OWCS Midseason Championship: All 16 Teams and the Paris Schedule

Paris is the season's midpoint test

The 2026 Overwatch Champions Series reaches its second global event in Paris from July 29 through August 2. Sixteen teams qualified through competitions in Korea, China, Japan, Pacific, North America, EMEA and Latin America, creating the broadest international field of the season so far.

The event opens with three days of group play before cutting the field in half. Eight survivors move into a single-elimination playoff bracket on August 1 and 2, where one bad series is enough to end a title run.

The two Midseason Championship groups

The draw separates the field into two eight-team double-elimination groups. Four teams from each side advance to the weekend playoffs.

• Group A: Virtus.pro, 9z Globant, T1, Twisted Minds, Weibo Gaming, Team Liquid, Dallas Fuel and Team Falcons
• Group B: Crazy Raccoon, Team Secret, Spacestation Gaming, JD Gaming, Geekay Esports, All Gamers, ZETA DIVISION and VARREL

Every opening match on July 29

Group B begins the day before Group A takes over the late session. The full opening slate runs continuously from 3:00 AM to 11:45 AM Pacific.

• 3:00 AM PT: ZETA DIVISION vs. VARREL
• 4:15 AM PT: Crazy Raccoon vs. Team Secret
• 5:30 AM PT: Geekay Esports vs. All Gamers
• 6:45 AM PT: Spacestation Gaming vs. JD Gaming
• 8:00 AM PT: T1 vs. Twisted Minds
• 9:15 AM PT: Weibo Gaming vs. Team Liquid
• 10:30 AM PT: Virtus.pro vs. 9z Globant
• 11:45 AM PT: Dallas Fuel vs. Team Falcons

How the five-day format works

All group-stage matches from July 29 through July 31 are first-to-two. Twenty group matches determine the four teams that advance from each bracket and the eight that leave Paris before the weekend.

The playoff stage switches to a single-elimination bracket. Quarterfinals and semifinals are first-to-three, while the August 2 grand final expands to first-to-four. There is no lower bracket once the playoffs begin.

The teams carrying the most pressure

Crazy Raccoon owns the season's first global trophy after winning Champions Clash, but it does not arrive in Paris untouched. ZETA DIVISION beat Crazy Raccoon 4-2 in the Korea Stage 2 final and enters as that region's top seed.

Team Falcons returns as the defending Midseason champion, though its early exit from the Korea Stage 2 playoffs left the roster with the event's 13th overall seed. In EMEA, Virtus.pro completed an undefeated stage while Geekay repeatedly pushed its playoff series to the limit. Dallas Fuel represents North America as its first seed after recovering from an opening-round loss to Team Liquid.

Season 4 news is part of the broadcast

The tournament is also carrying the next major Overwatch reveal. Blizzard says principal hero and map developers will appear during the event with first looks at Season 4.

That wording confirms new season information but does not guarantee a complete hero reveal, ability breakdown or release trailer. The viewer guide separately teases sixteen unannounced items for Overwatch World Cup fans without identifying what they are.

Where to watch

Competition begins at 3:00 AM Pacific and 12:00 CEST on every event day. The primary English broadcast will run on the official Overwatch Esports channels on Twitch and YouTube, with regional coverage available for Japan, Pacific and Korea.

Daily viewership campaigns include Paris cosmetics, OWCS hero skins, Battle Pass tier skips and Esports Loot Boxes. Battle.net and the selected streaming account must be connected before watch time can earn rewards.