The qualifiers for ESL’s Battle of the Atlantic start July 4th with the EU Qualifier #1. Let’s get you updated on the rules and qualification process for the big event.
In early June, ESL announced the biggest Overwatch tournament to date with a $100k total prize pool Battle of Atlantic tournament. With a total of 8 qualifiers (4 NA and 4 EU) culminating in a LAN tournament at Gamescom on August 20-21, this represents the biggest event so far for Overwatch. The first EU qualifier begins July 4th (action starts 18:00 CEST/12:00 EST/9:00 PST), so let’s get you guys caught up to speed with the ruleset, as well as overview of the event!
Rules
The qualifiers will be basing their format on Blizzard’s recently released Competitive Play mode, with a few variations.
Contrary to other Overwatch tournaments, the ESL qualifiers will forgo the initial map bans to determine the map pool. Instead, the first map will be predetermined, with the loser being given the opportunity to select the following map. The map pool available for selection will be slightly different each week, in order to highlight specific maps. The rotation will include at least one of each of the game modes (Escort, Assault, Hybrid, and Control).
While the distance measuring and point capture metrics will be the same as the current Competitive Play format, tiebreakers will be decided differently. Instead of using the sudden death mode currently available, teams will both be awarded one point, and the next map will be chosen by the team with less overall points. If the series is tied, a coin flip will determine who choses the next map. If, at the end of the best-of-three or best-of-five, the series is still tied, the teams will play a best-of-three series on that week’s predetermined Control map to decide the winner (if the control map is chosen as part of the original map pool, a best-of-five will be played on it instead).
Lastly, ESL will be playing with no hero restrictions or limits, hoping to give teams more room to be flexible and adaptable.
Qualification Process
As mentioned prior, there will be a total of 8 open qualifiers over the course of four weeks
EU Qualifiers:
- Qualifier #1: July 4-5th
- Qualifier #2: July 11-12th
- Qualifier #3: July 18-19th
- Qualifier #4: July 25-26th
NA Qualifiers:
- Qualifier #1: July 6-7th
- Qualifier #2: July 13-14th
- Qualifier #3: July 20-21st
- Qualifier #4: July 27-28th
Each week of EU and NA qualifiers will follow the same tournament format. Day 1 will showcase best-of-ones until the Round of 128. From the Round of 128 to the Round 16, each match will be a best-of-three. Day 2 of the qualifier will finish up with the Round of 8 being a best of 5. The top four teams from each qualifier will be entered into their respective regional final.
The regional finals will be played in a best-of-five, double elimination format with the top four teams qualifying for the Atlantic Showdown at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany.
How do I join in on the action?
As the qualifiers are all open, feel free to sign your team up on the ESL site! NA signups can be found here, and EU signups can be found here. The region you will be able to qualify for will be based on the majority composition of your team. Extended rules can be found here.
If watching is more of your thing, the qualifiers will be covered on ESL’s Stream with commentary from Jason Kaplan, Mitch “Uber” Leslie, and Leigh “Deman” Smith.
Of course, GosuGamers will be providing more coverage as the main event approaches, so stay tuned!
For more competitive Overwatch news, follow us @GosuOverwatch.
