Overwatch Champions Series To Expand Into China for 2025

The Overwatch Champions Series has announced a dedicated Chinese region for the competition in 2025. 

The Overwatch Champion Series (OWCS) is considered among the top Overwatch 2 esports events. 

The new competition will begin with Stage One and will be alongside other regions in Asia (Japan, Korea, and Pacific), EMEA, and North America. 

News About The First OWCS Live Event

The OWCS not only announced the addition of a Chinese region but also announced that the first live event of 2025 will take place in Hangzhou, China. 

The Overwatch 2 circuit is run by ESL FACEIT Group. There will be a total of three international events, the first being the Champions Clash in China. There’s little information about the event other than it’ll feature eight teams. There will be two teams from each region qualifying. 

Additional Announcements for OWCS

This announcement involving China comes after Blizzard, the developer behind Overwatch, mended a relationship with Netease. The game will be relaunching in the country this year. 

A technical test will occur in January, with the servers launching on Feb. 19. 

Other announcements included that the Stage Two live event will be the Midseason Championship at Esports World Cup 2025 in Saudi Arabia. 

This comes after Apex Legends was announced as one of the games to be featured at the Esports World Cup 2025. 

The World Finals will happen at DreamHack in Stockholm, Sweden. 

Changes Made to Overwatch Champions Series in 2025

ESL FACEIT Group has made several changes to OWCS this year, including promotion, relegation, and a three-split competitive circuit. 

There’s also a Partner Program in 2025. The partnered teams will receive a portion of funds generated from crowdfunded in-game team packs. 

When all is said and done, nine teams will be selected. There’s no news regarding which teams will participate.