teams from the FACEIT League: Master Series Playoffs.
The above also applies to OWCS Stage 2 and OWCS Stage 3. However, OWCS Stage 3 does not include another Promotion & Relegation tournament. In total, the OWCS 2025 circuit has three stages and three international live events. The next OWCS World Finals, which is a live tournament, is slated for November 2025.
Talking OWCS 2025 with Bailey McCann: “If you want to play Overwatch esports, just do it. You’ll love it and you’ll get captured by it.”
Esports.gg interviewed Bailey McCann at DreamHack Stockholm about the impact of OWCS 2025’s open ecosystem and more.
OWCS 2025 and the evolution of Overwatch esports: Interview with Sean Miller
“The power of an open ecosystem is there’s such a low barrier to entry that if you’re good, and if you can put together a team, you can make it to DreamHack, you can make it to these live events, you can make it to World Finals.”
The passion of local OWCS Asia fans: Interview with Craig Cheon
“We have a real local scene with this OWCS program. We have fans in Korea, Japan, and the Pacific, and local fans help each other build up the community.”
OWCS 2025 schedule and format: Stage 3
OWCS 2025 Promotion & Relegation tournament
In each Overwatch 2 Promotion & Relegation tournament, the bottom two OWCS teams from the regular season get to duke it out against the top two teams from the FACEIT League: Master Series Playoffs. teams. For more context, theFACEIT League: Master Seriesis the pathway to OWCS 2025 Stage 2 and Stage 3 for NA and EMEA teams. This is done so via the OWCS Promotion & Relegation tournament.
In an interview with esports.gg, OWCS NA and EMEA lead Bailey McCann revealed that these types of tournaments allow more players to join the Overwatch 2 esports ecosystem.
“I think the reception has been really great with our 2025 program,” she said. “I think we’re taking some steps to help provide more consistency for our players. Integrating FACEIT into our programming is really awesome [and] we’re able to provide a space where people are able to continue to play in our ecosystem and have this consistent competition with our regular seasons kind of moving in between each other.”
Head of Overwatch Esports Sean Miller echoed McCann’s thoughtsin another interview with esports.gg. “The power of an open ecosystem is there’s such a low barrier to entry that if you’re good, and if you may put together a team, you can make it to DreamHack, you can make it to these live events, you can make it to World Finals. And that’s such a powerful story,” he added.
OWCS Team Partner program explained
As for the OWCS Team Partner program, it supports up to nine Overwatch 2 esports teams across NA, EMEA, and Asia.Teams in this programget a portion of the crowdfunding proceeds through the in-game, team-branded bundles. Teams had until July 29, 2025 todeclare their interestin this program.
OWCS 2025 partner teams revealed: T1, Team Liquid, Crazy Raccoon, and more!
Here are all the partner teams for OWCS 2025 along with some information and history about each one.
That’s all for now. Are you ready for more OWCS 2025 action? Stick around on esports.gg for more Overwatch 2 esportsnews and updates.
