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[Newtype-001]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLnl9BaAsps
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/...rning-Bodies/Overwatch-League-new-owners.aspx

The seven franchise locations and their owners are:

Boston: Patriots Chairman/CEO Robert Kraft

New York: Mets COO and Sterling VC co-founder Jeff Wilpon

Los Angeles: Noah Winston, CEO of Immortals, whose backers include AEG, Grizzlies owner Stephen Kaplan and Lionsgate

Miami-Orlando: Ben Spoont, CEO/co-founder of Misfits Gaming, backed by the Miami Heat
https://twitter.com/benspoont/status/885107828280655872

San Francisco: Andy Miller, chairman/founder of NRG ESports and a minority shareholder in the Sacramento Kings
https://twitter.com/NRGgg/status/885114286342799360

Shanghai: NetEase Inc., the distributor of Overwatch in China

Seoul: Kevin Chou, co-founder and former CEO of mobile game developer Kabam

 

[Nirolak]

Reading that press release, there's only ever going to be one Overwatch League team from Seoul?

 

[tbm24]

So this means they are going to grab up local players? Or that these owners are just located there?

 

[Estus]

I'm happy to see all these EU teams

 

[Twookie]

ez 120 million dollars?

Reading that press releasing, there's only ever going to be one Overwatch League team from Seoul?

looks like it. that feels pretty weird to me

 

[Quonny]

Uh, so, are they gonna fly these players all around the world for weekly matches?

 

[Newtype-001]

Reading that press releasing, there's only ever going to be one Overwatch League team from Seoul?

Seems like it so far.
SK was always going to be weird with like half of the population in Seoul

Not sure if Kespa will get involved

So this means they are going to grab up local players? Or that these owners are just located there?

Just located there cause several teams already grabbed foreign talent.

Immortals already has two koreans on the team and they have a spot

Misfits current overwatch team is a fully swedish squad with a spot

 

[Nirolak]

So this means they are going to grab up local players? Or that these owners are just located there?

It's like the NFL in that your team will be the only team in that market.

You can hire from anywhere, though KSV is doing an all Korean management and player team, because, well...

If you want an interview with Kabam on the topic:
https://venturebeat.com/2017/07/12/...ports-with-overwatch-leagues-seoul-franchise/

 

[tkscz]

Sorry, laughed at the last name Spoont.

 

[kami_sama]

I'm happy to see all these EU teams

/s I hope.
Really, really salty we don't even have one Europe team.

 

[Krosia]

Reading that press release, there's only ever going to be one Overwatch League team from Seoul?

Where do you read this? Having the german press release in front of me. Reads as the only teams so far / first in their markets. More like NHL which has two teams in New York.

Only one team in Seoul is kinda nuts.

 

[friskykillface]

Bob Kraft the 🐐

 

[kayos90]

It's like the NFL in that your team will be the only team in that market.

You can hire from anywhere, though KSV is doing an all Korean management and player team, because, well...

If you want an interview with Kabam on the topic:
https://venturebeat.com/2017/07/12/...ports-with-overwatch-leagues-seoul-franchise/

What the hell???

 

[Thatanas]

This is super exciting. Hopefully Blizzard will properly support this in-game, we need those spectator improvements.

 

[Nirolak]

Where do you read this? Having the german press release in front of me. Reads as the only teams so far / first in their markets. More like NHL which has two teams in New York.

Only one team in Seoul is kinda nuts.

I think this is what this is saying:

The owners will be officially announced today. The parties declined to disclose terms, but multiple industry sources said Activision Blizzard had hoped to get $20 million for the permanent, exclusive right to operate an Overwatch team in some markets.

 

[Newtype-001]

I'm happy to see all these EU teams

;_;
We too poor.

Hopefully they're just getting announced later cause the vid said more to come.

Hopefully Eunited and Laser Kittens get a spot.
Theres alot of strong talent in EU they need the funding is all

 

[udivision]

What the hell???

This really isnt shocking.

 

[Ketch]

This seems super weird and kinda shoe horned.....

I'm skeptical of such a corporate esports scene.


Like what happens when it doesn't make as much money as they think it should?

 

[Antiwhippy]

This will either kill or save overwatch e-sports.

I'm moving closer to kill...

7 teams just seem way too... limited for the amount of talent out there, not to mention for variety's sakes.

And while OW tourney streams good numbers I don't know if it's 20 million good.

 

[kami_sama]

;_;
We too poor.

Hopefully they're just getting announced later cause the vid said more to come.

Hopefully Eunited and Laser Kittens get a spot.
Theres alot of strong talent in EU they need the funding is all

The best European team, Riders, just disbanded and I am fearing it is because the league.
EU can't into OWL T__T

 

[molnizzle]

Damn, I was hoping that Mark Cuban would buy a Dallas team.

 

[Antiwhippy]

The best European team, Riders, just disbanded and I am fearing it is because the league.
EU can't into OWL T__T

I mean to be fair misfits might as well be an EU team lol.

