Overwatch League Homestands are back, kinda. Today, the Overwatch League announced Homestands – live match events – will return during the 2021 season, but only in China.
“Due to improved health and safety conditions in China, we are pleased to announce the planned return of live events to three cities during the 2021 season,” the announcement read.
Live events were to become the cornerstone of the 2020 season, but the plan was shut down when the covid-19 pandemic halted major public gatherings around the world. Since then, the competition has shifted to an online-only schedule and the majority of 2021 matches will still take place online. However, three Chinese teams will host three of the four seasons of tournament qualifying matches at live locations as yet unannounced.
- June 4-6: Hangzhou Spark (June Joust)
- July 9-11: Shanghai Dragons (Summer Battle)
- August 7-8: Guangzhou Charge (Countdown Cup)
Only teams in China – Hangzhou Spark, Guangzhou Charge, Chengdu Hunters, Shanghai Dragons and Los Angeles Valiant – will participate in these live matches. If a Chinese team is scheduled against one of the Korean teams (Seoul Dynasty, New York Excelsior or Philadelphia Fusion), the Chinese team will play on the podium while their opponents connect remotely through the League’s cloud tournament server. Details regarding tickets and locations will be announced by the guest teams at a later date.
The resumption of live events in China only is interesting given that at the start of last year’s season, all Homestands in China were canceled, while a handful of Homestand events in North America were allowed to take place before the pandemic went online. It is also interesting that this news comes shortly after Blizzard fired some of their esports live events staff a month ago.