Overwatch League Signs Six More Teams
The Overwatch League is adding six new teams, bringing its total roster to 20, it announced on Friday.
Two of the teams, Chengdu and Hangzhou, are based in China. Two are in Canada — Toronto and Vancouver — and the final two are based in Paris and Washington, D.C. All of the new teams will compete in the 2019 Overwatch League season, “Overwatch” publisher Activision Blizzard said.
Aquilini Group operates the Vancouver team. It owns the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks and Rogers Arena. Chinese online entertainment company Bilibili operates the Hangzhou, China team, while DM Esports operates the Paris team. Huya Inc., a Chinese livestreaming platform, operates the Chengdu team. Finally, OverActive Media and Washington Esports Ventures are operating the Toronto and D.C. teams, respectively.
Last month, the league announced it’s also adding teams based in Atlanta, Ga. and Guangzhou, China. The Atlanta team is owned by Cox Enterprises and operated by Atlanta Esports Ventures, while the Guangzhou team is owned and operated by Nenking Group, owner of the Chinese Basketball Association team the Guangzhou Long Lions.
“The Overwatch League’s inaugural season was a great success,” said Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick. “This past season alone, fans spent 160 million hours watching the leading ‘Overwatch’ players in the world compete. We are thrilled to add eight new outstanding team owners from Europe, China, and North America to our Overwatch League ownership group. We now have 20 of the very best owners in professional sports.”
The Overwatch League’s inaugural season ended in July. The London Spitfire defeated the Philadelphia Fusion to win the Grand Finals held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Spitfire team took home a $1 million dollar prize, while the Fusion earned $400,000.
Activision Blizzard said it will share more details soon about official team names, marks, and rosters. It will also release information about the 2019 season schedule at a later date.
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