Format revealed for OWCS World Finals

Blizzard announces format for Overwatch Champions Series World Finals.

The road to the world finals continues to be paved. As competition begins across the globe, the format for the Overwatch Champions Series World Finals has been officially revealed. The finals begin on Nov. 26 at Dreamhack Stockholm, marking the third and final tournament of 2025. The reveal also continues the trend of introducing a unique format for each international LAN event this year.

The OWCS World Finals sees all four major regions, along with a representative from OWCS Pacific or OWCS Japan, battling in a 12-team bracket for a shot at the championship title. Seeding and official tournament representation were determined by the results of the Midseason Championship. The top three performing regions at that tournament —Korea, North America, and EMEA—earned an additional slot, bringing three teams each, while China will be represented by two. Japan and Pacific will also be battling in their own tournament to determine their slot in the World Finals.

This tournament also provides a long-anticipated opportunity for rival regions North America and EMEA to officially go head-to-head, something that has been relatively rare in the OWCS era.

A notable feature of this format is the introduction of byes for the first seeds of each major region. The first-seeded teams from China, Korea, North America, and EMEA will all skip the first round and advance directly into the upper bracket quarterfinals.

However, one of the more surprising elements is the return of first-to-two matches in both the first round of the upper bracket and the first round of elimination matches. Previously seen at the Champions Clash and Midseason Championship, these shorter series were introduced due to tight scheduling and to avoid overloading side streams not featured on the main broadcast. This time, 10 of the 22 matches will follow that format—a decision that has sparked some concern within the community.

The action kicks off on Nov. 26 and culminates in the grand finals at Dreamhack Stockholm on Nov. 30. With a unique tournament structure and the best teams in the world competing, every player will be fighting to prove they are worthy of lifting the trophy and being crowned World Champion.