Intro
After an exciting Open Qualifier and two months of intense matches during Stage 1, the greatest Overwatch Teams in the world are left with one final challenge - Champions Clash.
Champions Clash features eight of the best teams from OWCS Asia, China, North America and EMEA serving as the capstone for all Stage 1 competition. A double-elimination bracket will take place from April 18 - 20 at the Hangzhou Esports Center where each region fights for glory and their share of the crowdfunded Prize Pool.
Get ready for Champions Clash with our comprehensive Viewers Guide below!
- Stage 1
- Event Overview
- Ember Juno Crowdfunding & Prize Pool
- Tickets & Event Incentives
- Where to Watch
- Viewership Incentives & Co-Streaming
- Talent
- Special Events
Stage 1
Stage 1 of OWCS 2025 has NOT disappointed. Across all four regions, we witnessed an intense gauntlet of competition with many Teams securing their spot in Hangzhou by razor-thin margins.
OWCS 2025 began with the Open Qualifier, determining who would join our Partner Teams in our first Regular Season of the year. Everyone that participated in the Open Qualifier, Stage 1 Regular Season, AND our most recent season of FACEIT League walked away with a suite of in-game items.
On top of these exclusive rewards, FACEIT League had its most exciting season yet, by serving as the Open Qualifier for Stage 2! At the end of each Regular Season, the bottom two teams will be demoted to Promotion/Relegation. This event is a face-off against the top two teams from FACEIT Leagues, with the best two teams earning a coveted spot in the next OWCS Regular Season. Catch all of the action on April 13.
Once the Open Qualifier concluded, each region’s top eight teams faced off in their Regular Season to determine which six teams would advance to Playoffs. Each region’s Playoffs featured a double-elimination bracket with the two finalists punching their tickets to Hangzhou! Learn more about each Team down below.
Champions Clash Overview
Champions Clash consists of three days of competition, starting on Friday, April 18 at 1PM China Standard Time (6AM CET or 10pm PST on Thursday April 17th) and ending on Sunday, April 20.
The eight teams participating in Champions Clash have fought their way to the top after a grueling Regular Season. In North America, NTMR locked in their #1 seed with a 6-map stunner against regional favorites Spacestation, who had looked nigh unbeatable across Stage 1. In EMEA, Virtus.pro became the only team in the West to secure a perfect 10-0 stage performance - though not without challenge, as their Grand Finals opponents Al Qadsiah also took them to six maps. In Asia, Team Falcons and Crazy Raccoon once again fought through an intense playoff bracket to secure their spots in Hangzhou, with CR sweeping the Falcons in the Upper Finals before losing in - you guessed it - another six map slugfest to grant our reigning world champions the #1 seed in the tournament.
With their Live Event berths confirmed, these teams are busy preparing for three days of on-stage action, across a dozen of the best maps in Overwatch. With hero bans and map voting introduced at the start of the season, the strategic depth on display in Hangzhou will be the best we’ve seen yet!
With six of our eight teams confirmed, the only region left to lock in their Champions Clash participants is our tournament host! From April 4 to 6 OWCS China will host their Stage 1 Playoffs to decide who they’re sending to Hangzhou to face the world’s best. You can tune in here to catch the action this weekend!
Ember Juno Crowdfunding & Prize Pool
As the best of the best converge in Hangzhou, we’re bringing the fiery spirit of Champions Clash to life with the Ember Juno OWCS crowdfunding bundle! For 2,500 Overwatch Coins, you can grab the following in-game cosmetics and support the Champions Clash prize pool.
- Ember Juno - Legendary Juno Skin
- Game Start - Epic Juno Emote
- Ember Juno - Rare Icon
- 2025 Champions Clash - Rare Namecard
- Ember Fan - Common Juno Spray
- Golden Token - Epic Weapon Charm
To learn a little more about Juno’s newest look, we sat down with the designers of Ember Juno to review her concept art and the vision they had for the skin.
“With [Ember Juno], we move away from her cute, familiar image and instead showcase her mystical, more powerful nature. Ember Juno isn’t an ordinary warrior - she’s a mythical, transcendent being, whose armor features distinct geometric patterns to symbolize her mastery over light and energy. The light she wields isn’t like the light you normally think of - it’s refined and crystallized, strong and solid, instead of freely spreading around like normal light.”
The Ember Juno bundle will be available in-game from April 01 until April 22, with 25% of Blizzard’s net sales revenue* contributing to the Prize Pool. Details related to the Champions Clash Prize Pool will be shared throughout the live event broadcast.
Later this year, we will celebrate the victors of Champions Clash by releasing a recolor of Ember Juno featuring the color of the winning team’s region (in the colors of their regional brands). Stay tuned for more details.
Your continued support of Overwatch Esports makes everything we do possible - so from all of us on the team, thank you!
*Platform fees, applicable taxes and any other deductions paid to third parties will be deducted from the sales revenue actually received by Blizzard to calculate the OWCS Champions Clash Prize Pool contribution.
Event Incentives + Tickets
Tickets go on sale April 2. Head here to grab yours as soon as they go live and learn more!
Fans attending the Live Event in person will also be eligible to earn the rewards below:
- Overwatch Merchandise
- Opera Mask Icon
- OWCS Hangzhou 2025 - Jiayou Spray
- OWCS Hangzhou 2025 - Su Di Bridge Name Card
- All Viewership Incentives
Viewership Incentives
To mark the momentous occasion of our first Live Event and Overwatch’s triumphant return to China, we’re enabling CATEGORY-WIDE drops on Twitch so that everyone co-streaming Champions Clash may take part and enjoy the drops.
In further celebration, you’ll also be able to earn a loot box each day of Champions Clash for watching just one hour! Connect your Battle.net accounts to Twitch now and get ready to earn even more exclusive rewards found below;
Day 1, Friday April 18
- 30 min: OWCS Hangzhou Day Icon
- 1 hour: 1 Loot Box
- 1.5 hours: Mei Stamp Spray
- 2 hours: OWCS Hangzhou Day Name Card
- 5 hours: OWCS Mei (Away) Skin
Day 2, Saturday April 19
- 30 min: OWCS Hangzhou Sunset Icon
- 1 hour: 1 Loot Box
- 1.5 hours: Snowball Stamp Spray
- 2 hours: OWCS Hangzhou Sunset Name Card
- 5 hours: OWCS Widowmaker (Away) Skin
Day 3, Sunday April 20
- 30 min: OWCS Hangzhou Night Icon
- 1 hour: 1 Loot Box
- 1.5 hours: OWCS Hangzhou 2025 - Stadium Spray
- 2 hours: OWCS Hangzhou Night Name Card
- 2.5 hours: OWCS Hangzhou 2025 - Biggest Fans Spray
- 4 hours: OWCS Mei (Home) Skin
- 5 hours: OWCS Widowmaker (Home) Skin
Where to Watch
No matter where you get your competitive Overwatch fix, we’ve got the feed for you. Tune in or follow along with any of our official streaming and social platforms!:
Talent
Behind every thrilling play and breakdown is a team of incredible voices. Meet the Talent delivering all of the action from Champions Clash!
Conclusion
Our first Live Event of 2025 is already shaping up to be an explosive clash of the world’s greatest teams. Tune in to catch the action, support your favorite teams and players, and see what they can do on the international stage!
Stay up to date with all things Overwatch Esports by following us on X, Instagram, and TikTok, or joining the Overwatch Esports Discord. See you soon!
