📝 Blizzard Reveals Full Overwatch World Cup 2026 Details
Earlier this month, Blizzard unveiled the return of the Overwatch World Cup in 2026. The premier opportunity for players to showcase their talent and represent their home regions with pride.
We were missing a lot of details about key points and what the competition would look like.
Today, Blizzard revealed the full details concerning the competition. The World Cup will maintain the Qualifiers, Group Stage, and Finals structure, while introducing new Pre-Qualifier Conference Cups across AMER, EMEA, and ASIA. With competition at its peak, teams will battle for a coveted place among the Top 8 heading to BlizzCon 2026.
Blizzard shared the following roadmap, highlighting the journey teams will take to reach the finals.
The World Cup will feature 30 competing teams: 19 teams are invited directly and an additional 11 wildcard teams. The invited teams include the top 16 finishers from 2023 alongside the three highest-performing EMEA nations. The remaining 11 spots will be earned through the Conference Cups.
Competition timeline
November 29, 2025 - Committee Applications open for all teams, including General Manager, Coach, and Social Lead roles. You can apply here.
February to March 2026 - Team Tryouts and Conference Cups take place, with Conference Cups for wildcard teams running in March. During Conference Cups the approved wildcard teams will compete for the final 11 tournament slots. The matches will take place online via FACEIT, and the winning teams will join the 19 invited teams.
Summer 2026 - Group Draw and Group Stage: Before the Group Stage, the top 16 teams will be seeded into four groups of four in a live online draw. Teams will be distributed based on their performance during the Online Qualifiers. In the Group Stage (16 teams), each group will play a single round-robin, where every map and every point matters. Only the top two teams from each group will punch their ticket to BlizzCon 2026.
Finals at BlizzCon 2026 - The final eight teams will battle through a single-elimination bracket where a single mistake could end a team's dream run.
We will provide more updates and full coverage on the competition as it unfolds throughout the year.