Competitive Play

Competitive Play is the ranked Play Mode of Overwatch. In this mode, players are matched with others of similar skill level that is of greater accuracy than the matchmaking system in Quick Play. It is a more serious game mode where players compete in order to rank up. Competitive Play will have each team take turns attacking and defending until the match is decided.

Players must achieve level 25 before this game mode is unlocked.

Scoring

• On Escort maps, the attacking team which escorts the payload the farthest wins. If both teams manage to move the payload the exact same distance without reaching the destination or fail to move it at all, the match ends in a draw. Note that the furthest distance the payload has been moved is what counts, even if the payload moves back. If both teams reach the destination, a new rotation is played using the time bank rules.
• On Assault maps, the attacking team which captures the most control points and/or makes the most progress on capturing a control point wins. If the first attacking team does not fully capture a control point but makes at least 33.3% capture progress, the second attacking team must exceed the first team's capture progress in order to win. If neither team reaches at least 33.3% capture progress on the same control point or if both teams reach the exact same capture percentage (<100%) on the same control point, the match ends in a draw. If both teams capture both control points, a new rotation is played using time bank rules.
• On Hybrid maps, the attacking team which achieves the most capture progress on the control point and/or escorts the payload the farthest wins. If neither team reaches at least 33.3% capture progress on the control point, if both teams reach the exact same capture percentage (<100%) on the control point, or if both teams capture the control point but manage to move the payload the exact same distance or fail to move it at all, the match ends in a draw. If both teams escort the payload to its destination, a new rotation is played using the time bank rules.
• Control maps are a best-of-three and is the same as Quick Play.

Time Bank (Extra Rounds)

If a match is tied after both teams have played on attack and defense, a new attack and defense rotation will start, using the time bank system.

Escort Rules

If both teams have escorted the payload to the destination, the game examines their remaining time:

• If both teams have 120 seconds or more left in their time bank, then a new rotation begins. The team with the smaller amount of remaining time has their time decreased to 120 seconds, while the other team's remaining time is also decreased the same amount (i.e. if Team A has 165 seconds and Team B has 250 seconds after a full rotation, Team A's time bank is reduced by 45 seconds for a total of 120 seconds, while Team B's time bank is also reduced by 45 seconds for a total of 205 seconds).
• If both teams have between 60 seconds and 119 seconds left in their time bank, then a new rotation begins with both teams playing an attacking round with no changes to their time bank.
• If Team A's remaining time is between 0 seconds and 59.9 seconds, and Team B has 60 seconds or more, then a new rotation begins. Team A is granted additional time to increase their remaining time to 60 seconds, and Team B is also granted the same amount of additional time to their time bank. This rule also applies if both teams have between 0 seconds and 59.9 seconds remaining. (i.e. if Team A has 20 seconds and Team B has 150 seconds after a full rotation, Team A's time bank is increased by 40 seconds for a total of 60 seconds, while Team B's time bank is also increased by 40 seconds for a total of 190 seconds).

Whenever a new rotation starts, the team with the least time remaining starts the next rotation on attack. No bonus time will be added when the payload reaches a checkpoint in the extra rounds.

Assault Rules

If a match is tied after both teams have played on attack and defense, the game examines their remaining time:

• If both teams have 120 seconds or more left in their time bank, then a new rotation begins. The team with the smaller amount of remaining time has their time decreased to 120 seconds, while the other team's remaining time is also decreased the same amount.
• If both team's remaining times are between 60 seconds and 119 seconds, then a new rotation begins with both teams playing an attacking round with no changes to their time bank.
• If Team A's remaining time is between 0.1 seconds and 59.9 seconds, and Team B has 60 seconds or more, then a new rotation begins. Team A is granted additional time to increase their remaining time to 60 seconds, and Team B is also granted the same amount of additional time to their time bank. This rule also applies if both teams have between 0.1 seconds and 59.9 seconds remaining.
• If Team A has no remaining time but Team B has at least 60 seconds of time left, then only Team B plays an attacking round with their remaining time. If Team B reaches at least 33.3% progress on the first map objective during their remaining time, they win. If they do not, the match results in a draw.
• If neither team has any remaining time left after capturing point B, both teams are given one minute to their time bank and a new rotation begins.

Whenever a new rotation starts, the team with the least time remaining starts the next rotation on attack. Only 30 seconds of additional time will be added to the attacking team if point A is captured in the extra rounds, instead of 3 minutes.

Hybrid Rules

If a match is tied after both teams have played on attack and defense, the game examines their remaining time:

• If both teams have 120 seconds or more left in their time bank, then a new rotation begins. The team with the smaller amount of remaining time has their time decreased to 120 seconds, while the other team's remaining time is also decreased the same amount.
• If both team's remaining times are between 60 seconds and 119 seconds, then a new rotation begins with both teams playing an attacking round with no changes to their time bank.
• If Team A's remaining time is between 0.1 seconds and 59.9 seconds, and Team B has 60 seconds or more, then a new rotation begins. Team A is granted additional time to increase their remaining time to 60 seconds, and Team B is also granted the same amount of additional time to their time bank. This rule also applies if both teams have between 0.1 seconds and 59.9 seconds remaining.
• If Team A has no remaining time but Team B has at least 60 seconds of time left, then only Team B plays an attacking round with their remaining time. If Team B reaches at least 33.3% progress on the first map objective during their remaining time, they win. If they do not, the match results in a draw.

