The group stage of Blizzard's Contenders Season Zero kicks off today after an intense qualification period that saw several notable teams eliminated before the competition had even really begun. Sixteen teams remain in Europe, they have been split into four groups who will compete in a double round robin over the course of this weekend and the next to determine which two teams progress to the playoffs. A heady mixture of the established Europe's fatcat elite and hungry lesser known teams should ensure the competition will be fierce and unpredictable all day long. The former competing to cement their place as the best in the West, whilst the latter desperately try to prove they are good enough to hang with the best and showcase themselves to potential investors.

Group Stage

Format

In a similar vein to TaKeOver 2 each group stage match will be played over four maps, opening up the potential for draws. The two teams with the most map wins will progress to playoffs. As each team plays twice there will be a home and away team for each fixture, with the home team picking the first map. From there it will be losers map pick, though they will be restricted by gamemode in the following order:

  • Map 1 - Hybrid
  • Map 2 - Control
  • Map 3 - Assault
  • Map 4 - Escort

There is also a restricted map pool so Volskaya fans grab your tissues:

  • Hybrid - Eichenwalde, Numbani, Hollywood
  • Escort - Watchpoint: Gibraltar, Route 66
  • Assault - Hanamura, Temple of Anubis
  • Control - Lijiang Tower, Nepal, Oasis

Any tiebreakers in groups standing will be played on a best-of-three Oasis following the conclusion of games on the 23rd June.

Schedule

There will be a mountain of Overwatch being played over this weekend and subsequently only several of the games can be streamed. The coverage doesn’t start until the third round of matches where Left Guy and co will bring the following games on twitch.tv/overwatchcontenders:

* denotes home team

You can follow all the action on the official tournament site where the standings and schedule have just gone live, as well as our own event page where we will endeavour to bring you all the latest scores and update you on any player streams that are available, which will be permitted with a three minute delay.

Preview

Group A

Group A

With eUnited comfortably winning the first day of qualification it would be hard to see them finishing anywhere but first. Their dive has been too well orchestrated for most teams in Europe and, as a firm favourite to win the competition, the next two weekends should be no different. The fight for the second qualification spot is much more open. While Bazooka Puppies qualified higher with an impressive win against Gamers Origin, Team Expert only lost to Movistar Riders and Cyclowns.

Team Expert have been grinding their way up as a team for a while, but Bazooka Puppies have only recently formed from top players from disbanded organisations. I don’t think there is a lot between either of these teams. Their head to head matches over the next two weeks will be crucial in deciding who gets that second qualification spot. This doesn’t mean that relative unknowns ESPORATI should be discounted. Although they have often made deep runs in ESL's Go4 weklies, it was their contenders qualification run in which they eliminated LDLC on the second day that has marked their breakthrough. So they should not be taken lightly and could certainly throw a spanner in the qualification plans for the other teams.

Group B

Group B

This group is stacked with top tier team names and some pretty good teams too. Misifts will be looking to continue their improvement since TaKeOver 2 by finishing top in this competitive group. The seeding gods have also shone favourably on the extended Alicus vs his previous team story line and we’ll be treated to another instalment on stream. Misfits dispatched Laser Kittenz with ease on the first day of qualification and with that only being a week ago it’s doubtful there has been enough time to improve for the Korean-infused Kittenz. As long as Misfits do not repeat the shaky form of TaKeOver 2 Day 1 they should finish top but they have a lot of talent to get past.

On that note, it should not be forgotten either that NWA has been revived and also find themselves in this group. A roster with huge potential before being poached to death they are now back following the org exodus from Overwatch. Another stacked roster that has looked competitive against every team they have played and should certainly give Laser Kittenz and Misfits a run for their money. Unfortunately, with all this talent in the group, this will most likely be the end of the road for Team eSporters Cyberathletes.

Group C

Group C

These four teams could finish in any order. While Team Singularity Ninjas finished with the top seed they did get a fortunate path to qualification on Day 1. Though they did give eUnited a close game, despite losing 2-0. So even when considering how cutthroat this group is, Team Singularity Ninjas are still favourites to qualify in some shape or form. All the teams in this group have been playing for a long time. Every map is going to count and end of group tiebreakers could well be on the cards.

The longest serving of all these teams is where the biggest questions lie; NiP. All throughout qualification they struggled. Despite introducing LiNkzr and this adding a sharper edge to their dive, they only just scraped through. With only a week between then and now it will take a great effort for them to compete with a group full of teams that are based around coordination and teamwork. The stars from NiP will have to shine brightly if they are to stand a chance of qualifying. We’ll get to see a first glimpse of how they are doing on stream in the later part of the day with a rematch of their Day 2 qualifier quartefinal loss against Gamers Origin.

Group D

Group D

Cyclowns and Movistar Riders will kick off the day's action in our final hotly contested group. On the surface the two teams opening today’s games look to be the favourites to go through, but 123 made waves in the qualifiers by eliminating NiP on Day 1. While the Finns had been struggling that day this shouldn’t take away from 123.

Alfa Squad have also been impressive and will not be a pushover for the other teams. The next two weekends will determine if 123’s upset was a flash in the pan result or if their Overwatch is truly as good as their counting. Both have their work cut out for them facing up against Movistar Riders and a new-look Cyclowns who will be looking to take reaffirm themselves at the top of Europe following TaKeOver 2.

So strap in boys, because it's going to be a long hot weekend of Overwatch. With such a blend of established teams and new talent, mixed in with roster changes, the plethora of European matches this weekend will be fascinating to watch. While we will only get a glimpse of the action across the four streamed matches we’ll bring you all the results on over.gg as we follow the stories across the weekend.