Nexon announced on November 9 that it is hosting OWGS (Overwatch Grassroots Series), an amateur PC Overwatch tournament for youth and university students. The total prize pool is 18 million won, with applications accepted through November 15.
The tournament is divided into OWGS Youth for middle and high school students and OWGS Campus for enrolled and leave-of-absence university students. The first-place team in each division will receive 5 million won, with prize money awarded down to fourth place based on final standing. Prize money for OWGS Youth will be delivered as a school development fund to the winning team's institution, and a food truck will be provided to the winning school so that students and staff can share victory snacks.
Participating teams must consist of 5 to 8 students from the same school, regardless of grade level. Students aged 14 and older who hold an Overwatch account linked to a Nexon account are eligible to enter, with no limit on the number of teams representing a single school. Applications can be submitted on the official OWGS website.
The online qualifiers for both tournaments will take place on November 21 and 22. Following that, the online main stages will run on November 28 and 29 for OWGS Youth, and on December 5 and 6 for OWGS Campus. The combined finals will be held both online and offline at the Hongik University WDG Studio on December 12, with main stage and final matches broadcast live on YouTube, Chzzk, and SOOP.
Rewards have also been prepared for participants. All players who complete the online qualifiers will receive 10,000 Nexon Cash and the 'Zero Gravity Research' spray. Youth division participants will receive a new 'D.Va' spray, while university division participants will receive a new 'Tracer' spray. In addition, all main stage qualifiers and finals spectators will receive an 'Esports Loot Box'.
Overwatch is a title developed by Blizzard Entertainment. This tournament marks the first Korean regional amateur event hosted by Nexon since taking over publishing for PC Overwatch, serving as part of its initiative to revitalize domestic grassroots esports announced during Overwatch Day last August. Further details about the tournament are available on the official OWGS website.
