It was announced today, September 13, that the Overwatch Tier-3 league, Open Division, would be having a practice season, rather than a third season in 2019. This will run for six weekends, beginning on October 12, which means that it will also be running during Blizzcon, a yearly Blizzard event in Anaheim.
Those competing in this practice season would be competing for an in-game spray which can be seen in the featured image.
This, among other things, has fans split. Questions have arisen concerning the validity of the semi-pro scene for some time, and this further drives some to question this. Yet, on the other hand, Contenders, Overwatch’s Tier-2 league, will also not be having a third season in 2019 due to the Gauntlet. Because of that, some understand that Open Division would also stay on a similar schedule and welcome the extra practice.
Here are a handful of the community responses to the announcement:
I can see how the announcement can come off as disrespectful. I guess the question is: Would people be mad if they made the exact same announcement but just called it something else? I think this is really targeted at the general playerbase, not aspiring Pros. Was it misleading?
— Ridouan “ioStux” Bouzrou (@ioStux) September 13, 2019
1. This Season does not feed into Contenders
2. This Season does not have any prize pool. Not USD, CAD, or BlizzBucksgg go next 😔 https://t.co/oKoM1xp2co
— Amateur League of Legends Tracker (@T3Tracker) September 13, 2019
open division practice season pic.twitter.com/8JSjZV41e2
— krook (@TheMasterKrook) September 13, 2019
Its disappointing that blizzards esports team is getting a ton of hate for wanting to help the T3 and T4 scenes. Although the rewards for this season may be a joke(Knowing they probably couldn’t give more away), this is literally what we asked for with more support from Blizzard.
— Spoon (@Spoon_0W) September 13, 2019
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Featured Image Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
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