The first ever Tespa® Collegiate Series for Overwatch® is behind us, but the battle rages on.
Tespa is proud to present a new tournament series, Tespa Training Grounds: Overwatch. In Training Grounds, teams will hone their skills in a Skirmish and advance into the prestigious Arena, where Overwatch peripherals, Battle.net balance, glory, and swag await!
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
This year we’re introducing a new format that will help to ensure a fun and balanced experience regardless of your skill level. Six bi-weekly Training Grounds tournaments will run between March 18 and May 28.
The first tournament week will serve as a qualifier of sorts, with the top 16 teams being promoted from the Skirmish league to the Arena league for the following tournament. However, your position in the Arena is never safe! In the off-weeks of the tournament, promotion matches will be held between the bottom four Arena teams and the top four Skirmish teams. The winning teams will earn or retain their spots in the Arena.
Do you and your team have what it takes to climb the ranks of Skirmish and make it into the Arena? Registration is open now and the qualifiers start soon! Click the registration link down below, read the rules, gather your team, and prepare to play!
TOURNAMENT STRUCTURE
Skirmishes will be Swiss style tournaments which lead into single-elimination brackets. The top four teams will advance into the promotion phase the following week.
Arena will consist of a double-elimination bracket seeded by previous performance. The bottom four teams will be sent to the promotion phase the following week.
Promotion Series will consist of one best-of-seven match between each of the top four Skirmish and bottom four Arena teams.
ELIGIBILITY
Starting on March 15, registration for the Training Grounds will be rolling. This means that teams may register and change rosters until the final Skirmish begins on May 14. As this is a Training Grounds tournament, schools may register as many Overwatch teams as they wish.
SCHEDULE
- Skirmish Qualifier: March 25 - 26
- Bi-Weekly Tournaments: April 01 - April 02
- Arena Playoffs: May 27 - 28
PRIZING
Top 12 Teams
Over $9500 in Overwatch peripheral prizing will be awarded to the top 12 teams in the final Arena at the end of the season:
- 1st Place: Overwatch mouse, keyboard, headset, and mousepad per player and coordinator
- 2nd Place: Overwatch mouse, keyboard, and mousepad per player and coordinator
- 3rd and 4th Place: Overwatch mouse and mousepad per player and coordinator
- 5th to 12th Place: Overwatch mousepad per player and coordinator
Bi-Weekly Prizing
Battle.net Balance will be distributed to the top 12 teams in Arena and the top two teams in Skirmish each week:
Arena Tournaments:
- 1st Place: $40 Battle.net balance per player
- 2nd Place: $30 Battle.net balance per player
- 3rd Place: $25 Battle.net balance per player
- 4th Place: $20 Battle.net balance per player
- 5th Place (2 Teams): $15 Battle.net balance per player
- 7th Place (2 Teams): $10 Battle.net balance per player
- 9th Place (4 Teams): $5 Battle.net balance per player
Skirmish Tournaments:
- 1st Place: $10 Battle.net balance per player
- 2nd Place: $5 Battle.net balance per player
School Participation Prizing*
Each team will earn participation points for their school, and once the program concludes the top 64 schools will earn special loot boxes full of Tespa and Blizzard swag! These loot boxes will be delivered to the schools’ coordinators during the start of the 2017 Fall Semester to help bolster their Overwatch communities!
Participation Points are used to determine the top 64 active schools for the Loot Box prizes.
- One point is awarded for each team’s match win in Skirmish
- Two points are awarded for each team’s match win in Arena losers bracket
- Three points are awarded for each team’s match win in Arena winner’s bracket
- Points awarded to a team during any given Skirmish or Arena are nullified if they no-show during that specific tournament (does not affect future or past weeks)
*Only schools with an official Tespa Overwatch coordinator during the Tespa Training Grounds: Overwatch tournament are eligible for participation prizing.