Along with the announcement of Overwatch League came the announcement of the Player Combine. The combine, just like in the NFL combine, players will be tested in many different skill based tasks for an opportunity to be seen and picked up by an Overwatch team.
"Invited players will have the opportunity to distinguish themselves as top talent," Blizzard announced. "The combine will help ensure that all teams have awareness around the best players. Following the combine, there will be a signing period where rosters will be finalized." This announcement had even more detail at Blizzcon 2016, when Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime spoke on the Overwatch League Combine. Morhaime said "There will be a combine where players attend tryouts and will be evaluated by team owners and coaches across a series of tests." He later added that the combine will "mark the beginning of season one [in 2017]."
In this article, https://overwatchleague.com/en-us/news/20873062, it talks about another very important piece to this puzzle. The scouting report.
On June 27 we sent out an email survey to a select group of top players from around the world who can now opt to be included in this report. These players were chosen based on specific criteria:
- Top-500 finish in Competitive Play (based on Skill Rating) in Overwatch Seasons 3 or 4 for any region
- Playoff finish in recent high-caliber tournaments such as APEX Season 2 or Premier Series 2017 Spring, or an invitation to Pacific Championship 2017 Season 1
- Other distinguishing qualifications indicative of top-tier talent, including but not limited to membership on an established professional Overwatch team
If you did not receive a scouting retort email from Blizzard and still think you have the skill level to compete at a pro level you have one more shot. Overwatch Contenders Open Division. If you are a masters or higher player, on pc only, you can go to this website https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/esports/open_division and sign up for your opportunity to fight for your spot onto an Overwatch League professional team.
Wow! What a great opportunity for up and coming players right now. This is revolutionary to allow this kind of access to everyone who wants in if they can earn it.
Do you have what it takes?
Good luck!
