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Overwatch World Cup 2026: Teams, Schedule, Where to Watch, and More
The iconic Overwatch World Cup is back after a two‑year hiatus. The 2026 edition is scheduled to run from August 20 to September 13, featuring 16 top national teams battling for a place in Overwatch history. The Group Stage will take place at South Korea's Busan Esports Arena, while the playoffs will shift to the United States' Anaheim Convention Center.
The Overwatch World Cup was first held in 2016, with the United States as the host nation. Since then, the country has either partly or fully hosted every edition, with Australia, China, Poland, France, South Korea, and Thailand also sharing hosting duties on different occasions.
The tournament ran annually from its inaugural edition in 2016 through 2019, after which it returned only in 2023. The OWWC was then paused again, and now in 2026, we finally see its sixth edition. South Korea won the first three World Cups, followed by the United States in 2019, and Saudi Arabia in 2023.
Below, we've detailed everything you need to know about the 2026 Overwatch World Cup, including its schedule, format, and livestream details.
Format
The tournament will kick off with a round‑robin Group Stage, running from August 20-23. The 16 competing teams will be split into four groups, with each team playing the other three in their group once. All matches will be first-to-three (Ft3).
The top two teams from each group will then advance to the single‑elimination playoff bracket, scheduled for September 12-13.
Teams
Overwatch World Cup 2026 initially began with 52 teams. Two of these teams, Saudi Arabia and China, earned direct qualification for the main event after finishing first and second, respectively, in the previous OWWC (2023). Additionally, 17 of these teams were directly invited to the regional online qualifiers.
The 33 remaining teams competed from March to April in their respective region’s Conference Cup to claim one of 11 available spots (Americas: 3, EMEA: 5, Asia: 3) to join the invited sides in the regional online qualifiers.
The three regional online qualifiers ran from May to June, and ultimately, 14 teams advanced: 4 from the Americas, 6 from EMEA, and 4 from Asia. They will join the previous winners and runners-up to complete the 16‑team bracket.
Group A
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Team |
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Support |
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China |
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United States |
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Sweden |
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Japan |
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Group B
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Team |
Tank |
Damage |
Support |
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Saudi Arabia |
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Australia |
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Mexico |
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United Kingdom |
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Group C
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Team |
Tank |
Damage |
Support |
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Canada |
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Germany |
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Thailand |
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Spain |
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Group D
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Team |
Tank |
Damage |
Support |
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France |
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South Korea |
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Denmark |
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Colombia |
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Map Pool
The map pool remains the same as the OWCS Midseason Championship, though three of those maps received reworks recently. It will be interesting to see how that affects the teams.
Overwatch World Cup (OWWC) 2026 Schedule
Group Stage
Day 1: Thursday, August 20
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7 pm PDT (Aug 19) | 4 am CEST | 11 am KST | |
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8:30 pm PDT (Aug 19) | 5:30 am CEST | 12:30 pm KST | |
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10 pm PDT (Aug 19) | 7 am CEST | 2 pm KST | |
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11:30 pm PDT (Aug 19) | 8:30 am CEST | 3:30 pm KST | |
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1 am PDT | 10 am CEST | 5 pm KST | |
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2:30 am PDT | 11:30 am CEST | 6:30 pm KST |
Day 2: Friday, August 21
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7 pm PDT (Aug 20) | 4 am CEST | 11 am KST | |
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8:30 pm PDT (Aug 20) | 5:30 am CEST | 12:30 pm KST | |
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10 pm PDT (Aug 20) | 7 am CEST | 2 pm KST | |
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11:30 pm PDT (Aug 20) | 8:30 am CEST | 3:30 pm KST | |
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1 am PDT | 10 am CEST | 5 pm KST | |
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2:30 am PDT | 11:30 am CEST | 6:30 pm KST |
Day 3: Saturday, August 22
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7 pm PDT (Aug 21) | 4 am CEST | 11 am KST | |
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8:30 pm PDT (Aug 21) | 5:30 am CEST | 12:30 pm KST | |
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10 pm PDT (Aug 21) | 7 am CEST | 2 pm KST | |
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11:30 pm PDT (Aug 21) | 8:30 am CEST | 3:30 pm KST | |
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1 am PDT | 10 am CEST | 5 pm KST | |
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2:30 am PDT | 11:30 am CEST | 6:30 pm KST |
Day 4: Sunday, August 23
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7 pm PDT (Aug 22) | 4 am CEST | 11 am KST | |
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8:30 pm PDT (Aug 22) | 5:30 am CEST | 12:30 pm KST | |
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10 pm PDT (Aug 22) | 7 am CEST | 2 pm KST | |
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11:30 pm PDT (Aug 22) | 8:30 am CEST | 3:30 pm KST | |
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1 am PDT | 10 am CEST | 5 pm KST | |
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2:30 am PDT | 11:30 am CEST | 6:30 pm KST |
Where to Watch Overwatch World Cup 2026
The Overwatch World Cup 2026 will be broadcast live on Blizzard's official channels across various streaming platforms. Official streams will be available in English, Japanese, and Korean. Below are the links:
You can also follow the Overwatch World Cup 2026 live on Strafe.
Follow Strafe Esports for the latest Overwatch news, and our X account for the latest content and coverage. Also, stay tuned to Strafe's YouTube channel for exclusive interviews, press conferences, and more.
Featured Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
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