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Overwatch League announces new teams in Atlanta and Guangzhou

By Christine Wang Dickson

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 27: A view of the crowd during Overwatch League Grand Finals - Day 1 at Barclays Center on July 27, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Matthew Eisman/Getty Images for Blizzard Entertainment )
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 27: A view of the crowd during Overwatch League Grand Finals - Day 1 at Barclays Center on July 27, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Matthew Eisman/Getty Images for Blizzard Entertainment ) /
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Less than a week after Overwatch League’s first season came to an end, it announces the first steps in its expansion.

The Overwatch League ended it’s inaugural season with a bang, with the final championship match getting screen time on ESPN and Disney XD, along with its usual Twitch broadcast. On Twitch alone, viewership broke 200,000 for the Grand Finals, making it the most-watched broadcast of the entire seven-month-long season.

While it feels like the confetti from the London Spitfire’s championship celebration was cleaned up just yesterday, the league is already looking ahead to season two. Blizzard officially announced the addition of two new teams on Thursday, one based in Guangzhou, China and the other in Atlanta.

“We know Atlanta and Guangzhou have deeply engaged fan communities and we can’t wait to unveil their teams,” Overwatch League commissioner Nate Nanzer said in the official announcement.

Atlanta’s OWL team is owned by Cox Enterprises, a communications and automotive services company. It will be operated by Atlanta Esports Ventures (AEV), an organization formed from a partnership between Cox and Province, Inc., a consulting firm. Paul Hamilton, the CEO of AEV, told ESPN that he wants the Atlanta OWL team to directly cater to fans in the Atlanta area.

“We think we’re going to get that sort of [Atlanta United] engagement, and we certainly are going to be treating the fans the same way,” Hamilton shared with ESPN, alluding to the one-year-old Atlanta soccer team whose popularity has skyrocketed since its inclusion in the MLS. Hamilton spoke about recruiting only the most talented players for the team, including the promising up-and-comers currently making a name for themselves in the Overwatch Contenders league.

Guangzhou’s OWL team is owned and will be operated by Nenking Group, a commercial trading company that has a hand in many different industries. Nenking Group also owns the Guangzhou Long Lions, a team within the the Chinese Basketball Association. This marks just the second team in the Overwatch League from China, with the first being the infamous Shanghai Dragons who went 0-40 in the inaugural season. Because China’s first OWL team had such a poor showing in 2018, Guangzhou has a huge opportunity to both build new fans and steal old fans from the Dragons if they show that they are the better Chinese team.

Next. OWL Grand Finals: London Spitfire is crowned first ever league champion. dark

Currently, player contracts are being evaluated and negotiated by all teams as they prepare for season two. Teams have been given a chance to renew contracts with current players, and any players who do not receive contract renewals can then become free agents. With the addition of these two new teams — and with four more new additions planned on the horizon — it will be interesting to watch how all teams restructure their roster.