Overwatch' Esports Expands to New Cities, Including Paris 7 September 2018

'Overwatch' eSports expands to new cities, including Paris 7 September 2018

that feels this in an incredibly emotional way."

McCourt is president of McCourt Global, an investment firm boasting interests ranging from real estate and finance, to sports and media. His father, Global chairman Frank McCourt, bought French football club Olympique de Marseille several years ago and formerly owned the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.

Audiences for traditional sports broadcast on cable or television channels are getting older, while the Overwatch League provides opportunity to connect with the internet generation who get their entertainment online, Drew McCourt reasoned. The Overwatch League has drawn crowds for its eSports events of video games a spectator sport Since its launch in January, the Overwatch League has developed its own stars and legions of fans who follow the tournament either virtually or in person at live events. Activision Blizzard on Friday added six new teams to is "Overwatch" League, including one in Paris, Fans spent 160 million hours watching leading as the city-based approach to eSports headed into Overwatch players compete, according to Activision its second season. Blizzard chief executive Bobby Kotick.

The league is already profitable, filling a stadium Launched in January, the competition comprises during championships in July that saw matches franchises representing cities on three continents. broadcast on Disney and its ESPN channels in the US, according to Activision eSports league chief The league's models are the major US professional Pete Vlastelica. sports leagues such as the National Football League or the National Basketball Association. New teams in Chengdu, Hangzhou, Paris, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington DC for the 2019 Overwatch itself is a first-person shooter video season bring the total number in the Overwatch game which sees teams of six players battle rival League to 20. teams in a fast-paced, futuristic setting.

"Having been in the traditional sport space, it The game was developed by Blizzard, the certainly catches your eye when anything is as California-based company best known for creating explosive, fast-moving, and exciting as this," said the "World of Warcraft" online phenomenon. Drew McCourt, whose company DM Esports owns the rights to the Paris team. The vision is for Overwatch League to become a true global competition, expanding to 28 teams, "It has massive potential. There is huge latent and featuring regular matches between teams on demand for this in a turbo-charged demographic opposite sides of the world, such as Paris taking on

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Beijing.

Hot eSport games such as battle royale style "Fortnite" and "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" are global sensations, but don't have the city-based league structure being built by Blizzard.

"There will always be games of the moment, but great leagues sustain games," Vlastelica said.

"We learned from traditional sports leagues."

© 2018 AFP APA citation: 'Overwatch' eSports expands to new cities, including Paris (2018, September 7) retrieved 29 September 2021 from https://phys.org/news/2018-09-overwatch-esports-cities-paris.html

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