Top 10 Overwatch Pro Teams In 2017

Updated:

10 Jul 2017

The Best Teams of Overwatch

Another year, another Pro Team arises. The time has come for the best of the best to fight in an arena, filled of people that will glorify them for their great skill, impeccable strategy and merciless strikes, these are the Top 10 Overwatch Teams for 2017.

The Tournaments

Overwatch, as the fast growing competitive platform that it is, is bringing more and more “gaming gods” to the field. These gaming gods are opening ways into the ESports scene and, with them, bringing a revolution in gaming.

Even though Overwatch is a fairly new game (Completing this year, 2017, its first official anniversary ), it’s normal that it’s still a baby when it comes to the ESports scene, however, it’s making its presence known by each tournament.

Being a Pro player for a Pro team, it’s expected that this spot would come with great rewards. It comes with the glory of knowing that they’re the best of the best at what they do, it comes with the recognition of millions of players all over the world and, of course, the sponsorships and the thousands of dollars that come from these tournaments (don’t look at me like that, you know the money is beefy and, I also know you wish you were in their spot).

Pack your bags and get your tickets ready, jump on a plane and prepare yourself, because 2017 is going to be a big year for the Overwatch ESports Scene.

Being a Pro Team, playing in tournaments is their lives so, with that said, here is a list of the Overwatch Tournaments that fill 2017’s calendar and, their juicy prizes.

Overwatch APEX Season 2 (17 Jan - 8 April 2017) – 200,370$
Overwatch Premier Series 2017: Spring (29 April - 24 June 2017) – 105,850$
Overwatch Contenders Season Zero: Europe (17 June - 1 July 2017) – 50,000$
Overwatch Pacific Championship 2017: Season 1 (8 - 2 July 2017) – 272,240$
Overwatch Contenders Season Zero: North America (18 June -2 July 2017) – 50,000$
Overwatch APEX Season 3 (28 April -15 July 2017) – 177,055$
Overwatch Premier Series 2017: Summer (27 July - 14 October 2017) – 143,550$
Overwatch Premier Series 2017: Grand Finals (31 October 2017) – 101,500$
Overwatch World Cup 2017 (3 November -4 November 2017) – 72,000$
APAC Premier 2017 (23 November -10 December 2017) – 226,200$

The Top 10 Overwatch Pro Teams

Teams fighting for glory

Since we’re only in the middle of the year, the Overwatch World Cup (which will determine the best teams from all around the world) hasn’t started yet, we’re referencing the teams that won their spots in the World Cup, being able to compete against the other best teams.

As the Overwatch World Cup is divided in countries, there are no individual team names just yet. So, therefore, I will present to you the 10 best Overwatch Pro Teams of 2017, based on their skill rating so far and, therefore, the ones you should be watching very closely.

Don’t plan anything for the month of November, for you’re not going to want to miss the epic competition that this tournament is going to bring.

1) Team China – 4550

2) Team South Korea – 4522

3) Team USA – 4470

4) Team Sweden – 4309

5) Team Finland – 4295

6) Team United Kingdom – 4293

7) Team Canada – 4291

8) Team France – 4268

9) Team Denmark – 4259

10) Team Russia – 4221

How do Overwatch Pro Teams make money?

If you’re like me (or more than half of the global gaming population), you probably wondered “How do these teams make their money?”, “Do they earn a lot of it?”, “I bet they have mattresses full of cash and go to computer stores just to make it rain on the employees!”. All of these points could be valid and true, if they weren’t completely farfetched of course.

It’s good to know that yes, Pro players do make a fair amount of money, but it sure doesn’t come easy.

There’s a lot of ways for them to make money (as you most likely know and, while reading this list, will probably realise most of these you already knew) but, they all diverge from a variety of business fields.

Winning Tournaments

Now, this is the most obvious out of all of the possible ways of making money. These Pro Player’s job is to win tournaments, that’s why they’re called Pro Players and not “Players that sometimes set their feet on tournaments just for the hell of it”. They have the pressure and the duty to win and be the best.

However, out of hundreds of teams, only one can win, which makes for a pretty hard income maker. It’s a way for them to make money but, not the most reliable way to do so.

Sponsorships

The ESports tournaments are watched by millions of people every year, be it live or online so, it is very logical that companies take advantage of this mass audience to deliver their company’s name in a cute little shirt format. I say shirt format because (I’m sure you’ve seen this as well), the Pro Teams always have their own uniform, which most of the time, is given by a company that puts their name or logos on that said shirt.

That my friend, is a sponsorship, it’s advertising at its finest, and it’s ok! It’s a way for the Pro Players to make some income, although not much.

Sponsorships or advertising, sometimes, pay in products more than in money. So, even though the players get some income from it, it’s not much at all.

Streaming and Content Creation

If you’re reading this, you probably already watch one or two Pro player’s streams or videos. This is where the good money comes in, most of the time anyway.

Being a Pro Player and participating in tournaments that are watched by millions of people all over the world, it is 100% certain that they will get some fame and recognition out of it. Obviously, some will get it more than others, depending on how lovable and fun to watch they are.

This said fame can be the biggest tool for their income because, having a big number of followers means they have a big audience that has the desire to watch what they’ll do next!

This is where streaming and content creation comes in.

There are numerous services and websites to stream videogames to but, the most popular out there is Twitch. This is where most of the Pro Players go and stream their godlike skills, earning money with streaming. This money can be made by ads on their streams or simply by receiving donations and subscriptions from their followers.

(If you’re interested in starting your own Twitch channel, check this post)

The other way would be to create content for their own YouTube channel which, much like twitch, also pays those content creators.

This is the most reliable and frequent way Pro Players make money. By engaging in platforms that enable them to earn money from their viewers. They get to do what they love while receiving a much deserved income.

Overwatch League

The League of the overwatch champions

Now this (particularly for the Overwatch ESports scene) is a very new method of rewarding the Pro Teams and, one that is still not in action but, when it is, it will change everything.

The Overwatch League, which is a “sports ecosystem for professional Overwatch competition” will consist of the players that are on the top of the Overwatch’s competitive mode, being invited to try out for professional teams. If they manage to be selected for those said teams, they will be offered a contract that not only offers a benefits package but, most importantly, a minimum salary.

Blizzard is doing this because they want their Pro Players to be able to get a proper career out of their Overwatch skills.

There is still a lot that hasn’t been said about this, as of June of 2017, with this being the only information we have so far.

Who do you think will rise to the highest spot in the Overwatch World Cup Royalty room? Tell us down below in the comment section who you think will win and if you’re as excited for the tournament as we are (and believe me, we really are excited).

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in: