Overwatch

Overwatch is a fast-paced, class-based, first-person shooter. During a game, each player controls a character selected from a set of heroes. Throughout the course of a game, players can switch heroes as often as needed to adapt.

See list of heroes with the Overwatch > List heroes endpoint.

Game modes and match types

Overwatch is played on different maps that are from one of the four game modes: Control, Assault, Escort, or Hybrid (Assault/Escort). In most tournaments, each game of the match is played on a different game mode.

Overwatch matches can be of two types:

• Best of X: victory requires winning more games than the opponent in a set of X games, eg. 3 games in a best-of 5.
• First to X: victory requires winning exactly X games.

Practically, both can lead to the same results, but the first to X format takes into account game modes that can tie (i.e. draw). The maps that can result in a draw are from the Assault, Escort, or Hybrid game modes.

Because some games can draw, the total score of a match may not add up to the amount of games played (examples below).

See list of maps with the Overwatch > List maps endpoint.

First to X format

As Assault, Escort and Hybrid maps can result in a draw, a new match format was introduced. Our API represents this with the first_to match type.

Example of a first_to match

curl "https://api.pandascore.co/ow/matches/past/?token=YOUR_TOKEN"

[
  {...},
  {
    "games": [
      {...},
      {...},
      {...},
      {...},
      {...}
    ],
    "match_type": "first_to",
    "number_of_games": 3,
    "results": [
      {
        "score": 0,
        "team_id": 1620
      },
      {
        "score": 3,
        "team_id": 1603
      }
    ],
    "winner_id": 1603
  }
]

Please note that number_of_games is 3 here. The number_of_games field should be considered a complementary information to the match's type.

Basically, this means that:

• When match type is best_of, number_of_games is the maximum number of games
• When match type is first_to, number_of_games is the minimum number of games

If you want to have the actual number of games that were played, you should look at the size of the games array.

Overwatch League format before 2020

Before 2020, Overwatch League matches were played in a unique format, represented in the database by the match type ow_best_of. That format required teams to play at least 4 games, and a 5th if a tie-breaker was needed. Typically, this meant that even after a 3-0, a 4th game would be played.

Example of an ow_best_of match

curl "https://api.pandascore.co/ow/matches/past/?token=YOUR_TOKEN&filter[id]=384326"

[
  {
    "id": 384326,
    "match_type": "ow_best_of",
    "games": [
      {
        "id": 5490,
        "status": "finished",
        "winner": {
          "id": null,
          "type": "Team"
        }
      },
      [...]
    ],
    "results": [
      {
        "score": 2,
        "team_id": 3432
      },
      {
        "score": 1,
        "team_id": 3435
      }
    ],
    [...]
  }
]