Overwatch season 9 countdown: Start time REVEALED for new Competitive action

Overwatch season 9 is about to begin, as Competitive play enters a new phase.

Overwatch Competitive season 9 kicks off on Thursday, March 1 at midnight UK time. 

In the meantime, Blizzard has outlined all of the rewards available as part of season 8.

“If you completed your placement matches during Season 8, you will be eligible to receive a special spray and player icon,” Blizzard explains.

“These will be unlocked automatically when you log into your account the first time after the season ends.

“If you are placed within the Top 500 players on your platform (and in your region) at the end of the season, you’ll receive an extra player icon and animated spray on top of the other seasonal rewards.”

Players will receive sprays and icons for taking part in the season, not to mention Competitive Points based on maximum skill ratings.

Overwatch fans are also waiting for more news about the next hero.

Rumours of a new hero began when Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan responded to fans on the game’s official forums.

In a post titled ‘Can we have a hero 27 hint?’, Kaplan said: “Ok. Incoming. Brace for it…”

This was followed by a lengthy Twitter tease in which somebody called Emre Sarioglu was named alongside some familiar characters.

It’s all part of an after action report for something called Operation “WHITE DOME”. According to the mission report, Torbjorn received serious injuries, and was saved by Reinhardt.

In a follow-up post, Blizzard has posted a letter from Torbjorn to his wife Ingrid. The letter mentions Torbjorn’s then unborn daughter, who was named by Reinhardt.

This has led to speculation that Torbjorn’s daughter will be the next new hero in Overwatch.

And Overwatch developer Blizzard has since posted another new teaser for hero 27.

The latest Overwatch teaser features a sketch of a hammer weapon with some modifications. 

The accompanying tweet reads: “I’ll knock some sense into you!”

Some users have suggested that the hammer looks like the one wielded by the Queen of Junkertown.

The general consensus, however, is that the new character is Torbjorn’s daughter. This seems very likely given that both Reinhardt and Torbjorn both use hammer weapons.