Overwatch Champions Clash to Take Place in Hangzhou, China

Key insights

6 takeaways

01
The Overwatch Champions Clash will take place at the Hangzhou Esports Center in China from April 18–20, 2025.
02
The event is organized by Activision Blizzard and the ESL FACEIT Group in partnership with NetEase ThunderFire Studio.
03
Eight teams qualified from the Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS) Stage 1 will compete, including representatives from North America, EMEA, South Korea, and China.
04
Blizzard is utilizing a crowdfunding model for the prize pool, contributing 25% of the net sales revenue from 'The Ember Juno Bundle' skin to the event.
05
Tickets for the tournament at the 5,000-seat Hangzhou Esports Center are already sold out as of April 2, 2025.
06
This tournament is the first of three scheduled international Overwatch events for 2025, with the others being the Midseason Championship at the Esports World Cup and the World Finals.

Summary

The Overwatch Champions Clash is scheduled to take place from April 18–20, 2025, at the Hangzhou Esports Center in China. This international tournament, organized by Activision Blizzard and the ESL FACEIT Group in partnership with local distributor NetEase ThunderFire Studio, marks a significant expansion of the Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS) competitive circuit. The event will feature eight qualified teams from the OWCS Stage 1, representing North America, EMEA, South Korea, and China.

The tournament utilizes a crowdfunding model to bolster its financial incentives, with 25% of the net sales revenue from the in-game "Ember Juno Bundle" skin contributing directly to the prize pool. While specific details regarding a base prize pool remain undisclosed, the initiative reflects a broader trend of integrating digital item sales into esports event funding. The venue, which boasts a capacity of over 5,000 seats, has already seen high demand, with tickets for the event selling out as of early April 2025.

This event serves as a key component of the 2025 Overwatch esports calendar, which also includes the Midseason Championship at the Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia and the season-ending World Finals. By hosting the competition in Hangzhou—a city with a robust history of hosting major esports tournaments—the organizers aim to maintain momentum following the 2024 season, which saw international majors and world finals offer prize pools of $250,000 and $500,000, respectively.