Blizzard has started its campaign to promote its very own “Overwatch League” eSports competition. A month ago, the developer revealed the first seven teams that would participate. One of those previously announced team owners is Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots NFL team. Their latest reports confirm that they have approved two more teams. One team will be based in London, while the other one will represent Los Angeles.
'Overwatch League' teams across the globe
According to their latest announcement, the eSports competition now has teams from eight cities around the world.
These include Boston, New York, San Francisco, Miami-Orlando, Los Angeles, Seoul, Shanghai, and London. One of the recently-added teams is the London team, sponsored by Jack Etienne, the owner of Cloud9 eSports organization. The next one will be based in Los Angeles, courtesy of Josh and Stan Kroenke, executives of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, a media giant.
GameSpot reported that it should be noted that the latter among the above-mentioned teams are bigwigs in the sports world. Their company reportedly controls a significant share of sports teams like the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL, Los Angeles Rams for the NFL, and football club Arsenal. These credentials should establish the fact they are seriously branching out to eSports via the “Overwatch League” competition.
The new team owners and Blizzard have their say
According to Jack Etienne, he is delighted to partner with Blizzard for their London-based eSports team. Meanwhile, Josh Kroenke claims that he was impressed by the game studio’s “vision and strategy” for the competition. Activision believes that the eSports competition has steadily gained steam.
Furthermore, Mike Morhaime, CEO of the game developer, points out that their game a diverse cast of heroes from different parts of the world. Therefore, having teams from different regions can cater to their respective fans.
The first of its kind
It should be noted that the “Overwatch League” establishes itself as the first city-based international professional eSports league.
Rumors have pegged the franchise fee at $20 million USD, but it has not been confirmed. Additionally, Blizzard Entertainment has not divulged their target number of teams. The competition is scheduled to kick off later this year. Teams will reportedly earn money from ticket sales, broadcasting rights revenue, and advertising. It was also revealed that players will have a minimum base salary of $50,000 USD, which does not yet include the shared revenue generated from the previously-mentioned avenues.
