Format

In contrast to the previous seasons, which were usually split into four stages, the 2023 season was divided into two stages: Spring and Summer. The Spring stage culminated in the Midseason Madness, an interregional midseason tournament. The Summer stage was followed by the play-ins, season playoffs, and Grand Finals. In each stage, the Eastern region was divided into three sections: opens, qualifiers, and knockouts. Overwatch Contenders teams competed in the Opens, Overwatch League teams competed in the qualifiers, and both competed in the knockouts. In the Western region, no Contenders teams competed, and each stage started with qualifiers, with only the Spring stage having knockouts. In the Spring Stage, the top teams from the knockouts advanced to the Midseason Madness.^[1][2]

Rosters construction

Prior to the start of the season, all teams were required to have a minimum of six players and a maximum of 12 players signed to season-long contracts. Teams could sign players for a minimum of one season and could add an option to extend that contract for an additional year if they chose to do so. Teams were also allowed to sign players to short-term 30-day contracts, which could only be used on a given player once per season, and two-way contracts.^[3] The league reduced the minimum age required to compete from 18 to 17.^[4] Additionally, the minimum salary was increased to US$54,249.^[3] The free agency window was initially planned to open on November 19, 2022. However, after the announcement that Blizzard's licensing agreement with NetEase in China would expire on January 23, 2023, the league delayed the beginning of free agency to December 2, 2022.^[5] A day before the new start of free agency, the league once again moved back its starting date to December 23.^[6]

Teams and regions

Several teams relocated for the 2023 season. The Paris Eternal relocated to Las Vegas and rebranded to the Vegas Eternal. With their relocation, they became the first OWL team to relocate to a different city. The relocation also left the London Spitfire as the only European representative in the league.^[7][8] The Philadelphia Fusion also relocated to Seoul and rebranded to the Seoul Infernal, marking the first time that an OWL team has made a full rebrand. Since the 2020 season, the Fusion had been running their operations in South Korea; with the rebrand, the Infernal made Seoul their permanent base of operation.^[9][10] The Los Angeles Valiant, who had been competing out of China in the East Region for the past several seasons, returned to the West Region.^[11] The 2022 season champions Dallas Fuel also moved from the West region to the East.^[12]

Due to Blizzard's licensing agreement with NetEase in China ending, which resulted in the four Chinese OWL teams not being legally allowed to play Overwatch 2 in their country, the East Region expanded to allow Contenders teams to compete in the OWL. A total of 12 teams from several Contenders regions played in Spring Stage Opens, and the top teams from the Opens played in the OWL Spring Stage.^[13][1] Moreover, the league announced on April 18, 2023, that the Chengdu Hunters would not play in the Spring Stage qualifiers, as the Hunters were "[contemplating] the future direction of their team."^[14]

Group stage

Bracket

Source: Overwatch League

East region

Qualification for the postseason was determined by average placements in the Spring and Summer knockouts. The top two teams from the East advanced directly to the playoffs, and any OWL teams that were not already in the top two advanced to the play-ins.

West region

Qualification for the postseason was determined by winning percentage in the Spring and Summer qualifiers. The top three teams advanced directly to the season playoffs, while the following seven teams advanced to the play-ins. The remaining two teams that emerged from the play-ins also advanced to the season playoffs, finalizing the 5 teams advancing to the season playoffs.

Spring stage

The Spring Split began on April 27, 2023.^[2]

Midseason Madness

The Midseason Madness was a double elimination tournament that was the culmination of the Spring Stage and featured six teams — four from the West and two from the East. The event took place from June 15 to 17 in Seoul, South Korea, at the Korea International Exhibition Center. It marked the first time that the OWL has held a live event in the APAC region.^[16]

Summer stage

The Summer stage began on July 12, 2023.^[17]

