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Overwatch League Officially Announces 8 New Teams

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Overwatch League Officially Announces 8 New Teams

Activision Blizzard has just confirmed the rumors that have been swirling for months. Eight new Overwatch League teams have been officially announced.

It is estimated that the franchise fees for Overwatch League Season 2 are between $30,000,000 to $60,000,000 USD. Inaugural season OWL franchise fees were $20,000,000 USD.

There will now be 20 teams for OWL Season 2. The 8 new teams are: Atlanta, Washington, Toronto, Vancouver, Paris, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Chengdu.

The Vancouver, Canada team is said to be owned by the Aquilini Investment Group, the owner of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. They also own Rogers Arena, which is where The International 8 was just played with great success and local support.

The Toronto, Canada team is owned by OverActive Media. They are partnered with Splyce and the Kimel family. Chris Overholt, the former CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee, will be running the team as President/CEO.

Washington's team is owned by real estate and technology investor Mark Ein.

Atlanta's team will be owned by Cox Enterprises.

Paris, France is owned by DM Sports.

The Chengdu, China franchise is said to be owned by the streaming platform Huya which has investments from esports investor Tencent. Huya is China’s version of Twitch.

Hangzou, China is owned by online entertainment company Bilibili.

Guangzhou, China is owned by Nenking Group, owners of the Guangzhou Long-Lions basketball team

OWL Season 2 will be broadcast via ESPN, Disney XD, and here on ESTNN Live Streams via Twitch. Season 2 will likely begin in early 2019.

Roster Signing Season

OWL player signings begin this weekend. Overwatch League has put together an official page to track player movements throughout the offseason. To view the Overwatch League roster changes click here. The OWL roster change page will be updated daily.

Additionally, Overwatch Contenders has put together a FAQ about becoming an Overwatch pro. You can also follow us on Twitter as we will be announcing major roster changes.

In other news, the Overwatch World Cup Los Angeles Group Stage runs this weekend from September 7-9.

Sources: Overwatch Contenders | Overwatch League

Corey Pollack
Corey is a team member of one of the world's largest esports organizations. Corey is also the founder of Wave Digital Media, one of Canada's 60 fastest growing companies. You can learn more about Corey via our About page.