The players of the Overwatch League are suffering from burnout. The new schedule in Season 2 aims to change this and create more free time for the pros.
Every professional sport is a tough strain on participants, and eSports are no exception. Those who have to consistently deliver top performance in the Overwatch League reach their limits after a few months. This is what the Overwatch League had to learn in its first season.
A little while ago we reported that many pros are turning their backs on Overwatch eSports – they were burnt out and overwhelmed.
Now, with the start of Season 2, Blizzard is set to make some changes.
What will change? A total of 8 new teams will join the Overwatch League in 2019. The season begins on February 14, 2019, and will again be played in 4 Stages, each lasting 5 weeks.
However, the addition of so many new teams will ensure that the individual teams will have to compete less frequently.
What new teams are there? The eight new teams will join the two divisions of the league.
In the “Atlantic Division”, the following will also play:
- Paris
- Toronto
- Washington D.C.
- Atlanta
Part of the Pacific Division will be:
- Vancouver
- Chengdu
- Guangzhou
- Hangzhou
What about a German team? The planned Berlin team for Overwatch has not materialized so far. However, Blizzard is keen on it. By Season 3, there should be an Overwatch team based in Berlin (via Handelsblatt).
How much will be played? Instead of having to play up to 3 times a week, teams will now also have “free” weeks. In each week, individual teams will only have to play 0 to 2 matches – a total of 28 matches over 20 weeks.
This way, players also have time to forget about Overwatch for a few days, take a little break, or visit home.
Whether the teams will actually use this time for relaxation and distraction or fill their free time with even more training remains to be seen. However, a little relaxation should not hurt.
What is your opinion on this? Are more teams the solution to create more relaxation and free time for the pros?
Since we are on the topic of burnout – when Overwatch characters burn out, it sounds dirty…
