Overwatch League announces historical Midseason Madness event in Korea

The Overwatch League has announced that this season’s Midseason Madness event is headed to South Korea and will feature teams from both regions.

The tournament will take place at the Korea International Exhibition Center, commonly referred to as KINTEX, from June 16-18, with six Overwatch League teams vying for the lion’s share of a $900,000 prize pool.

The announcement is a significant milestone for the Overwatch League as it marks the first League-hosted LAN event in the APAC region.

The West region will be represented by four teams, the top two seeded teams from the Spring Stage Qualifiers and the top two sides from the Spring Stage Knockouts. The two East region teams will come out of the Spring Stage Knockouts, which will feature both Overwatch League and Contenders teams.

Tickets for the Midseason Madness event will go on sale on May 15, with KINTEX’s 10B Hall boasting a capacity of 3,075 people.

The Overwatch League announced the details about the Midseason Madness event on its official broadcast shortly before the start of the Spring Stage Qualifiers in the West. In the East region, which features just six franchise teams this season, the qualifiers will only begin on April 29.

Last year’s Midseason Madness tournament was played on a beta version of Overwatch 2 and featured 12 Overwatch League teams. The top four teams from the East region played from their bases, while the eight West region sides traveled to Hawaii to even out the ping difference. The Los Angeles Gladiators won the tournament and the first prize of $500,000 after beating San Francisco Shock 4-2 in the grand final.