OWCS 2026 - Korea Stage 1

1. Regular Season (March 20 – April 19)

The journey begins with a grueling league phase to determine the regional standings.

• Format: Single Round Robin.
• Match Impact: All matches are First-to-3 (Ft3).
• Progression:
• Top 4 Teams: Advance to the Playoffs Seeding Decider.
• 5th - 8th Place: Move to the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ).
• 9th Place (Bottom): Drops to the Promotion/Relegation phase for Stage 2.

2. Intermediate Phases (April 24 – 26)

Before the main bracket, teams fight for momentum and survival in two concurrent brackets:

Playoffs Seeding Decider

• Participants: Top 4 teams from the Regular Season.
• Format: Round Robin (Ft3 matches).
• Reward: All teams advance to the Regional Playoffs, but the Top 2 finishers earn a first-round bye (skipping the quarter-finals).

Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ)

• Participants: Teams ranked 5th through 8th.
• Format: Double Elimination Bracket (Ft3 matches).
• Starting Positions: The 5th and 6th seeds start in the Upper Bracket.
• Outcome: The Top 2 teams advance to the Regional Playoffs; the Bottom 2 drop to Promotion/Relegation.

3. Regional Playoffs (May 1 – 3)

The climax of the stage where the final representatives are decided.

• Format: Single Elimination Bracket.
• Match Impact: Increased intensity with First-to-4 (Ft4) matches.
• The Prize: The Top 4 teams qualify directly for the OWCS Asia Stage 1 Championship.

4. The Hero Ban System

To ensure strategic diversity, a specific ban phase is implemented for every match:

• Per Map: Each team bans one hero per map. This ban affects both teams.
• Role Restriction: A team’s ban must be from a different role (Tank, Damage, or Support) than the opponent’s ban.
• Series Rules: A team cannot ban the same hero more than once in a single series (though they can ban a hero previously banned by the opposing team in a different map).
• Turn Order: The higher-seeded team (or the team that lost the previous map) decides whether they want to ban first or second.