Overwatch World Cup 2023: Schedule, teams, and more

Fans have waited four years to see it come back.

Image via Blizzard Entertainment

The Overwatch World Cup has returned in 2023 for the first time since 2019. Since the start of the year, players have begun preparing for the tournament by voting for their country’s representing staff.

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After months of recruitment, trials, and tryouts, teams competed in qualifiers over the summer. After a break, the final phase is here at none other than BlizzCon 2023 with Overwatch fans in attendance to cheer on their countries and players.

Fans are excited to see the beloved competition return to Overwatch’s scene. Here is everything there is to know about the 2023 edition, and the finals taking place soon.

Overwatch World Cup 2023 details

The Overwatch World Cup features a total of 36 teams created by countries. Since the tournament’s creation in 2016, Korea have won twice and the U.S. are the defending champions. Here are the 2023 World Cup’s schedule, teams, and more.

Overwatch World Cup 2023 schedule

An image of the 2023 Overwatch World Cup timeline.
It’s been a long road. Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard revealed the entire roadmap of the upcoming World Cup early this year. Teams were decided between March and June, and then all 36 teams competed in a qualifier. They were then divided into six regions across the world, and the 16 best teams advanced to BlizzCon.

After a summer break, the last part of the tournament has arrived and is taking place just before, and then during BlizzCon 2023, which begins on Nov. 3.

Overwatch World Cup 2023 Finals groups

An image of the 16 teams and countries remaining in the 2023 Overwatch World Cup group stage.
16 teams remain. Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Group A

  • South Korea
  • Colombia
  • Mexico
  • Finland

Group B

  • Great Britain
  • Australia
  • Brazil
  • Canada

Group C

  • China
  • Spain
  • Hong Kong
  • Thailand

Group D

  • United States
  • Saudi Arabia
  • France
  • Japan

Overwatch World Cup 2023 Group Stage schedule

Overwatch 2 Reinhardt, Tracer, Mei, and Mercy jumping in the air
Group up on the payload for your country! Image via Blizzard Entertainment

The group stage will take place on LAN with no audience over the course of four days.

Sunday, Oct. 29

  • Great Britain vs. Canada – 1pm CT
  • Finland vs. Mexico – 2pm CT
  • Brazil vs. Australia – 3pm CT
  • France vs. Japan – 4pm CT
  • Thailand vs. Hong Kong – 5pm CT
  • Colombia vs. South Korea – 6pm CT

Monday, Oct. 30

  • Thailand vs. Spain – 1pm CT
  • Japan vs. Saudi Arabia – 2pm CT
  • Mexico vs. Colombia – 3pm CT
  • Hong Kong vs. China – 4pm CT
  • France vs. United States – 5pm CT
  • Canada vs. Australia – 6pm CT

Tuesday, Oct. 31

  • Finland vs. Colombia – 1pm CT
  • Spain vs. China – 2pm CT
  • Canada vs. Brazil – 3pm CT
  • Mexico vs. South Korea – 4pm CT
  • Australia vs. Great Britain – 5pm CT
  • Saudi Arabia vs. United States – 6pm CT

Wednesday, Nov. 1

  • France vs. Saudi Arabia – 1pm CT
  • South Korea vs. Finland – 2pm CT
  • Hong Kong vs. Spain – 3pm CT
  • Brazil vs. Great Britan – 4pm CT
  • United States vs. Japan – 6pm CT
  • China vs. Thailand – 6pm CT

Overwatch World Cup 2023 Finals schedule

Mei, Tracer, and Reinhardt in Overwatch 2.
The heroes are excited to see who wins. Image via Blizzard Entertainment

The single elimination Finals bracket begins on Friday morning.

Friday, Nov. 3

  • South Korea vs. Canada – 11:30am CT
  • China vs. United States – 2:45pm CT
  • Great Britain vs. Finland – 5:15pm CT
  • Saudi Arabia vs. Spain – 6:45pm CT

Saturday, Nov. 4

  • South Korea vs. China – 11:30am CT
  • TBD vs. TBD – 2:45pm CT
  • TBD vs. TBD – 5:15pm CT
  • TBD vs. TBD – 6:45pm CT

Overwatch World Cup format

In June, qualifiers featured six teams in six groups. Only the 16 top teams advanced to the group stage. This phase was offline and featured a round-robin format. Now, the eight best teams then qualified for the finals in at BlizzCon will then compete in a single-elimination bracket.

Here is a list of teams that includes the committees that have been voted by players, too.

How to watch the Overwatch World Cup 2023

The official broadcast for the Overwatch World Cup can be on the official channels on YouTube or Twitch.

Author
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Scott Duwe
Senior Staff Writer & Call of Duty lead. Professional writer for over 10 years. Lover of all things Marvel, Destiny 2, Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, and more. Previous bylines include PC Gamer, Red Bull Esports, Fanbyte, and Esports Nation. DogDad to corgis Yogi and Mickey, sports fan (NY Yankees, NY Jets, NY Rangers, NY Knicks), Paramore fanatic, cardio enthusiast.