With the Overwatch League wrapping up its first season last July and garnering millions of views for its most high profile matches, it’s clear that Blizzard’s latest hit game is becoming a mainstay in the eSports scene. This competition will stand out from the bulk of the competitive gaming, though, as it requires contestants to play on Sony’s PlayStation 4 system. The organizer of the event, Space Esports, is one of the biggest names in non-PC gaming competitions, and this event will further challenge PC gaming’s dominance of the eSports scene. Potential participants can register for the round-robin tournament via the Space Esports discord server and compete for a portion of the 10,000 dollar prize pool.
A grand prize of 3,000 dollars will go to the winning team; although smaller purses will go to the second and third place teams, as well as teams that place first in weekly qualifiers and to players with extraordinarily impressive plays. Those interested in watching these matches – or scoping out the competition – can watch them on the streaming platform Stream.Me, an official sponsor of the event.
Considering the massive success and growing mainstream presence of PC based eSports, it’s not surprising that console competitions are gaining popularity as well. While this competition may not have as substantial a prize pool as its PC counterparts, it seems specifically designed to get amateurs and less established gamers into eSports. Between the open enrollment, smaller and more frequent prizes, and streaming focus, this competition will hopefully help expand and further establish competitive console gaming.
Even with its slightly waning popularity, as the battle royale genre continues to rise, Overwatch is still a titan of modern gaming with a rapidly growing competitive scene. The Space Esports competition is set to help boost this growth among non-PC gamers and offer a white-knuckle source of entertainment. With the beginning of the tournament less than a week away, Overwatch competitors and fans alike are in for a terrific time as the two-month long competition plays out.
The Space Esports PlayStation 4 Overwatch competition begins on October 16th.