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.
Olivia Richman
About Olivia Richman
Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.
View full profile
Read Also
News
Kalshi gives election forecasts a tradable market, launches US midterm 2026 prediction hub
Khizar Mundia
Election predictions have always been a numbers game, as metrics are used to forecast which party or candidate has a higher chance of winning, but Kalshi is giving it a trading angle with a new midterm prediction hub. Prediction markets are consistently gaining traction among traders. They have particularly become popular in jurisdictions where traditional gambling is banned or heavily restricted. An NBC News analysis reveals that Kalshi and Polymarket ...
Twitch
IRL Streaming: What Is It and Why Is It So Popular?
Khizar Mundia
IRL streaming has become commonplace on all major streaming platforms, and millions of viewers tune in every day to be a fly on the wall as streamers showcase their life. There are numerous IRL streamers, with some showcasing their everyday life and others producing large-scale content for their viewers, such as Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. Regardless of whether you watch Speed broadcasting a World Cup match or a streamer walking ...
Dota 2
Oddin.gg’s head of risk helps explain how alleged match fixing during Dota 2 at EWC was flagged
Michael Hassall
The Dota 2 competition at The Esports World Cup 2026 was shaken to its core during the Survival Stage earlier in the week when Southeast Asian-backed, South American team PTime (better known as PlayTime) were removed from the event citing “integrity concerns.” While the case is still ongoing, and none of the accused confirmed to be guilty, one of the biggest questions behind the incident was just how these concerns ...
Twitch
Who is SuburbBaby? Here’s everything about Streamer University 2026’s breakout star
Khizar Mundia
Jacob “SuburbBaby” Ogunlade was already famous on YouTube and TikTok, but Streamer University 2026 has been the breakout moment for his career. Here’s everything we know about the streamer, including his background, dating life, and much more. Kai Cenat created Streamer University for smaller streamers to gain exposure, and SuburbBaby is going viral, seemingly the creator to benefit the most from the 2026 edition. SuburbBaby has been on Twitch for ...
Slots
Three Apps for Casino Games That You Should Download
Ian John
What are the best apps for casino games that you love to play? The good news is that nowadays, rather than downloading a single app for a single game, now you can download a casino app that offers a wealth of titles, including many variants of the most popular crypto casino games. There is plenty of choice for apps for casino games and that selection has increased markedly with the ...
News
CrownCoins Tests Crown Rips Feature Ahead of General Release
Ian John
Collecting cards may never be the same again as CrownCoins is testing a brand new feature for customers to use called Crown Rips. Selected customers have been given beta access to try out this new feature ahead of a planned sitewide release later this year. But what is Crown Rips and how will it enhance what CrownCoins already has to offer as a promotional sweepstakes site? An email sent to ...
News
Exclusive Interview: Anastasios Ioannidis Discusses All Things Pragmatic Play
Ben Boland
Anastasios Ioannidis has been a mainstay of the iGaming industry for almost 15 years, with the Greek national working for multiple operators and affiliate brands in the hub of Malta. Nowadays, he is Head of Affiliate Marketing at ARRISE, a global iGaming software and services leader and a key partner to Pragmatic Play, making him ideally placed to discuss how 2026 has been so far for the popular slot provider. ...
