Overwatch World Cup 2023 - Full schedule, tournament stages, and more

The Overwatch World Cup 2023 is set to return after a three-year period, and Blizzard has some big plans for the future. The annual event was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic with the world under lockdown. Now that the situation has eased in most parts of the world and its latest title released in 2022, Blizzard will be relaunching the flagship esports carnival.

This year's event is expected to be bigger than ever, meaning more nations and a larger pool of players will be in the fray for the final rewards. Blizzard has already handed out important information surrounding the event through its official blog post.

Let's look at all the relevant details known so far which should be important for gamers interested in the tournament.

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World's best players to compete in Overwatch World Cup 2023

The Overwatch World Cup 2023 will be a three-tiered event, broken down into further sub-stages. The application process is set to begin in January 2023. There will be a list of players from 36 nations that Blizzard will select upon completion of the verification process.

Blizzard will be setting up committees to help determine a player's eligibility and ability to participate. This will be followed by open trials during February, offering guaranteed slots for regional qualifiers. The list of committees for the Overwatch World Cup 2023 by Blizzard will be announced in the same month.

In March, these committees will try out different members before settling on a final list. The 36 competing nations will be pooled across six regions, and the top 16 teams will qualify for the main competition.

All the Overwatch World Cup 2023 action will take place in the fall of 2023 when the group stage takes place as a LAN tournament. The top eight teams will advance to the finals, where they will be placed in a single elimination bracket. Eight teams will compete against each other, with one winner being declared.

Fortunately for some, the Overwatch World Cup 2023 will not only involve professional players. Blizzard hasn't explicitly handed out all the details, but there will be dedicated challenges and rewards themed around the main event for other players. Moreover, Twitch drops are likely to be handed out at every stage.

The upcoming year looks promising for the franchise, which has been revitalized with the release of Overwatch 2. The return of the premier esports event will add to the existing traction, and it remains to be seen who will be the new champion after a nearly four-year wait. Blizzard will be providing more updates and details as the final date approaches.