 

[backflip10019]

Bob Kraft the 🐐

Boston confirmed to be cheaters.

 

[Newtype-001]

Team skins and items confirmed
Alao revenue sharing

We’re keen on making sure that teams will be able to share in the Overwatch League’s overall financial success and be rewarded for investing in their home cities. With that in mind, teams will all receive an equal share of net revenues from league-wide advertising, ticketing, and broadcast rights deals; at the same time, they will keep all local revenues up to a set amount each year (past that amount, a portion of the local revenues will go back into the league-wide shared pool for teams). Overwatch players will be able to support the collective teams via special in-game items, as 50% of the revenues from these items will flow into the shared revenue pool. These arrangements will help ensure that teams have the resources to establish and grow their local Overwatch communities for years to come.

https://overwatchleague.com/en-us/news/20890515

 

[kami_sama]

Team skins and items confirmed
Alao revenue sharing



https://overwatchleague.com/en-us/news/20890515

So, the 2 years without revenue sharing are out?
Because I think that was the worst thing for the teams on the league.

 

[molnizzle]

So, the 2 years without revenue sharing are out?
Because I think that was the worst thing for the teams on the league.

Sounds like it.

 

[Mozendo]

Robert Kraft is a nice guy, he's donated two trucks at the bookstore I work at.

 

[Quonny]

This whole thing is set up to fail.

First, the entire first season is going to take place in LA. All regular season matches in one US city. So the whole 'represent your city' thing is wasted. Hard to root or care for a home town team when they never play in your town let alone continent.

Second, after the first season, they'll be hosting and playing in the team's cities. These will likely be weekly matches. Have fun flying players across the world (14+ hour flights) with jet lag and interfering with scrimmage and practice. NFL players bitch about playing in the UK once a year. Imagine doing it week in-week out.

Third, no Europe. ok.jpg

I don't see how this can succeed until they get enough teams in each region to play against each other.

 

[JohnTinker]

Curious, is the game not big at all enough in Japan to warrant a team? And European teams have to be coming too, right? Really surprised there wasn't one in Texas, either.

 

[Antiwhippy]

Curious, is the game not big at all enough in Japan to warrant a team? And European teams have to be coming too, right? Really surprised there wasn't one in Texas, either.

Japan teams tried early on but they aren't good at FPSes.

 

[akileese]

I can't believe the Wilpons found the money to sponsor an e-sports team. I'm very aware of the cost vs an actual MLB team, but they've been perpetually broke (in the literal sense, not the sports sense) for quite some time now.

 

[kami_sama]

This whole thing is set up to fail.

First, the entire first season is going to take place in LA. All regular season matches in one US city. So the whole 'represent your city' thing is wasted. Hard to root or care for a home town team when they never play in your town let alone continent.

yeah, but considering esports are mostly watched on streams, I am not too worried.

Second, after the first season, they'll be hosting and playing in the team's cities. These will likely be weekly matches. Have fun flying players across the world (14+ hour flights) with jet lag and interfering with scrimmage and practice. NFL players bitch about playing in the UK once a year. Imagine doing it week in-week out.

yeah, that might be a problem.

Third, no Europe. ok.jpg

It seems it was going to be US only for now, still considering there are korean and chinese teams, I am salty there is no europe one.

I don't see how this can succeed until they get enough teams in each region to play against each other.

Same.

 

[molnizzle]

I don't see how this can succeed until they get enough teams in each region to play against each other.

That's obviously the eventual goal.

 

[Newtype-001]

Time to buy Immortals Tracer skins and 👌
I mostly want more Korean teams.
LW Blue and Kongdoo Panthera skins would be lit

 

[squall23]

Curious, is the game not big at all enough in Japan to warrant a team? And European teams have to be coming too, right? Really surprised there wasn't one in Texas, either.

Japan isn't too big on FPSs and Japan isn't too big on PC gaming unless they're doujin indie games, visual novels or MMOs.

 

[kami_sama]

Japan isn't too big on FPSs and Japan isn't too big on PC gaming unless they're doujin games or MMOs.

Yeah, that's why I was so surprised we ended up being below Japan in the OW mundial. I know Finland have a lot of strong players, but Japan being better than Spain in the ranking?

 

[Quonny]

That's obviously the eventual goal.

At the rate they're going, I can't see them getting 8+ teams in each region any sooner than 4 years.

That includes things like securing venues, drafting players (many of which are going to be snagged up by the existing regions), setting up the rules, and so on.

I just fear that this approach is going to do more damage than good.

 

[hanspampel]

NRG, Immortals and Misfits are new esport orgs and don't have a huge following / standing
and now NY, Boston have to make new franchises, too

good luck with that
or maybe they just buy a team

 

[patapuf]

7 Seems kind of small? Especially since most of it seems concentrated in NA.

Though if the rumors of the financials are true, I doubt the league can be much bigger, at least for now.

