UPDATE: The group stage has been announced, and the qualifiers declared over. Here's a peek at the highlights from the qualifier games from the Overwatch SEA's official Facebook page.

Earlier in March, the first Blizzard Overwatch SEA Tournament was announced. The tournament with a prize pool of $5,000 was open for any SEA team to sign up with players from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, or Thailand. So if Blizzard's announcement of the Overwatch Pacific Championship has piqued your interest in the region, this might be a good jump off point for a deep dive in to the South East Asian scene.

The open qualifiers started from 25th March, and the group stage of it will start 1st April, from 23:00 EDT (31st March) / 05:00 CEST / 11:00 SGT. The top 32 teams from the open qualifiers will proceed to the group stage along with another 32 teams with an average season high rank of Masters and above in Competitive Season 3 who registered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Prize Distribution

  • 1st: $2,500
  • 2nd: $1,250
  • 3rd: $750
  • 4th: $500

Schedule

  • March 25th-26th: Open Qualifier
  • April 1st-23rd: Round Robin Group Stage
  • April 29th-30th: Top 8 Knockout Stage
  • May 6th: Finals

Group Stage Brackets

Broadcasts

Notable Teams

Here's a non-extensive list of notable teams participating in this tournament:

  • Avalon.Tempo, won the SEA Invitationals, defeating sWeedTime (now known as FireBall) in the process.
  • GameHome, placed 4th in the SEA Invitationals.
  • Mineski, placed top 8 in a few Asian qualifier tournaments, even placing above LW Blue in the Masters Gaming Arena 2016: Asian Regional Qualifier.
  • Unestablished Juniors, placed first in the Oceanic Summer Series: South East Asia Qualifier.
  • 1st-eSports, won the Overwatch Dreamcasters Championships.
  • WhiteFang E-Sports, placed second in Overwatch Dreamcasters Championships, and placed 4th in in the Oceanic Summer Series: South East Asia Qualifier.

Ultimate Recall banner

A weekly show Ultimate Recall from 6th April will also be held every Thursday 20:00 SGT on the Overwatch SEA YouTube Channel.