Esports Overwatch: All you need to know

The game, released in 2016 by Blizzard Entertainment, features two teams of six players each when played in primary competitive mode as they tread upon various maps and game types.

How is the game played?

The game's areas can be split into maps of four types - assault, Escort, hybrid, and control. Overwatch currently has 21 different maps, and the modes are described below!

Assault or "2CP."

The assault mode follows one team attempting to capture two control points on a map within a limited time frame. Once they secure the points or run out of time, the two teams switch roles and the team making the most progress toward capturing their opponents' points wins. 

Escort

Like assault, both teams alternate between offence and defence in the said mode. There is a mobile payload that the attacking team needs to escort past three checkpoints. The two teams switch sides after reaching the third checkpoint or exhausting the time limit. 

Hybrid 

Hybrid is a combination of assault and Escort as the attacking team tries to capture a point, much like assault, and then escort a payload, the way it is done in Escort. 

Control

This mode requires the teams to fight over a central location to gain control of it for a certain amount of time. Teams have to win two out of the three sections of the map to emerge victorious. The current setup of the Overwatch League features teams facing off in a best-of-five series where they play in maps from the previous game types. The first one to secure three maps wins the matchup.

How are the teams formed?

Overwatch has 32 heroes that have been through numerous changes and modifications. They are separated into three types: tank, damage and support. Teams need to choose two characters of each class to be played during the match but can switch to other categories: For instance, a tank player can start as one tank but change to another tank if the original choice seems problematic. 

How does the Overwatch League work?

The Overwatch League centres around 20 teams, and before the coronavirus outbreak, the season was set to take place around homestands. Before that, almost every match was hosted in the Blizzard Arena in Burbank, California, with a few rounds in Dallas and Atlanta for experimental homestands in 2019. The league was supposed to go global in 2020, with homestands expected to occur in England, France, the U.S., South Korea, Canada and China. In contrast to the first four seasons played on the video game Overwatch, the current season is played on an early build of Overwatch 2, where matches are played with teams of five instead of six players. It commenced on May 5, 2022, and will conclude on October 22.