London gets a franchise in the Overwatch League
Last Updated: 15/08/17 12:43pm
Overwatch has quickly turned into a global gaming phenomenon that could compete with major sports.
Overwatch, the global gaming phenomenon turned esports goliath from Activision Blizzard, will have its first European team in the Official Overwatch League based in London.
Jack Etienne, the owner of Los Angeles based esports team Cloud9 has bought the rights to field a London team. The Overwatch League will be city based as it attempts to centralise fanbases.
League team players will be assured a minimum salary of $50,000 as well as health and retirement benefits, housing and training support. Teams are required to split 50 per cent of any season bonuses with the players.
Etienne was pipped to the post in the race to secure the rights to field an LA based team by Stan Kroneke, owner of London's Arsenal Football Club.
League team players will be assured a minimum salary of $50,000 as well as health and retirement benefits, housing and training support. Teams are required to split 50 per cent of any season bonuses with the players.
Etienne was pipped to the post in the race to secure the rights to field an LA based team by Stan Kroneke, owner of London's Arsenal Football Club.
Stan Kroenke has added to his Los Angeles sporting empire, by acquiring the city's Overwatch franchise.
The fee for owning a slot in the Overwatch League is understood to be $20m (£15.5m). For that investment, all owners must split a 50 per cent share of future revenues with the league itself.
Overwatch, launched in Apr 2016, now has over 30m players globally and has rocketed in popularity thanks to its relatively simple gameplay, fast-paced action and viewer-friendly action. The game is low on gore appealing to family friendly audience and emerging younger esports talent and fans.
Overwatch, launched in Apr 2016, now has over 30m players globally and has rocketed in popularity thanks to its relatively simple gameplay, fast-paced action and viewer-friendly action. The game is low on gore appealing to family friendly audience and emerging younger esports talent and fans.
With esports audiences notching up over 3 billion viewing hours across Twitch's most popular streams in 2016, could Activision's goal of becoming bigger than the Premier League soon be a reality?