Play-in tournaments

East

Source: Overwatch League

West

Source: Overwatch League

Playoffs

Five teams from the West Region and three teams from the East Region advanced to the season playoffs, which took place at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, Canada. These teams were divided into groups of four and competed in separate double-elimination brackets over three days. The top two teams from each bracket then entered a four-team, single-elimination Grand Finals bracket. All matches in the Grand Finals bracket were held on October 1, and the winner was crowned the 2023 Overwatch League champion, receiving a trophy and a prize of US$1 million. Second and third places also earned substantial rewards, with $400,000 and $225,000, respectively. Monetary rewards extended to the sixth-place team.^[18]

Individual awards

Role Stars

Source:^[22]

Collective bargaining and Defiant deal

According to esports journalist Jacob Wolf, Overwatch League teams retained British law firm Sheridans to start a collective bargaining process against the league, in an attempt to receive financial assistance after several years of high operating costs and low viewership. OverActive Media, the owners of the Toronto Defiant, was leading this collective bargaining effort, as reported by Wolf.^[23]

On June 5, 2023, OverActive Media announced that Toronto Defiant had signed a sponsorship deal with the league, and the Overwatch League agreed to waive the outstanding franchise fees that OverActive Media had paid to enter the league. The agreement between OverActive Media and the Overwatch League consisted of three distinct components. Firstly, OverActive Media received an early payment of the league revenue share. Secondly, they secured a sponsorship agreement with the Toronto Ultra, their Call of Duty League franchise. Lastly, the Overwatch League eliminated the entry fees, which amounted to US$8.04 million. Prior to the deal, it had been reported that the Overwatch League teams collectively owed Activision Blizzard a considerable sum, with each team owing approximately $6 to $7.5 million, totaling $120 to $150 million.^[24] Although OverActive Media's CEO and co-founder, Adam Adamou, stated that it is "fair to assume that an agreement like this covers all of the teams," he did not explicitly confirm whether other teams received the same deal. However, Adamou did acknowledge that the agreement was part of the collective bargaining process.^[25] It was later confirmed by Sports Business Journal that this waiver of outstanding entry fees applied to the entire Overwatch League, not just the Toronto Defiant.^[26]

Blizzard's contract with NetEase expires

On January 24, 2023, Activision Blizzard and NetEase ended their 14-year licensing agreement. With the termination of the agreement, all Activision Blizzard titles that were operated by NetEase, which includes Overwatch 2, went offline in China. This resulted in the four Chinese Overwatch League teams — Chengdu Hunters, Guangzhou Charge, Shanghai Dragons (owned by NetEase), and Hangzhou Spark — no longer being able to play in their home country.^[27] Additionally, competitions related to unapproved games in China are not allowed to be broadcast on Chinese live-streaming platforms. While some unapproved games have been broadcast in China in the past, the Chinese government is expected to "strictly enforce" this policy as it pertains to Blizzard titles.^[28]

Chengdu Hunters disband

On April 18, 2023, the Overwatch League announced that the Chengdu Hunters would not be participating in the 2023 Spring Stage qualifiers, which were scheduled to begin on April 29 in the East Region. This marked the first time in the history of the Overwatch League that a team had effectively dropped out of competition, even temporarily. According to a statement from the Chengdu Hunters posted on social media, the team was contemplating the future direction of their team, leaving open the possibility of their participation in the Summer Stage but providing little concrete information to fans.^[14]

The situation surrounding the Chengdu Hunters became even more uncertain when on May 4, 2023, The Esports Advocate reported that the team had disbanded. The Chengdu Hunters were owned by Huya, Inc., a Chinese gaming livestreaming platform. Doubts about the franchise's future first arose in January when the team tweeted about the shutdown of Overwatch 2 in mainland China due to a breakdown in the longstanding relationship between Activision Blizzard and NetEase, the game's Chinese distribution partner. Financial instability may have played a role in the Chengdu Hunters' absence this season. Huya, Inc., facing fluctuating stock prices and reported losses, replaced its board director, potentially leading the organization to reduce esports spending.^[29]

On June 20, 2023, it was confirmed that the Chengdu Hunters franchise would be officially leaving the Overwatch League. This decision made them the first team to fully exit the league.^[30]