Although Overwatch League Season 2 does not yet have a start date, most assume it won't be until early next year. That leaves a rather sizable break before the next season after the grand finals are played in July in New York.





There still is the All-Star Weekend, which will take place at a yet-announced time, and the Overwatch World Cup. Both will take time from players' offseason, which will certainly already be bogged down with media shoots and signings as these brands continue to grow their fan bases.

The first-ever Overwatch League Grand Finals will be held at @barclayscenter in Brooklyn, New York!



Capture History this July 27 & 28 https://t.co/1h33mlZVrg pic.twitter.com/c3wRzwAZCT — Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) May 9, 2018

The importance lies in providing players with a long enough break to leave Los Angeles (and their respective cities, once the brands move) to visit their family and friends. They need the ability to step away from the game and enjoy their lives as without having to worry about a scrim block later in the day or a VOD review.





Looking at two popular esports, League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, will reveal two different setups to players' offseasons.





Counter-Strike is a year-long season. There are essentially no breaks outside of a few weeks in August. There might be pockets of time here and there with no tournaments, sometimes as long as a month, but the teams constantly have online matches or are boot-camping for an upcoming tournament. Counter-Strike suffers from not having a consistent season and league, and teams and players instead have to attend every tournament to stay relevant or lose out on valuable prize money.

Due to personal reasons I want to keep personal I needed some time off, some stuff are more important then cs in the end.

And showing what great guys the team and the org are they are giving me some time off, in the meantime I’m 100% @OfficialXizt will kick some ass for me❤️ — Olof Kajbjer (@olofmeister) April 1, 2018

From an outside perspective, one might ask: "Why don't they just choose to skip a tournament or two, so they can have a break?" The answer is twofold. One, they do, which is a terrible system as players feel they are missing valuable time practicing and are falling behind other teams that decided to attend the tournament. Two, these are highly competitive individuals who love to compete and play Counter-Strike. If they have an opportunity to play another tournament, they will, without realizing the long-term effects it could have on their gameplay moving forward.

The last 3 weeks of my life



Go to france > jet lagged for 4 days > leave 4 days later > go home > jet lagged for 4 days > leave to australia > jet lagged for 4 days > leave 4 days later > jet lagged again — Timothy Ta (C9) (@autimaticTV) May 8, 2018

On top of that, Counter-Strike is a global esport in every sense of the word. Teams travel the world to compete in week-long tournaments, dealing with jet lag and fatigue, all the while having to compete in tournament after tournament, online match after online match.





Then there is League of Legends. Before Riot Games created its own league, the esport existed much like Counter-Strike does now. Teams traveled the world to play in IEMs and to be crowned the best League of Legends team at the League of Legends World Championship. That changed in 2013.





Teams now played in respective regions without having to travel outside a few international tournaments. Flash forward to 2018 and you have a very different beast. Now, players have two seasons of their domestic, Riot-run league and worlds. Sprinkled in between are the Mid-Season Invitational and Rift Rivals, with an All-Star event after worlds.





In many respects, it's a better system for players, coaches, analysts, casters, and anyone involved, but there are a few problems Overwatch could perfect. After the spring split, players usually have a decent break before the next split starts in June, unless you're a team that qualifies for MSI. It's not ideal for those teams, but they do gain international experience and are probably stronger heading into the summer split. The problem doesn't lie during the break between splits, but after the summer split.





After the finals will be held in early September, players have off until January before the competition starts again, but that doesn't hold true for teams attending worlds. Those teams immediately start boot-camping before attending worlds in October. On top of that, the best and most popular players attend All-Stars in December.

Going to use tonight to set a sleep schedule for myself and attempt to keep it until scrims begin in 2 weeks. You can expect a stream tomorrow 



See you then! — Søren Bjerg (@Bjergsen) May 3, 2018

If you're a team that qualifies for worlds and has a few excellent players invited to All-Stars, your uninterrupted offseason lasts a month.





Hell, if you're a team that qualified for MSI, Rift Rivals, and worlds, you missed out on the majority of the potential offseason. This doesn't benefit the players in any way and can burn them out. The teams that end in September have at least two months before the usual practicing begins for the new year. That needs to change.





The Overwatch League they have the ability to create a healthy offseason for their players and staff. If Blizzard keeps the All-Stars event in August, players could have September, October, November, and December -- presumably -- before competition restarts. The only caveat would be the World Cup and when teams decide to start practicing for the new season.





Take the NFL for consideration. Players have until sometime in July before training camp begins after the previous season ended in December. They have volunteer offseason workouts sprinkled in beforehand, but most are for rookies. If you have a new head coach, you're allowed by the league to start those offseason sessions in the first week of April, but for any returning head coach, you can't start until the third week of April. The first mandatory session for veteran players doesn't start until July.





The players and their union fought for those rights and dedicated breaks. Before, teams started work almost immediately to prepare for the new season, but that was taking a toll on their bodies. The same goes for Overwatch. It's expected the teams and league will ask more from their players until the players unionize.





Their only hope in the meantime is that the Overwatch League creates some type of legislation that prohibits teams from requiring players to play until a certain time. This will safeguard the players' offseason and, hopefully, their health.

Photo Courtesy of Robert Paul for Blizzard

Which esport indulgence is right for you? Tell us about your esports preferences and tendencies to learn the best way to satisfy your fan cravings! Is League of Legends your #1 esport? Do you believe in crowdsourcing? Buy the Conqueror Varus skin for MSI! Do you like to take risks? Buy skin capsules! Buy the legendary skin of your favorite champion! Is Counter-Strike more your jam? Do you like the Majors? Buy Legends stickers! Surely your favorite has to be Overwatch then, right? Do you like Overwatch League? Buy the Twitch All-Access Pass! Ok, ok...What about Dota 2? Are you a fan? Buy the Dota Pass! Buy a subscription to Ninja's Twitch Channel because you're probably a Fortnite fan! Do you go to live events? Buy the jersey of your favorite team! Buy a second computer monitor to enhance your viewing experience! Buy regular loot boxes!