Overwatch Contenders announce three live events coming in May

Overwatch Contenders has announced three brand-new live events coming in May. 

According to the official announcement, the eight Contenders regions will be divided into two divisions, each consisting of four regions, for the new Showdown live events. The Pacific Showdown will take place in Shanghai, China, while the Atlantic Showdown is heading to Krefeld, Germany. 

These events will be live during the Overwatch League's mid-year break beginning May 24, not only to maximize viewership but also to allow the players to possibly be scouted by League teams not otherwise occupied with official matches. 

From May 24-26, top teams from Australia, China, Korea, and the Pacific region will face off in a double-elimination bracket in Shanghai. This will be live starting at 1 p.m. CST each day. The full schedule is available here. 

The Atlantic Showdown will begin May 31, inviting top teams from Europe, North America, and South America to compete for a spot in the Grand Finals on June 2. The first match on May 31 will be held at 4 p.m. CEST. 

The two Showdowns will determine the 10 contenders teams that will be invited to the Gauntlet on October 9 after the conclusion of the second Overwatch League season. At that time, teams will again be looking for new talents having wrapped up another season of play, and there will be no better place to scout that talent than at the Gauntlet.

The announcement referred to the Gauntlet as the "pinnacle of the Contenders season."

For "maximum excitement," the Gauntlet's tournament format will feature interregional competition. 

Tickets to these events will be available at a later date here. 

Many Overwatch League teams currently have academy teams competing in Contenders. British Hurricane, London Spitfire's academy team, is dominating the European leaderboard with a 7-0 record. Paris Eternal's Eternal Academy is sitting at 2-5, quite a bit lower in the rankings. 

Florida Mayhem's Mayhem Academy is sitting at the top of the North America's Group A with a 6-1 record. Gladiators Legion is in fourth at 3-4. Uprising Academy is currently in last place with a 1-6 record. In Group B, Atlanta Reign's ATL Academy has a 4-2 record.