Fans of competitive Overwatch are suffering a severe drought of content with both the Overwatch League and Overwatch Contenders on the usual winter hiatus. Community tournaments have been filling the void, albeit in a chaotic manner, and there’s another competition on the horizon.
The community’s next tournament, the Experimental Cup, kicks off on Feb. 19 and features professional players, top streamers, and regular players fighting it out on the Feb. 10 Experimental Card. Creators invented over-the-top changes for all 32 of the game’s heroes on the card, and now an entire competition will be played under those rules.
Organizers have also upped the ante for the Experimental Cup, putting up a $25,000 prize pool for the North American division. The first-place team in NA will bring home a whopping $10,000. Champions in Europe and the Middle East (EMEA) will win $6,500, while $4,000 rewards will be up for grabs in Korea and Oceania. Full prize pools can be seen on the tournament home page.
Here’s how to catch all the action this weekend (on the Overwatch League YouTube channel) and a quick primer on which teams to watch as they go for the gold.
Teams
Though there are impressive teams in each of the four regions of play, most of the focus will be on North America since it has the biggest prize pool.
Most of the Experimental Card’s creators will be participating in the tournament, putting their changes to the test in the pursuit of big prizes. Streamer ml7support is a part of Team KEKW alongside several high-ranked competitive warlords, while hitscan expert W_nted will be competing with streamers like Emongg and Flats on Throwing for Content.
Former Overwatch League player Jake, who created the flex DPS changes, will be playing alongside former Houston Outlaws teammate Muma and several Overwatch Contenders staples on Team Doge’s Biceps. The card’s tank mastermind, LemonKiwi, won’t be playing but will be casting the North American competition all weekend long.
Other notable teams include Srpeakcheck??, which boasts Vancouver Titans support Masaa and former Overwatch League players LhCloudy and ChipSa, and Team PEPS with French players Benbest, FDGod, and Tsuna. Overwatch League rookies Hydron and UltraViolet will be playing as a part of Just Give Up.
Many Contenders players will also be stepping into the fray for a big payday. Solaris, a popular org in the scene, is fielding two rosters for the tournament. Solaris T6 includes players like Lukemino and RhynO while Solaris (with no numbers) features Dove and K1ng alongside former pro player Custa.
Schedule
The EMEA tournament kicks everything off on Feb. 19 when matches begin at 7am CT. Those matches will be broadcast on the Monkey Bubble YouTube channel as well as on many individual players’ Twitch streams. EMEA games continue at the same time on Feb. 20 as teams move into the semifinals. The region’s finals should take place around 11am CT on Feb. 20.
North American games will be broadcast on both Feb. 19 and Feb. 20 on the Overwatch League YouTube channel as well as the PlayOverwatch Twitch channel. Games begin on Feb. 19 at 3pm CT and run until approximately 9pm CT. Individual players will also likely be streaming their POVs during the tournament.
The quarterfinals begin at 3pm CT on Feb. 20 and will be immediately followed by the semifinal matches. Tune in around 5pm CT to see which North American team goes home with the $10,000 prize after the Grand Finals.