 

[molnizzle]

At the rate they're going, I can't see them getting 8+ teams in each region any sooner than 4 years.

That includes things like securing venues, drafting players (many of which are going to be snagged up by the existing regions), setting up the rules, and so on.

I just fear that this approach is going to do more damage than good.

It think it's the right approach to bring eSports to the masses. Having teams based in local areas rather instead of just being random corporations is the right move. People want to follow/cheer for their local team.

The question is whether Overwatch is the right game to lead this charge...

 

[Newtype-001]

Yeah, that's why I was so surprised we ended up being below Japan in the OW mundial. I know Finland have a lot of strong players, but Japan being better than Spain in the ranking?

What rankings?
P sure japan didnt make final 8 last year and spain did.

Spain is a pretty strong team overall

 

[Quonny]

It think it's the right approach to bring eSports to the masses. Having teams based in local areas rather instead of just being random corporations is the right move. People want to follow/cheer for their local team.

The question is whether Overwatch is the right game to lead this charge...

Oh, I absolutely think the whole city thing is a great move. That's the right approach. I mean how they aren't rolling it out across the world but they kinda are.

If they wanted to focus on US, they needed to make a US league. Then once they get it all set up and all the bugs worked out, they can expand to EU, Korea, China, and so on. Or start with 6 US and 6 China/Korea and make it like two mini leagues.

But this "two random teams in the east + a ton of US teams, oh, and everyone plays in LA the first year" is super awkward.

 

[Zemm]

This is just a terrible idea all around and is doomed to failure. Competitive Overwatch has actually gotten worse the more Blizzard have got involved.

You don't need teams based off Cities to make people fans, just look at CSGO where each of the top teams have a huge fanbase and how that works with the stuff they sell on the marketplace based around the teams. The amount of people from LA that are going to watch the Overwatch team because of their name is going to be inconsequential.

Hopefully this fails quickly and Blizzard don't drag it out, so we can get proper tournaments with real teams at dreamhack etc and whatever big tournaments someone other than Blizzard wants to host.

 

[ViviOggi]

Lol Blizzard

 

[Tovarisc]

This is just a terrible idea all around and is doomed to failure. Competitive Overwatch has actually gotten worse the more Blizzard have got involved.

You don't need teams based off Cities to make people fans, just look at CSGO where each of the top teams have a huge fanbase and how that works with the stuff they sell on the marketplace based around the teams. The amount of people from LA that are going to watch the Overwatch team because of their name is going to be inconsequential.

Hopefully this fails quickly and Blizzard don't drag it out, so we can get proper tournaments with real teams at dreamhack etc and whatever big tournaments someone other than Blizzard wants to host.

Tends to be a thing with all of their games. More involved they are with competitive scene more screwy it gets.

 

[Newtype-001]

I thought League of Legends is also franchising now.
P sure thats the way esports is headed

 

[Pachimari]

Of course there's no EU teams.

 

[molnizzle]

Oh, I absolutely think the whole city thing is a great move. That's the right approach. I mean how they aren't rolling it out across the world but they kinda are.

If they wanted to focus on US, they needed to make a US league. Then once they get it all set up and all the bugs worked out, they can expand to EU, Korea, China, and so on. Or start with 6 US and 6 China/Korea and make it like two mini leagues.

But this "two random teams in the east + a ton of US teams, oh, and everyone plays in LA the first year" is super awkward.

They're probably thinking that if they don't start in other territories now, they risk separate leagues forming in those territories that aren't under their control.

Best to just think of it as a U.S. league that'll have a handful of foreign teams. Maybe there will be more eventually, but for now this is basically a U.S. thing.

This is just a terrible idea all around and is doomed to failure. Competitive Overwatch has actually gotten worse the more Blizzard have got involved.

You don't need teams based off Cities to make people fans, just look at CSGO where each of the top teams have a huge fanbase and how that works with the stuff they sell on the marketplace based around the teams. The amount of people from LA that are going to watch the Overwatch team because of their name is going to be inconsequential.

Blizzard is hoping for this to be a much bigger deal than whatever the CSGO situation currently is. They're looking to expand the fanbase past "hardcore gamers" who watch Twitch. They want to penetrate the traditional sports market.

It's definitely the right move for the future of eSports. I just question whether Overwatch is the right game to lead the charge.

 

[patapuf]

It think it's the right approach to bring eSports to the masses. Having teams based in local areas rather instead of just being random corporations is the right move. People want to follow/cheer for their local team.

The question is whether Overwatch is the right game to lead this charge...

Country based teams have always existed though. Due to lag latency ect. there's always been a big incentive of local player finding each other.

If you look at the international in Dota, or Leagues Worlds, there's not really an issue with people identifying with the teams and the teams having local flavor.

 

[kami_sama]

What rankings?
P sure japan didnt make final 8 last year and spain did.

Spain is a pretty strong team overall

They used the average competitive ranking of the 100 best players for each country.
Japan was 12th, but Spain was the 21st.