Whenever a new rotation starts, the team with the least time remaining starts the next rotation on attack. No bonus time will be added when the payload reaches a checkpoint in the extra rounds.

Ranking

A player must play five placement matches to receive their ranks, with the ranks in each of the three roles (tank, damage, support) being separate. The player's ranking is represented as a Skill Rating (SR) between 1 and 5000, with a higher number representing a higher level of skill. After each match, players will gain or lose a certain amount of SR. The amount gained or lost depends on several factors, including the difference between each team's average SR, the win rates of heroes on a given map, and individual performance. Players do not gain or lose any SR when a match ends in a draw.

Alongside the 1 - 5000 scale, players are assigned tiers depending on their SR which is publicly displayed on their portrait:

Bronze - 1 - 1499 SR
Silver - 1500 - 1999 SR
Gold - 2000 - 2499 SR
Platinum - 2500 - 2999 SR
Diamond - 3000 - 3499 SR
Master - 3500 - 3999 SR
Grandmaster - 4000+
File:Badge 8 Top 500.png Top 500 - Given to players that have 1st to 500th highest SR in their respective region and platform (Americas. Asia, Europe), (PC, PS4, XBox, Switch).

Players in Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond will be moved into lower skill tiers if they cannot maintain the minimum skill rating for that tier over five games, while players in Master and Grandmaster will be immediately moved into lower skill tiers if they fail to maintain the minimum skill rating for that tier.

Players can participate Competitive Play as a group, though the following restrictions will be applied:

• For Diamond and below, the SR of each group member must be within 1000 of the participating group members. This SR range between the group members is reduced to 500 for Master players, and 350 for Grandmaster players.
• Players who have not completed their placement matches may not group up with any player at Diamond tier or above.

Top 500

Two weeks after the start of a season, the Top 500 system starts. After that point, if a player manages to attain a Skill Rating that is within the highest 500 of all ranked players within their role and region and has also played at least 25 competitive matches that season, they will rewarded with the Top 500 icon on their portrait and have their BattleTag be visible on the leaderboard. They will also receive a special a player icon and an animated spray unique to those that achieved the Top 500 status. PC players must have Blizzard SMS Protect enabled on their account to be eligible for the Top 500.

Suspensions

As this mode exists to players wanting a more serious experience of Overwatch, harsher punishments are given to players who abandon their team before the end of the match. As opposed to Quick Play, players who exit a match from Competitive Play prematurely will not be able to join another game of any Play Mode until their original match is concluded, and departed players will not be backfilled. Players that fail to rejoin their match before it ends will be temporarily suspended from Competitive Play, with repeated offenses extending the duration of the suspension until an eventual permanent ban from the game mode.

