Last year's Overwatch World Cup drew more than three million votes from fans casting ballots for their national teams, saw competitors from more than 50 countries going head-to-head in regional qualifiers, and ended with a dominant performance by South Korea in the finals "that had us looking on in awe." It was, in other words, a big success, and so it will come as no surprise that it's happening again.
This year's event will be set up a little bit differently than the last one. As of today, Blizzard will be tracking the skill ratings of the top 100 players from each country, in order to determine average national ratings. That process will run until April 26, at which point the top 32 nations will be determined. Each participating nation must then vote for an Overwatch World Cup National Committee, based upon nominations chosen by Blizzard from among "analysts, coaches, statisticians, and other authorities," who will recommend rosters for all stages of the competition.
The tournament itself will feature four live group stage competitions across Europe, North America, and Asia, each of them pitting eight national teams against one another for a full week, with the two top finishers automatically qualifying for the World Cup finals at BlizzCon. Tickets to see the competitions live will go on sale in May, and they'll also be viewable online for free.
Also viewable for free online, and right now, are the national qualification rankings. South Korea is currently in the lead, followed very closely by China and the US. Sweden is a little further behind but still in the mix, and the UK, France, Canada, Finland, Germany, Denmark, and Russia are all within striking distance. Blizzard said that more information about the 2017 Overwatch World Cup will be revealed as the event progresses.
