Overwatch League 2022 info and how to get access to Overwatch 2 Beta

The long-anticipated fifth season of Overwatch League commenced on May 5 with the opening Kickoff Clash regional tournament. Moreover, Blizzard Entertainment has revealed how to get access to the closed beta of Overwatch 2 by watching live OWL matches.

Overwatch League 2022 structure and teams

This season of Overwatch League is the first one to feature Overwatch 2, which brings a lot of novelty into the competition, including new maps, new game modes, new heroes and hero changes. The league’s tournament structure is split into five stages, with each stage spanning multiple weeks of competition.

Here’s the season schedule:

• Kickoff Clash (May 5 – June 5). The Western competition has already started and East Qualifiers were postponed to May 20 due to quarantine conditions in the region.
• Midseason Madness (June 16 – July 23). Blizzard claims this cycle to be a global live event.
• Summer Showdown (August 11 – September 11). This event will be of the same format as Kickoff Clash, with the details to be revealed at a later time.
• Countdown Cup (September 22 – October 16). This will be a play-in live event leading to the seasonal playoffs. 
• Playoffs (October – November)

Qualification and playoffs are based on each team’s total number of earned League Points. As always, all OWL matches will be broadcast live exclusively on the league’s official YouTube Channel.

The teams competing in West are Toronto Defiant, London Spitfire, Atlanta Reign, Houston Outlaws, Dallas Fuel, Boston Uprising, Florida Mayhem, Los Angeles Gladiators, Washington Justice, Paris Eternal, New York Excelsior, Vancouver Titans, and San Francisco Shock. 

The teams competing in East are Guangzhou Charge, Hangzhou Spark, Chengdu Hunters, Seoul Dynasty, Shanghai Dragons, Los Angeles Valiant, and Philadelphia Fusion.

How to get Overwatch 2 beta test key and other rewards?

To reward Overwatch League spectators, Blizzard has created League Perks, a reward system that earns viewers five League Tokens for every hour of watching live OWL matches. 

These tokens can be afterwards redeemed in Overwatch for in-game items. Furthermore, spectators watching for five hours will be rewarded with a special Overwatch League Home & Away skin. The skins will change with each cycle of the league. 

During Opening Weekend, viewers can also obtain 1,500 beta codes for Overwatch 2 during each hour of the live broadcast. To start earning prizes, viewers need to link their Battle.net accounts with YouTube and watch the matches.

Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment