In a new forum post by Blizzard, they have stated that they will be mixing up the meta of competitive play once more. The change they will be implementing is that the recently introduced Hero Pools will be removed indefinitely for the rest of the Overwatch League.
Here is their official statement:
Going forward, we’ve decided to make the following changes to Hero Pools starting immediately:
- Hero Pools will be removed indefinitely from Competitive Play, with no tentative date for re-implementation.
- Beginning June 13, the Overwatch League will utilize a single Hero Pool for the first two weeks of each tournament cycle, which consists of three weeks of qualifier matches and a tournament weekend featuring bracket play. Hero Pools will not be used for the week before each tournament or during tournament bracket play.
The Hero Pools meta change was first introduced in January, but it was first showcased on the 7th of March. So you might say that the Hero Pools were a 3-month meta experiment which failed, however Blizzard realized that no one was enjoying the changes and they have reverted. This goes without saying that Blizzard are finally listening to the community, and more importantly, its professional players.
The Overwatch League is set to return this weekend on the 13th of June with the following matches:
Saturday 13th June:
- 10:00 AM – London Spitfire VS Shanghai Dragons
- 12:00 PM – New York Excelsior VS Seoul Dynasty
- 9:00 PM – Paris Eternal VS Boston Uprising
- 11:00 PM – Florida Mayhem VS Dallas Fuel
Sunday 14th June:
- 1:00 AM – Atlanta Reign VS Los Angeles Gladiators
- 9:00 PM – Philadelphia Fusion VS Houston Outlaws
- 11:00 PM – Vancouver Titans VS Toronto Defiant
Monday 15th June:
- 1:00 AM – Los Angeles Valiant VS Washington Justice
*All times are CET
For more information regarding this meta change kindly check the official Overwatch League website which you can find here: https://overwatchleague.com/en-us/news/23445053