The Overwatch League has announced format changes for the 2019 season. The league, which is now home to 20 teams, is set to begin again on Thursday, February 14.
The #OWL2019 season is just around the corner!
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) October 10, 2018
Find out when we return, the season structure, & more.
Details here: https://t.co/9QbbPSvtwC pic.twitter.com/oy9chRaBXh
The season will once again be broken down into four stages of five weeks long each, however teams will not be playing at the same frequency as they did last season. Each team will only play seven matches a stage for a grand total of 28 matches throughout the season. Teams will play as many as two matches a week and as few as zero matches other weeks.
Stage playoffs will return, but only for Stages 1, 2 and 3. Eight teams will play in the stage playoffs, with the two highest seeds going to the top team in each division. The other six teams will be seeded by record.
Eight teams will also play in the playoffs to end the Overwatch League season, however only the top six teams will automatically advance to the playoffs. The teams ranked seventh through 12th in the overall standings will participate in a play-in tournament at the end of Stage 4 to fill out the final two teams to make the Overwatch League postseason.
The Overwatch League's All-Star Weekend will no longer follow the end of the season. It will now take place in between Stage 2 and Stage 3. The break between Stages 2 and 3 will be extended as a result.
Divisions for next season were also announced. The league will remain divided by Atlantic and Pacific teams, with each division inheriting four expansion franchises. The divisions are divided as follows:
Pacific
- Seoul Dynasty Seoul Dynasty OWL Rank # Ir1s Kim Seung-Hyun (김승현) FITS Kim Dong-eon (김동언) dps Profit Park Joon-yeong (박준영) dps smurf Yoo Myeong-Hwan tank Vindaim Junwoo Park support
- Shanghai Dragons Shanghai Dragons OWL Rank # Izayaki Kim Min-chul (김민철) flex support Void Kang Jun-woo (강준우) off tank Fleta Kim Byung-sun (김병선) dps LIP Lee Jae-won (이재원) dps Fate Koo Pan-seung (구판승) tank LeeJaeGon Lee Jae-gon (이재곤) support
- Chengdu Hunters Chengdu Hunters OWL Rank # Mmonk Zhou Xiang (周翔) flex support Daizi Ni Yuandong (倪远东) off tank Jinmu Yi Hu (易虎) dps Leave Huang Xin (黄馨) dps GA9A Qiu Jiaxin (仇佳鑫) tank Nisha Tan Li (谭力) support
- Hangzhou Spark Hangzhou Spark OWL Rank # BERNAR Shin Se-won (신세원) off tank irony Kim Hyeong-woo (김형우) flex support Shy Zheng Yangjie (郑杨杰) dps AlphaYi Kim Joon (김준) dps guxue Xu Qiulin (徐秋林) tank superich Wu Gengtuo (吴梗拓) support
- Guangzhou Charge Guangzhou Charge OWL Rank # Cr0ng Nam Ki-cheol (남기철) off tank Farway1987 Cao Jiale (曹家乐) flex support choisehwan Choi Se-Hwan (최세환) dps Develop Chae Rak-hoon (채락훈) dps Rio Oh Seung-pyo (오승표) tank Unique Yoo Dong-hyun support
- San Francisco Shock San Francisco Shock OWL Rank # Viol2t Park Min-ki flex support Finn Oh Se-jin (오세진) flex support Proper Kim Dong-hyeon (김동현) dps s9mm Samuel Santos dps Coluge Colin Arai tank
- Los Angeles Gladiators Los Angeles Gladiators OWL Rank # Shu Kim Jin-seo flex support kevster Kevin Persson dps Patiphan Patiphan Chaiwong dps Reiner Corey Scoda tank FunnyAstro Daniel Hathaway support
- Los Angeles Valiant Los Angeles Valiant OWL Rank # Molly He Chengzhi (何诚智) flex support Diya Lu Weida (陆炜达) dps innovation Oh Seok-hyun (오석현) dps Becky Il-ha Kim (김일하) dps Ezhan dps Marve1 Hwang Min-seo (황민서) tank Lengsa Chen Jingyi (陈婧逸) support
- Dallas Fuel Dallas Fuel OWL Rank # Fielder Kwon Joon (권준) flex support Doha Kim Dong-Ha (김동하) dps SP9RK1E Kim Young-han (김영한) dps FEARLESS Lee Eui-seok (이의석) tank ChiYo Han Hyeon-syuk (한현석) support
- Vancouver Titans Vancouver Titans OWL Rank # Aspire Luka Rolovic dps MirroR Chris Trịnh dps False Nick Wiseman tank Masaa Petja Kantanen support Aztac Park Jeong-soo (박정수) support
Atlantic
- London Spitfire London Spitfire OWL Rank # Landon flex support SparkR William Andersson dps Backbone Jamie O'Neill dps Hadi Daniel Bleinagel tank Admiral Oliver Vahar support
- Paris Eternal Paris Eternal OWL Rank # Kaan Emir Kaan Okumus flex support Glister Lim Gil-seong (임길성) dps Wub Cameron Johnson dps Dove Jesse Palomo dps Malthel Josh Gonzales dps Daan Daniël Vincentius Paulus Scheltema tank Krawi tank dridro Arthur Szanto support Lukemino Luke Fish support Rakattack Kyle Rakauskas support
- Washington Justice Washington Justice OWL Rank # Decay Jang Gui-un (장귀운) dps Happy Lee Jung-woo (이정우) dps Mag Kim Tae-sung (김태성) tank Krillin Jeong Young-hoon support Opener An Gi-beom support
- New York Excelsior New York Excelsior OWL Rank # Gangnamjin Gang Nam-jin (강남진) flex support Myunb0ng Seo Sang-min (서상민) flex support Flora Lim Young-woo (임영우) dps Yaki Kim Jun-gi (김준기) dps Kellan Kim Min-jae tank
- Boston Uprising Boston Uprising OWL Rank # Valentine Kim Byoungju dps punk Leyton Gilchrist tank Faith Hong Gyu Kim support Crimzo William Hernandez support
- Atlanta Reign Atlanta Reign OWL Rank # Kai Kai Collins dps nero Charlie Zwarg dps Hawk Xander Domecq tank UltraViolet Benjamin David support Ojee Christian Han support
- Florida Mayhem Florida Mayhem OWL Rank # SirMajed Majed Alrashied flex support Checkmate Baek Seung-hun dps Hydron Isaiah Rodriguez dps someone tank ANAMO Jeong Tae-seong (정태성) support
- Philadelphia Fusion Philadelphia Fusion OWL Rank # AimGod Min-seok Kwon flex support MN3 Yoon Jae-hee dps ZEST Kim Hyun-woo (김현우) dps Belosrea tank FiXa Kwon Young Hoon (권영훈) support
- Houston Outlaws Houston Outlaws OWL Rank # Lastro Moon Jung-won (문정원) flex support creative Kim Young-wan (김영완) flex support Danteh Dante Cruz dps Pelican Oh Se-hyun (오세현) dps Mer1t Choi Tae-min dps Piggy Shin Min-jun tank
- Toronto Defiant Toronto Defiant OWL Rank # Twilight Lee Joo-seok (이주석) flex support Heesu Jeong Hee-su (정희수) dps Finale dps MuZe Kim Young-hun (김영훈) tank Ch0r0ng support
The Overwatch League has yet to announce match times for next season or a full schedule.