Overwatch Competitive Play Now Limits GM Players To Solo Or Duo Queue

Blizzard made a big announcement at the start of Season 16 of Overwatch. Beginning this season, Grandmaster players will no longer be able to queue up in competitive matches in a party size that exceeds two. Grandmaster players are those with skill ratings of at least 4,000.

In a blog post by Overwatch developer Scott Mercer, he explained that the goal of this change was to make sure that games would be of a higher quality and that the change should allow for more fun matches for all players.

Mercer went on to say that this feature of the matchmaking system is beneficial to everyone. For Grandmaster players in particular, it has been difficult to come up with fair matches since there are few players at the same level that group together. It would be difficult as well if GM players were allowed to queue with larger groups.

For many players, the solo queue has long been requested. However, only time will tell if this change will indeed improve match quality.

Changes in Overwatch at the start of each new season is nothing new. During Season 15, for example, Blizzard introduced the new character Baptiste, who eventually made his way to competitive mode. Other heroes have received changes that resulted in their pick rates in competitive play being affected.

Season 15 also gave players two months to finish placement matches as well as increase their SR. It was also during this season that the downtime between the season was eliminated. Before the start of Season 14, for instance, players were give a two-hour window wherein they could practice competitive mode and not lose any SR. Before Season 13, this downtime usually took days.

Going back to Season 16, competitive play allows players to unlock unique rewards. Those who are able to complete their placement matches within the season get a special spray along with a special player icon. Players who manage to enter the top 500 in their platform and region get an additional icon and animated spray.

For Season 16, the SR to Competitive Point breakdown is:

• SR 1-1499 (Bronze): 65 CP
• SR 1500-1999 (Silver): 125 CP
• SR 2000-2499 (Gold): 250 CP
• SR 2500-2999 (Platinum): 500 CP
• SR 3000-3499 (Diamond): 750 CP
• SR 3500-3999 (Master): 1200 CP
• SR 4000-5000 (Grandmaster): 1750 CP