Blizzard has made a big announcement pertaining to the competitive side of Overwatch, revealing the owners of the first set of Overwatch League teams. Those teams are owned by well-known individuals from the traditional sports scene and other industries. The Boston-based team, for example, is owned by Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots.
The New York team is owned by Jeff Wilpon, co-founder of Sterling VC, owner of the New York Mets.
We looked at major cities around the world and came up with a list of cities that wasn’t just based on population size but really the concentration of Overwatch players. And once we had our cities identified, we set out and were talking to who we thought would be great owners. We wanted to make sure we were partnering with partners who, first and foremost, had a proven track record of building and growing a fan base. – Nate Nanzer, commissioner, Overwatch League
Here are the other teams: Los Angeles (Immortals), Miami-Orlando (Misfits Gaming), San Francisco (NRG Esports), Shanghai (NetEase), and Seoul (Kevin Chou, Kabam).
This is a significant step not only for Overwatch, but for competitive gaming in general. It’s the first time a game has adopted a city-based league structure.
