Overwatch League just announced that all game teams would be playing in their respective home cities starting this year. With this, fans can now root for their own home teams!
Having each fan’s own hometown Overwatch League representatives mean that they will be having their own hometown team.
Nate Nanzer, OWL commissioner, announced that starting next year, all OWL teams will be playing in their respective home cities.
Using his official Twitter account, Nanzer tweeted that OWL is finally coming home starting 2020. He also announced that they’re excited to witness that their vision will finally be brought to life.
He ended his tweet by thanking all OWL fans for their amazing and unwavering support.
Bringing Overwatch pro players on the road has been Blizzard’s goal for their eSports global league. And 2020 seems to be the year all their plans will be materializing.
Nanzer’s announcement, however, didn’t include details on how the game will actually pan out. No further details on its format were released.
The most plausible assumption would be players might be flying in between continents to play in the league.
On top of that, it is also assumed that their training schedules might also be intense. This also means that they might need to travel more should the league expand further than its 20 team line-up.
This early announcement is expected to give teams more time for securing venues and addressing possible visa problems.
This will prevent cases similar to the Chengdu Hunters gamer from China. To recap, this player had his application for visa rejected prior the start of this year’s OWL season.
Though this is an ambitious move, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s impossible. This decision is actually essential for the league’s long-term growth.
Even if this isn’t Olympic-like, the thought of rooting for your city folks can surely inspire competitive spirits. Also, the sense of camaraderie among local folks supporting the players is a big win for the league.
Many loved the concept of fans sporting their hometown team color at food spots and bars near the chosen venue. Many are also getting exciting by the mere thought of feeling victorious against their team rivals.
The first and the most recent seasons of OWL took place in Burbank, CA’s Blizzard Arena. The league’s “homestead weekends” will be seeing Atlanta Reign, Los Angeles Valiant, and Dallas Fuel play more of the matches at home this year.
The game schedule for Overwatch League Season 2 can be accessed here.
