NetEase announced new incentives to support OWCS China, and Once Again players became the first to benefit from their strong performance.
The Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS) Champions Clash, also known as the OWCS Hangzhou Major, kicked off the first live event of the 2025 OWCS season, and it featured exciting matchups from start to finish. Crazy Raccoon rose to the top, but it wasn't without a challenge. On the team's road to victory, they overcame a valiant effort from China's Once Again. To encourage teams from OWCS China, NetEase announced some new incentives. Here's how Once Again players became the first to benefit from their strong performance at the OWCS Champions Clash.
NetEase introduces performance incentives to OWCS China
Over the weekend, NetEase announced a new incentive program to support OWCS teams in China throughout the 2025 season. As part of this initiative, each team from China that reaches the top four at a live OWCS 2025 event will receive 200,000 RMB.
Additionally, if an Overwatch 2 esports team from China takes home the gold at one of the main OWCS 2025 live tournaments, then they will be awarded 1,000,000 RMB instead. At the time of publication, these incentives amount to approximately $37,000 USD and $137,000 USD, respectively.
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Once Again at the OWCS Champions Clash
At the start of the OWCS Champions Clash, Once Again duked it out against Virtus.pro and swept them 2-0. However, during the upper bracket semifinals, they went 2-3 against Team Falcons. The team persevered, however, as they claimed victory over Spacestating Gaming 3-1 in the lower bracket. When Once Again faced eventual OWCS Champions Clash victors Crazy Racoon, they ended their run with a match score of 0-3.
Although Once Again didn’t take home the 1,000,000 RMB reward for first place, their fourth-place finish at OWCS Champions Clash earned them 200,000 RMB through NetEase's new incentive program.
Damage player Huang "Leave" Xin shared some thoughts on the OWCS Champions Clash. In Chinese, he congratulated Crazy Raccoon on their tournament win and praised their ability to turn the tide in the final fight. He also said it was a well-deserved victory.
Leave shared a heartfelt message following his team's elimination as well. In it, he thanked the fans for their support and reflected on how much he cherishes every chance to compete. While the team fell short of their goal, he acknowledged that perhaps life is often full of regrets. Despite this, his wish of meeting Crazy Raccoon's Lee "LIP" Jae-won finally came true.
"Our first international tournament after the return of the Chinese server has ended," Leave added. "Let’s meet again at the next LAN event."
That's all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more Overwatch 2 news and updates.
