Overwatch World Cup 2023 participating countries revealed- includes India; Blizzard shares schedule, format and more
The Overwatch World Cup 2023 is set to start soon with the Open Qualifiers. Blizzard has just revealed the details of the fifth Overwatch World Cup. Here's everything latest that you need to know.
The Overwatch World Cup is set to return this year, as was announced by Blizzard last year in December. After a 3 year hiatus, with the last champions, the United States, crowned back in 2019, the fifth Overwatch World Cup is now looking for another Champion. In the latest update, Blizzard has revealed the countries that will be competing in the 2023 Overwatch World Cup. Along with that, Blizzard has also announced the schedule, format, registration rules and more. Here are all the details.
World Cup Trials/Online Qualifiers
36 countries from across the world will be holding the World Cup Trials as the first round of qualification. Participating countries include the following:
AMER A |
AMER B |
| Canada | Argentina |
| Costa Rica | Brazil |
| Guatemala | Chile |
| Mexico | Colombia |
| Puerto Rico | Ecuador |
| United States | Peru |
EMEC A |
EMEC B |
| Belgium | germany |
| France | Norway |
| Great Britain | Poland |
| Italy | Saudi Arabia |
| Netherlands | Sweden |
| Spain | Turkey |
APAC A |
APAC B |
| Chinese Taipei | Australia |
| Hong Kong | India |
| Indonesia | Malaysia |
| Japan | New Zealand |
| Philippines | Singapore |
| South Korea | Thailand |
In addition to these countries, a Wild Card Challenge makes provision for 4 more countries to compete in the World Cup Trials or the Online Qualifier Stage. Countries that are Wild Card Entrants will be revealed on February 1st, 2023.
The participating countries will host the World Cup Trials over three weekends in February from 10th to 26th. Ultimately additional tryouts will be held in March to decide the final team of 7 representing their country in the 2023 Overwatch World Cup.
EVENT |
DATES |
| Wild Card Entrant Countries Announcement | February 1, 2023 |
| World Cup Trials | February 10-12, 2023 |
| February 17-19, 2023 | |
| February 24-26, 2023 |
As for China, the Chinese team will be participating directly in the Group Stage of the 2023 Overwatch World Cup. That leaves 15 more spots for which the 36 countries will be competing to secure a place in. Here’s the distribution of these 15 spots.
GROUPS |
NUMBER OF COUNTRIES TO BE SELECTED |
| Americas Conference Group A | 3 |
| Americas Conference Group B | 3 |
| Europe and Middle East Conference Group A | 3 |
| Europe and Middle East Conference Group B | 2 |
| Asia-Pacific Conference Group A | 2 |
| Asia-Pacific Conference Group B | 2 |
This wraps up the First Stage of selection for the 2023 Overwatch World Cup. The online World Cup Trials will be followed by the Group Stage, the details of which will be revealed sometime in the future.
Competition Committee Applications now open
Blizzard is now accepting applications for Competition Committees as well. Competition Committees are to represent and be in charge of the teams participating in the World Cup. Teams from each country will be under one Competition Committee each. They are to consist of a General Manager, Coach, and a Social Lead.
Registrations for these positions are now on. You can fill out the applications here, along with the submission of a video SOP. The submission window will close on 30th of January, 2023, so five more days till then. The selections will take place from February 1 to 10. Check out their official press release for more information.