Overwatch Champions Series expands into China for 2025 season

The Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS), Overwatch 2’s tier-one esports ecosystem, has announced a dedicated Chinese region for the competition in 2025. 

OWCS’ new competition will kick off with Stage One and sits alongside the ecosystem’s other regions: Asia (Japan, Korea and Pacific), EMEA and North America.

In addition to the new competition, OWCS has also revealed that the first live event of the 2025 season will take place in Hangzhou, China.

This year the Overwatch 2 circuit, run by ESL FACEIT Group, will include three international events, the first of which will be Champions Clash in China. Little is known about the competition, however, OWCS has revealed that it will feature eight teams, with two teams from each region qualifying. 

The return of Overwatch esports in China coincides with the game relaunching its server in the country later this year. After rebuilding its relationship with Chinese technology company  NetEase, Blizzard has announced that a technical test will occur in January, with the server launching on February 19th. 

It was also announced that the Stage Two live event will be the Midseason Championship at Esports World Cup 2025 in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the World Finals will occur at DreamHack in Stockholm, Sweden.

Following the launch of Overwatch 2’s esports circuit in 2024, ESL FACEIT Group has made significant changes to the OWCS for 2025. Notably, this includes the introduction of promotion and relegation as well as a three-split competitive circuit. 

In addition, Overwatch 2 will introduce a Partner Program for teams in 2025. Partnered teams will receive a portion of proceeds generated from crowdfunded in-game team packs.

In total, nine teams will be selected. It has yet to be revealed which teams will participate in the programme.