Considering that the Overwatch League 2022 season started later than usual, the season is yet to wrap up. Accordingly, the community is enjoying the anticipation for the final events of the year. Bearing this in mind, the Countdown Cup 2022 is incredibly exciting – read on to learn how to watch the event below!
Event Background
This year, the Countdown Cup serves a special purpose. Indeed, the name ‘Countdown’ refers to it being the final event before the OWL Playoffs which crown the world champion.
Accordingly, this year, Blizzard Entertainment is shaking things up by making the Countdown Cup serve a greater purpose. Specifically, the tournament will function as a form of ‘play-in’ for the 2022 Overwatch League Playoffs.
For those unaware, the qualifiers building up to this event offered the final chance for teams to qualify to the Playoffs through seasonal points.
Bearing this in mind, the following teams will be invited to the Countdown Cup:
- West – Teams placed 7-10th
- East – Teams placed 4-6th
Over in the East, it’s confirmed that the likes of Hanzghou Spark, Guangzhou Charge and Chengdu Hunters will attend the event. Meanwhile, West is still in contention with only Boston Uprising Confirmed.
Anyways, for West, two spots to the Playoffs are up for grabs, while one is available for East as explained below.
Format
Earning these coveted seeds is a simple process.
Overall, both regions will play separately in two slightly different formats.
Starting with the West, the four teams here will compete through a double elimination bracket. For those unaware, this means that the four teams will start things off in the Upper Bracket Semifinals.
From here, a loss results in demotion to the Lower Bracket, where a further loss results in elimination.
To qualify, a team must either win the Upper Bracket Final or the Lower Bracket Final.
Over in the east, the single spot will be fought for through a single elimination bracket – one loss results in elimination. Kicking off with the match involving Guangzhou Charge and Chengdu Hunters, the winner will fight for qualification against Hangzhou Spark.
Naturally, both events will be taking place simultaneously.
Schedule for the Countdown Cup 2022
Considering that both tournaments will be taking place side by side, the schedule may be somewhat confusing. Accordingly, we recommend visiting the official Twitter page to pick and choose your preferred region schedule.
Watch the Countdown Cup 2022 on esportsguide
You can also watch the Countdown Cup 2022 live stream via our very own website. Providing an extensive list of the biggest esports together with streams for each esports match live today or upcoming matches.
Predictions
With regards to predictions, it’s a difficult event to predict for. Indeed, Blizzard intends for a tight competition, hence pooling closely ranked teams.
Anyways, let’s discuss East first, as we know who’ll be competing. Here, the narrative is rather clear.
While Hangzhou has outperformed the other two teams for the majority of the year, Guangzhou Charge managed to overcome them at the most recent event – the Summer Showdown.
Likely, the East seed will boil down to a match between Guangzhou and Hangzhou.
Moving over to the west, apart from Boston Uprising who aren’t favourites, it’s likely that the likes of Florida Mayhem, Washington Justice and Toronto Defiant will join them.
From this collection of teams, it’s difficult to not favour the likes of Toronto and Washington, but it’ll be incredibly tight.
For more esports news, visit: https://www.esportsguide.com/news
