Last updated: April 17, 2023
Competitive Overwatch is returning with a bang, kicking off Season 6 with the OWL Pro-Am tournament on March 23, a three-week pre-season competition featuring OWL and Contenders teams from the West. Since becoming free-to-play, Blizzard has committed to serving a broader player base, opening up the path to pro in Overwatch 2, beginning with the professional-amateur tournament.
Thirteen of the strongest West region franchises will be joined by seven Contenders, determined by qualifiers, before both East and West regions begin their regular season play on April 27.
Here's everything you need to know about the Overwatch League Season 6 Pro-Am tournament.
A "more open ecosystem" will allow Open Division and Contenders teams more opportunities to compete alongside established OWL teams through various regional competitions and qualifiers.
OWL is taking a new approach to their regular season play this year. Instead of being split into four stages, the 2023 season will be divided into two seasons: Spring and Summer. In the East Region, both stages begin with Opens, where contenders teams compete to play in the OWL with the OWL powerhouses. In the East Region, there will be tournaments in South Korea, Asia Pacific, and Australia to bring twelve teams into the fold.
Several teams from each region's qualifiers will advance to their respective regions' knockout stage. They then progress to the international tournament event: The Spring Stage, which ends in the Midseason Madness Global Tournament.
The Season 6 Overwatch League Pro-Am in the West region will begin on March 23 with the group stage, featuring four groups of five teams competing in single round-robin group play.
The two top teams from each group, with six teams in total, will progress to a single elimination bracket in Week 3. The overall winner will take home the lion's share of the $100,000 prize pool.
The seven teams are determined through respective qualifiers on NA and EMEA regions in the West region. The top five teams from the NA qualifier and the top two from the EMEA qualifier join the OWL franchises in this Pro-Am tournament. Here are all the teams competing in the OWL 2023 Pro-Am.
The tournament will commence on March 23. Here is the schedule for the competition's first week, beginning with Group A and B. All times listed are in PT. Match winners are emboldened for reader convenience.
The top two teams from each of the below groups advance to to a single-elimination bracket in the playoffs, from April 8-9.
All OWL Pro-Am matches will be live-streamed on the official Overwatch League YouTube channel.
Overwatch 2 fans can follow the scene with Rivalry, where we will update this article weekly with the match results and standings. If you want more Overwatch 2 news, we have got you covered with an OW2 hero tier list, how to unlock all heroes and an in-depth guide to the ranking system.