Overwatch League Season 2021 Roster Construction Rules

New rules are in place for the 2021 Overwatch League season.

Despite a rocky beginning, the Overwatch League Season 2020 is coming to an end. The Playoffs will start on September, 3. Votes are already open for the MVP. As this season is coming to an end, the Overwatch League reveals their plans for the Overwatch League Season 2021 Roster Construction Rules.

Overwatch League Key Dates

• Sept. 14, 2020: Teams can prepare their Overwatch League Season 2021 roster. They can sign any free agent not currently under contract with another Overwatch League team.
• Sept. 21, 2020: Teams not participating in the Playoffs can negotiate with their players for the Overwatch League Season 2021. Only players already within the team and with a contract expiring after the 2020 season are eligible.
• Oct. 12, 2020: Teams can submit players trades to the League Office.
• Oct. 23-Nov. 20, 2020: Players not signed by an Overwatch League team for the 2021 season become free agents.
• Nov. 23, 2020: Teams must have their Overwatch League Season 2021 roster ready. To meet the League requirements, teams must sign at least seven players.

The minimum age to join the Overwatch League remains 18 years old. This season, players who were born on or before June 30, 2003, are can join the Overwatch League for the 2021 season.

Two Types of Overwatch League Player Contracts

During the COVID-19 pandemic, teams had to sign players on shorter terms than usual. These 30-day contract allowed teams to try out a player before signing them for the whole season, or to fill in a gap left by a player leaving for a denied visa or an illness.

For the Overwatch League Season 2021 roster construction, teams can decide between two contracts for their players:

• Season-long contract: the player is joining the team for at least one season, up to three seasons.
• 30-day contract: the player is joining the team for 30 days. After this date, they are no longer affiliated with the team and becomes a free agent.

Teams cannot sign 30-day contracts unless they already have seven players under season-long contracts.

Two-Ways Players: Finally a shot at the Overwatch League

Two-way contracts are a contract signed by a player and both an Overwatch League team and an Overwatch Contenders team. The two teams “share” the player, who will play sometimes in the League, and other times in Contenders.

To further promote this transition between Overwatch Contenders and Overwatch League, there won’t be any limit to the number of two-way players within a team. Moreover, players signed with an Overwatch League team with no academy team are now eligible to join Contenders competitions. Teams will be able to loan their players to a Contenders team. All player loan must be submitted to the League Office for approval. Up to three two-way players can compete in the same team during a Contenders match, to prevent games from being unbalanced.

This is good news for the Contenders scene, as out of the 17 academy teams, only 7 are active in the 2020 season. The new option of allowing two-way players outside of academy teams will allow more players to join the Contenders.