If you’ve ever pulled off a clean 4-kill streak on Overwatch Rush only to watch a Mercy take Play of the Game for reviving two teammates, you’ve probably wondered what’s going on behind the scenes. Plenty of players write off the feature as random, but there’s a consistent set of rules that decide which clip makes the post-round highlight reel. We’re breaking down exactly how is Overwatch Play of the Game determined, so you can stop guessing and start understanding why some plays get picked over others.
How is Overwatch Play of the Game Determined: The Core Scoring Algorithm Basics
Blizzard has never publicly released the exact math behind the POTG system, but years of community testing and datamining have given us a clear picture of how it works. At its core, every action you take in a match is assigned a point value, with multipliers applied based on when and where the action happens, and how much it impacts the outcome of the round. It’s not just a kill counter, which is why support and tank players earn POTG just as often as DPS if they make high-impact plays.
Eliminations during objective time are worth 3x more than random off-point kills, even if you get the same number of kills. The algorithm is designed to prioritize plays that directly help your team win, not just pad your kill count. For example, if you get three kills while defending the payload on the final tick of overtime, that’s worth far more than four kills you got chasing a lone Tracer around the back of the map while your team lost the point. This context-based scoring is the foundation of how is Overwatch Play of the Game determined, and it’s why kill count alone is never the only factor.
The system also tracks context for every elimination. Killing an enemy who has their ultimate charged is worth 2x more than killing an enemy who just used their ultimate and is low on health. Killing a support hero who is actively healing their team is worth more than killing a tank who is retreating to the spawn room to get healed. All of these small context clues add up to your total POTG score for the round.
Key Weighted Actions That Boost Your POTG Score
Not all in-game actions are created equal when it comes to POTG scoring. Some plays carry such a high weight that they will almost always beat out a standard kill streak, even if the kill streak looks more impressive to casual viewers. Based on thousands of community tests, these are the highest-value actions you can take:
- Multi-kills within 10 seconds: A 4k is worth 10x more than 4 separate kills spread across a minute, as the algorithm prioritizes game-changing burst impact
- Ultimate ability combos that secure objective wins: A Graviton Surge paired with a Dragon Blade that wipes the enemy team during overtime gets 2x the score of the same combo used when you're already 2 points ahead
- High-stakes support plays: Resurrecting 3+ teammates during a contested objective or blocking 2000+ damage with a Reinhardt shield right as the enemy pushes counts for more than most DPS kill streaks
- Objective-saving defensive plays: Knocking a Reinhardt off the payload on the final tick of overtime can net you more score than a 5k on an uncontested point
It’s easy to overlook how valuable support and tank plays are to the algorithm, because they don’t show up as brightly on the kill feed. I once played a match where our Reinhardt blocked over 12,000 damage in a single round, including stopping a full D.Va bomb that would have wiped our entire team during overtime. He got POTG easily, even though our Cassidy had 18 kills that round. That’s because the algorithm recognizes that without that block, we would have lost the round instantly.
So, if you’re tired of losing out on POTG to support players, don’t get frustrated. They’re just making plays that carry more weight for the algorithm’s core goal: rewarding actions that win rounds. If you want to start earning more POTG yourself, start paying attention to these high-impact moments instead of just focusing on your kill count.
Common Edge Cases That Break POTG Expectations
Even if you know the basic scoring rules, there are a few edge cases that can leave you confused about why a certain play was picked. Most of these are built into the system to keep POTG fair and varied, instead of just giving the award to the highest-skill DPS player every single round. These edge cases are part of the hidden rules of how is Overwatch Play of the Game determined, and they’re intentionally built to keep the feature fun for all players.
The "first big play" bias is one of the most common sources of frustration. If two players have nearly identical POTG scores at the end of the round, the algorithm will almost always pick the play that happened earlier in the round, especially if that play set up your team’s win. For example, if you get a 4k halfway through the round to take the point, and another player gets a 4k at the end of the round when the point is already locked, you’ll get POTG almost every time.
Duplicate play filtering is another little-known rule. If you earned POTG in the previous round of the same match, the algorithm will intentionally lower your score for the current round by around 15% to give other players a chance to be featured. I’ve had this happen to me multiple times when I was on a hot streak with Tracer: I got POTG in round 1, got a 5k in round 2, and our Zenyatta got POTG for a 3-kill Transcendence play even though my score was technically higher.
There’s also a small bias against plays that involve spawn camping. If you get a 5k while the enemy is spawning in and the objective is not contested, your score will be cut in half, because the algorithm sees that as low-impact play that doesn’t contribute to the round win. That’s why you almost never see spawn camping clips as POTG, even if they’re technically impressive.
Actionable Tips to Increase Your Chances of Earning POTG
Once you understand the rules of how is Overwatch Play of the Game determined, you can tweak your play to prioritize the actions the algorithm rewards most. You don’t have to main DPS to get the award, either—these tips work for every role:
Prioritize objective time over random flanks first and foremost. Every action you take within 10 meters of a contested objective gets a 2.5x multiplier, so staying near the point or payload will automatically make all your plays worth more. You’re far better off staying with your team and getting two kills on the objective than going for a flank and getting three kills off-point.
Time your ultimates for high-stakes moments instead of using them as soon as they charge. Using your ultimate during overtime, when the enemy is 99% done capping the point, or when they have their own ultimates comboed will give you a massive score boost. I main Kiriko, and I’ve gotten more POTGs from using Suzu to save my team from a Graviton Surge and Dragon Blade combo during overtime than I ever have from getting headshot kills on enemy DPS.
If you play support, look for opportunities to make big, high-impact plays instead of just healing nonstop. Resurrecting three or more teammates during a contested objective, booping multiple enemies off the map as Lucio, or landing a huge stun as Ana to stop an enemy ultimate will almost always get you more points than healing 10,000 damage over the course of the round. Don’t be afraid to take calculated risks for these big plays, as they’re far more likely to get you noticed by the algorithm.
That said, don’t prioritize POTG over winning the match. It’s easy to get caught up trying to land a big play for the highlight reel, but if that play makes your team lose the round, it’s not worth it. POTG is just a fun bonus, not a measure of how good you are as a player.
At the end of the day, the POTG system is designed to highlight fun, game-changing plays that help your team win, not just reward the player with the most kills. Now that you know how is Overwatch Play of the Game determined, you can stop feeling frustrated when you don’t get the award, and even adjust your play to go for it if you want. The next time you see a support player take POTG over a DPS with more kills, you’ll know exactly why their play mattered more to the round win.