DreamHack Winter 2016 has announced a $50,000 open tournament, the Overwatch Championship, to feature as one of their main events for the LAN. Teams can compete through online qualifiers for Europe and North America, or turn up in person to the BYOC qualifier just before the main event.
The DreamHack LANs are famous for their huge gatherings of players for a range of tournaments and exposition activities, but this is their first foray into Overwatch. DreamHack Winter 2016 will be held as usual in Jönköping, Sweden, from November 24th-27th.
The $50,000 tournament will feature the eight best teams fresh from qualification, with the tournament itself played on the 25th and 26th of November. The eight will be split into two groups, each playing in a GSL-style group stage that feeds into single-elimination playoffs. The tournament is the first to use a ban-pick-ban system rather than a random map pool or straight bans. Details and further rules can be found here.
Overwatch Championship will be a major feature at the huge Swedish LAN. Image credit: DreamHack
The $50,000 prize pool will be distributed:
- 1st: $30,000
- 2nd: $10,000
- 3rd/4th: $5,000
Two slots will be available through the European online qualifier, and two through the North American. The qualifiers will be played as double-elimination playoffs, with the final two teams granted a spot at the $50,000 table. The European online qualifier will take place on October 9th-11th, followed by the North American qualifier on the 11th-12th October. The four teams that win the online qualifiers will have all travel and accommodation paid for the event.
To sign up for the European online qualifier, you can visit this link. For the North American online qualifier, use this link. Teams may not participate in both online qualifiers.
Teams that are not successful in the online qualifier, or those who would rather compete in person, can buy tickets to compete in the BYOC qualifying tournament, scheduled for November 24th at DreamHack Winter. Half of the available slots in the final tournament will be won by those in the BYOC qualifier, making it a lucrative LAN to attend. Competitors will require a LAN Seat and a computer to participate.
The event will be streamed live in English on the DreamHack Twitch, though talent has not yet been announced. Tickets are available for live spectating of the event on the DreamHack website.
Discord