The first major offline LAN event for professional Overwatch since the dissolution of the Overwatch League and the start of the Champion Series will kick off on May 31st. The total prize pool will be determined entirely by the number of in-game bundles sold.
New Hanzo skin prize pool is kinda gross! | Overwatch 2
During the OWCS Dallas Major and through June 3, Overwatch 2 players can purchase the Azure Flame Hanzo Crowdfunding Bundle. 25 percent of the proceeds from the items in the bundle will go directly toward the event’s prize pool.
The model used is nearly identical to the one implemented for the 2023 Overwatch World Cup, when 25 percent of Blizzard’s revenue from sales of Overwatch World Cup crowdfunded cosmetics and bundles made up the entire prize pool. The final prize pool for that event was $513,162, according to the official Overwatch Path to Pro account on X (formerly Twitter).
While crowdfunding is certainly common in some esports, it’s rare to see an event with a prize pool created entirely through crowdfunding with no contribution from the developer. Events like the Counter-Strike Majors, Dota 2 Majors, and VALORANT Champions have large prize pools provided by the developer, but each of these events also utilize crowdfunding initiatives to generate additional revenue for the participating teams.
