According to GGRecon, Activision Blizzard has proposed big changes for the fourth Overwatch League season. One of them is an April 2021 start, much later than previous seasons. Arguably the largest change proposed is the introduction of Asian contenders teams playing against main league teams. All these ideas have been brought to the franchise owners, but nothing has been settled on so far. However, players and fans get to see what Blizzard has been thinking for the next Overwatch League season.
The big changes
The first major point in these changes is the season’s start and end. Surprisingly, the start of next season could be as late as April of next year, and finishing in September. Regions would be separated by their continent, just like the 2o20 season. Also, the regions would only meet in a mid-season tournament and the final playoffs.
Yet, that creates a problem with the Asian region. Apparently, the New York Excelsior and London Spitfire are returning back to their home region. This one change makes the small Asian region even smaller than it already was. However, one of the proposed fixes is to introduce tournaments with Asian contenders teams. This would include a slot for a Korean team, a Chinese team, and two wild card spots. This would work around the travel restrictions, but fans are skeptical on mixing contenders teams into the main league.
The wait for next season
Due to this news, a lot of people are getting nervous. This off-season would be the longest ever for the league, and big roster changes are underway right now. Already, across the league, many players are becoming free agents and looking for new teams. Just earlier this month, both the Houston Outlaws and the Los Angeles Gladiators released big portions of their rosters. Hopefully, with this proposed longer off-season, teams have more time to rebuild for next year.
https://twitter.com/Outlaws/status/1316524384698408961
But, all these season changes have not been confirmed yet. All of this is still subject to change. The Overwatch League had to change their rules drastically for the COVID-19 outbreak in their 2020 season, so they’re taking every precaution for the next one. Even with these issues they had in 2020, they still had increased viewership for the Grand Finals. It is clear that no matter what happens, Blizzard is putting everyone’s safety first to make sure this league starts next year and prospers.
Published: Oct 15, 2020 11:59 am