The Overwatch League is expanding again, and this is hot on the heels of last month's additions, as franchises representing Atlanta and Guangzhou were added. Now, six more new teams will compete in the 2019 championship: Chengdu, Hangzhou, Paris, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington, D.C, bringing the total roster of teams to 20, with nine of them outside of the U.S.
Here is the ownership groups for the new franchises:
Aquilini Group—A diversified family business that owns the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks and Rogers Arena, and manages a global conglomerate portfolio will operate the team in Vancouver, Canada
Bilibili—A leading online entertainment company for young people in China, covering a wide array of genres and media formats including: videos, live broadcasting, and mobile games will operate the team in Hangzhou, China
DM Esports—A global company focused on esports entertainment and investments will operate the team in Paris, France
HUYA Inc.—A leading game livestreaming platform in China will operate the team in Chengdu, China
OverActive Media—An integrated company delivering esports and video game entertainment to the Canadian market will operate the team in Toronto, Canada
Washington Esports Ventures—A sports organization founded by Mark Ein, owner of the Washington Kastles of World Team Tennis, to build and promote esports enterprises will operate the team in Washington, D.C.
Turns out that the Overwatch League is doing pretty well; according to Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard.
“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.”
