Blizzard Entertainment presented the schedule of the main esports events of the third season of The War Within. The company announced the dates for the phased formation of the AWC grand finals and the Mythic Dungeon International finalists, giving players an idea of how the tournament season will end this fall.
Get ready for the Arena World Championship from November 14-16! Then, the Mythic+ High Keys tourney is coming up the week after on November 21-23. You can catch both tourneys live on the Warcraft Twitch and YouTube channels, and you can even snag some cool rewards just for watching.
Oh, and heads up: the finals are going back to BlizzCon in 2026! In the promo video for X, the event is presented as a center for competitions, celebrations and community meetings.
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AWC Grand Final: The Battle for $220,000 in 3v3 arena format
The PvP esports tournament will open with the single elimination gauntlet qualifying stage, which will determine the last team for the main part of the competition. Then the double elimination tournament will begin with the participation of four teams from each region — Europe, North America and other zones. The winners will share the prize pool of 220 thousand dollars.
Live broadcasts will start on November 14 at 10:00 Pacific time. Behind the microphones will be Gillian “Aya” Long, Sid “Impatease” Compston, Elliot “Venruki” Wenzel and Mohamed “Zico” Beshear. The analytical table will be reinforced by Isaac “Azael” Cummings-Bentley and David “DMachine” Hollings, both known for their deep understanding of the arena 3v3 metagame.
Twitch drops and co-streaming
Be the first to pick up the Ensemble: Violet Sweatshirt transmogrification kit via the Twitch Drops system with a duration of three days. Blizzard continues to accept requests for collaborative streaming from streamers before the events begin, allowing more content creators to engage their audience.
The current team lineups and tournament schedule are posted on Raider.IO where you can track the favorites’ path to the title.
MDI Global Finals: $300,000 for the best keystone pushing
A week after the arena world championship, the main PvE competition starts. Eight of the strongest teams in the world will meet in the MDI finals to demonstrate their skills in completing mythical dungeons with maximum difficulty. The format is based on a scoring system: the team with the highest scores for each series of high keys moves further along the grid.
The event will begin on November 21 at 9:45 a.m. Pacific Time. The prize pool is $300,000, one of the largest in the history of WoW esports 2025. Tristan “Dratnos” Killeen, Moira “Meeix”, Caroline “Naguura” Forer, Rook “Rookuri”, Peyton “Tettles” Tettleton and Alex “Xyronic” Tatge will commentate on the matches.
The same viewer rewards in the form of a purple tracksuit can be earned by watching on official channels. The full lists of past teams are posted on Raider.IO — you can also find player stats and previous results there.
History and goals: what awaits the team in The War Within season?
The return of large-scale finals at BlizzCon 2026 will follow in the process of a new stage for Blizzard esports. After several years of online formats, the company is betting on live events that will bring professional players and fans together in one space.
For teams like Method, Echo and Liquid, this is a chance not only to collect prize money, but also to consolidate the status of the dominant teams of the TWW era. Many organizations have already announced plans to strengthen their squads before the finals 3 season — player rotations and training camps started immediately after the announcement.
In the context of DPC tournaments, the selection system has become more competitive. The regional qualifiers revealed unexpected contenders from Asia and South America, who had rarely made it to the top bracket before. This adds to the unpredictability: the classic favorites from the EU and NA can no longer count on easy wins.
Organizations invest resources not only in players, but also in analytics. Detailed analysis of affix rotation, optimal routes in the dungeons and counter-picks for the arena has become the standard of preparation. Some teams hire individual coaches to practice communication under pressure, a factor that often decides the outcome of matches at a high level.
It’s going to be a hot season. Blizzard recently assured its social media followers to expand the esports program in 2026 by adding all possible additional regional leagues and increasing prize funds. Now the analysis finals have achieved high viewing and audience engagement rates, and investments in WoW esports can grow. The best will be financing and career advancement on the professional stage, and the calendar will be updated more often.
How to watch and receive awards
Both events are broadcast on the official Warcraft Twitch and YouTube channels of Warcraft. Broadcast schedule:
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AWC Grand Finals: November 14-16, starting at 10:00 PT
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MDI Global Finals: November 21-23, starting at 9:45 PT
To receive Twitch drops, you must link an account. Battle.net connect to Twitch and watch the broadcasts for a minimum amount of time. The rewards will be available in the game after completing each day of the competition.
Okay, so the AWC and MDI finals are wrapping up Season 3 of The War Within – basically, the last big showdowns for both PvP and PvE. Once those are done, everyone’s gonna start getting ready for BlizzCon 2026. Blizzard’s saying it’ll be a bigger deal than ever before.
