Blizzard has locked in the final 12 Overwatch League teams, as three new teams have added their names to the league's roster.
With the teams of the Overwatch League finalized, Blizzard has now revealed that its first season will start in January 2018.
The 12 Overwatch League Teams
The three new teams added to the Overwatch League are from the cities of Dallas, Houston, and Philadelphia. They join the nine previously announced teams of the league, with two teams coming from Los Angeles and one team each from Boston, New York, Miami-Orlando, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, and London.
In a blog post announcing the last three teams to complete the Overwatch League roster, Blizzard revealed that Dallas will be backed by eSports group Team Envy and its investor Hersh Interactive Group, while Houston will be managed by OpTic Gaming, an eSports team known for its skill in first-person shooters such as Call of Duty.
The Philadelphia team, meanwhile, was picked up by Comcast Spectacor, which also owns the NHL team Philadelphia Flyers and manages hundreds of venues such as arenas and stadiums across North America and in Singapore.
Will You Be A Fan Of The Overwatch League?
Blizzard has certainly been driving up the hype for the Overwatch League, with its latest effort being the unveiling of plans for a new eSports arena in Burbank, California. The venue will be used for preseason games of the upcoming league.
Speaking of the preseason, Blizzard revealed that the world will get their first chance to see the Overwatch League teams in action starting Dec. 6, which is when the preseason games for season one kick off.
The inaugural season of the Overwatch League, meanwhile, will officially launch on Jan. 10, 2018, and will run through June, followed by the playoffs and the finals in July.
Blizzard is trying to make the Overwatch League feel as mainstream as possible to attract a large following. The city-based teams mimic the structure of leagues such as the NHL, NFL, and NBA, and the salary of Overwatch League players is massive. Jay Won, a 17-year-old Overwatch professional player known by his handle "sinatraa" signed a $150,000 contract earlier this month to join the Overwatch League team of NRG Esports, representing San Francisco.
With colorful characters, fast-paced gameplay, and constant updates, Overwatch has become a phenomenon in the video game industry. However, only time will tell if that success will translate into the growing field of eSports.
