Overwatch League Confirms Expansion Teams in Atlanta, Guangzhou
With the Overwatch League’s inaugural season officially behind us, it’s time to prepare for 2019. One of the ways Blizzard is doing that is to add a few more teams to the league.
Six teams are expected to join the Overwatch League before the second season, and last week Blizzard confirmed two of the new cities: Guangzhou, China and Atlanta. There was also a previous report from ESPN that the league would be expanding to Paris via Los Angeles-based holding company McCourt Global, but Blizzard has not yet confirmed this report.
“After thrilling fans with an amazing grand finals at the Barclays Center, we’re excited to follow that up by expanding the Overwatch League next season,” Activision-Blizzard esports league CEO and president Pete Vlastelica said in a statement. “We’re pleased to add the Atlanta and Guangzhou teams to the ownership group, and we look forward to bringing the league to even more fans across both regions in 2019.”
Cox Enterprises, an Atlanta-based conglomerate, has partnered with consulting firm Province, Inc. to create Atlanta Esports Ventures to run the city’s OWL team. On the other side of the world, Nenking Group, a “financial and entertainment conglomerate” and owner of Chinese Basketball Association’s Guangzhou Long Lions, will run the second Chinese-based OWL team.
“The Nenking Group and the Long Lions have deep roots in this region, and we can’t wait to represent our city on the world stage and make our fans proud,” Nenking Group chairman Zhong Naizong said.
According to Blizzard, the two new teams will reveal their official names and logos “soon.” Fans can also expect more details about the other expansion teams and the 2019 season “at a later date.”
Image via Blizzard EntertainmentWhile the expansion of the league is exciting in its own right, it seems like fans will still have to wait a while for the OWL to start its localization process. In the meantime, there are a ton of fans that don’t really get an opportunity to go to these events.
According to Overwatch League commissioner Nate Nanzer, the league’s goal is to get the teams into the home markets and give fans around the world a way to engage with the live content.
Blizzard also wants to create more “regional hubs” for Overwatch League fans worldwide, and the expansion in China is a good start. Despite being a global league, there are currently only four teams outside of North America: the new Guangzhou team, London Spitfire, Seoul Dynasty and Shanghai Dragons.