It is clear that Blizzard has big eSports plans for Overwatch. Last year the company announced Overwatch League, a professional league dedicated to Overwatch. They then introduced some guidelines and rules to the league, where players who are part of the league will earn a minimum of $50,000 a year (a 17-year old managed to land a $150,000 salary package).
Now it seems that Blizzard has decided to expand Overwatch Contenders (its development league) in a bid to give more gamers a chance to go pro. In an announcement on the Overwatch League website, Blizzard revealed that they would be embracing regional leagues as well as expand Contenders in two new regions: Australia and South America.
According to Blizzard, “With the existing regions of North America and Europe, this brings the total number of Contenders locations to seven. With three seasons a year in seven regions, this will create more opportunities than ever before for players to challenge themselves—as well as to be noticed by Overwatch League scouts.”
Blizzard has also announced that the Open Division will be returning in January 2018, where it gives solo-queue hero players a chance to try their hand at organized competitive games. More details about Overwatch Contenders and the Open Division are expected to be shared this coming December.