Seasons

Season	Start Date	End Date	Notes
1	Jun 28, 2016	Aug 17, 2016	Had a 1-100 Skill Rating scale and a Sudden Death system if both teams finished their objective in the initial attack/defense rotation. During Sudden Death, one additional round was played where the attacking team chosen by a coin flip. The attackers had to capture or escort the payload to the first point within 1 minute and 45 seconds.
2	Sep 02, 2016	Nov 24, 2016	Time bank system implemented.
3	Dec 01, 2016	Feb 21, 2017
4	Feb 28, 2017	May 28, 2017
5	Jun 1, 2017	Aug 28, 2017
6	Sep 1, 2017	Oct 28, 2017	Duration of each competitive season reduced from three months to two months.
7	Nov 1, 2017	Dec 29, 2017
8	Jan 1, 2018	Feb 25, 2018
9	Feb 28, 2018	Apr 28, 2018
10	May 1, 2018	Jul 1, 2018
11	Jul 02, 2018	Aug 28, 2018
12	Aug 31, 2018	Oct 28, 2018
13	Nov 1, 2018	Jan 1, 2019	Off-season duration reduced from three days to two hours.
14	Jan 1, 2019	Mar 1, 2019
15	Mar 1, 2019	May 1, 2019	Off-season removed. Next season begins immediately after the previous season ends.
16	May 1, 2019	Jun 30, 2019
17	Jun 30, 2019	Aug 13, 2019	Ended early to implement a special three week season of Competitive Play between seasons 17 and 18 that introduced the Role Queue system. Referred to as "Role Queue Beta" in player profiles to those that participated in it.
18	Sep 3, 2019	Nov 7, 2019	Role Queue system implemented with players having independent Skill Ratings for each of the three roles. Number of placement matches required decreased from 10 to 5.
19	Nov 9, 2019	Jan 2, 2020	Limited map pools introduced. Map pool: Assault: Hanamura, Temple of Anubis, Volskaya Industries Escort: Dorado, Havana, Watchpoint: Gibraltar Hybrid: Eichenwalde, Hollywood, King's Row Control: Busan, Lijiang Tower, Nepal
20	Jan 2, 2020	Mar 5, 2020	Map pool: Assault: Hanamura, Temple of Anubis, Volskaya Industries Escort: Dorado, Havana, Rialto Hybrid: Eichenwalde, King's Row, Numbani Control: Busan, Ilios, Oasis
21	Mar 5, 2020	May 7, 2020	Hero pools introduced, changing weekly. Limited map pools were removed on April 14, 2020. Map pool (until Apr 14): Assault: Hanamura, Horizon Lunar Colony, Volskaya Industries Escort: Dorado, Junkertown, Watchpoint: Gibraltar Hybrid: Blizzard World, Hollywood, King's Row Control: Busan, Lijang Tower, Oasis Hero pool (bans): Mar 5 - Mar 12: Orisa, Hanzo, Mei, Baptiste Mar 12 - Mar 19: Reinhardt, Reaper, Ana, Moira Mar 19 - Mar 26: Roadhog, Sigma, Doomfist, Brigitte Mar 26 - Apr 2: D.Va, McCree, Soldier: 76, Sombra, Widowmaker, Baptiste Apr 2 - Apr 9: Wrecking Ball, Hanzo, Mercy Apr 9 - Apr 13: Zarya, Pharah, Symmetra, Lúcio Apr 13 - Apr 19: Reinhardt, McCree, Widowmaker, Brigitte Apr 20 - Apr 26: Orisa, Echo, Tracer, Moira Apr 27 - May 3: Wrecking Ball, McCree, Widowmaker, Mercy May 4 - May 10: Reinhardt, Ashe, Reaper, Brigitte
22	May 7, 2020	Jul 2, 2020	Hero pools changed to be applied only to matches with an average team SR of 3500 or greater, and altered to be "based on usage from the Overwatch League" when in season, and "Grandmaster and Top 500 matches" when not in season. Hero pools were removed from Competitive Play on June 8th, 2020. Hero pool (bans): May 4 - May 10: Reinhardt, Ashe, Reaper, Brigitte May 11 - May 17: Orisa, Mei, Tracer, Moira May 18 - May 31: None June 1 - June 8: D.Va, Echo, Sombra, Brigitte
23	Jul 2, 2020	Sep 3, 2020	Open Queue system implemented.
24	Sep 3, 2020	Nov 5, 2020
25	Nov 5, 2020	Jan 7, 2021
26	Jan 7, 2021

Arcade modes seasons

Starting with Copa Lùcioball introduced with the Summer Games 2017 event, Blizzard started adding Competitive Arcade modes from time to time. Usually the duration of a Competitive Arcade mode season is about 3 weeks long.

The rewards for Competitive Arcade modes differ from those from regular Competitive. As the seasons are shorter (as well as the matches duration), you earn less Competitive Points per win and less Competitive Points for your rank at the end of the season.

Mode	Season	Dates	Notes
Copa Lúcioball	1	Aug. 2017	Introduced with the Summer Games 2017 event.
Competitive CTF	1	Feb./Mar. 2018	Introduced with the Lunar New Year 2018 event.
Competitive 6v6 Elimination	1	Apr./May 2018	Was not part of an event.
Competitive Deathmatch	1	May/June 2018	Introduced with the Anniversary 2018 event.
Competitive 3v3 Group Elimination	1	June/July 2018	Was not part of an event. Introduced with the Looking For Group (LFG) feature. You had to be in a group of 3 players to be able to queue for the mode.
Copa Lùcioball	2	Aug. 2018	During the Summer Games 2018 event.
Competitive Team Deathmatch	1	Oct./Nov. 2018	Was not part of an event.
Competitive CTF	2	Jan./Feb. 2019	During the Lunar New Year 2019 event.
Competitive 6v6 Elimination	2	Mar./Apr. 2019	Was not part of an event.
Competitive Deathmatch	2	June/July 2019	Was not part of an event.
Copa Lùcioball	3	July/Aug. 2019	During the Summer Games 2019 event.
Competitive 3v3 Elimination	2	Oct./Nov. 2019	During the Halloween Terror 2019 event.
Competitive Team Deathmatch	2	Nov./Dec. 2019	Was not part of an event.
Competitive CTF	3	Jan./Feb. 2020	During the Lunar New Year 2020 event.
Competitive 6v6 Elimination	3	Mar./Apr. 2020	During the Archives 2020 event.
Competitive Open Queue	1	Apr. 2020	Was not part of an event.
Competitive Deathmatch	3	May/June 2020	During the Anniversary 2020 event.
Competitive Open Queue	2	June/July 2020	Was not part of an event. Is part of the main game now.
Competitive 3v3 Elimination	3	Sep./Oct. 2020	Was not part of an event.
Competitive Team Deathmatch	3	Oct./Nov. 2020	During the Halloween Terror 2020 event.

Rewards

See Competitive Points.

Eligible Maps

As of 14 Apr 2020, Paris and Horizon Lunar Colony are not eligible to be played in competitive modes pending map design changes.

External links

• Developer Update | Let's Talk Competitive Play
• Welcome to Competitive Play