Moving down to the losers bracket they were able to climb back up with sweeps of the Florida Mayhem and Washington Justice, winning the losers bracket and securing their spot in the Grand Finals. Their playoff journey started out just as dominant with sweeps of both the Los Angeles Gladiators and Los Angeles Valiant.Īfter their first two wins they advanced to the winners bracket final where they fell to the defending champions, the San Francisco Shock. The Philadelphia Fusion had a fantastic regular season, ending with the best record in the North American regional league with 24 wins to 2 losses. “Champion the Future” is the catchphrase for the 2020 Overwatch League Play-offs. The finals will mark the first time since the seasons restructure that Asian and American teams will be competing against each other. The separate playoffs ended with two victors from each league advancing to the Grand Finals. The remainder of the season was then completed with the separate leagues competing internally and ending with separate playoffs. This forced the league to reconnect with their online roots through the hosting of remote online matches.ĭue to issues competing over Wifi with teams located half the globe apart the league was forced to compensate by splitting into two regional groups, an Asian league and American league. Therefore, it was not spared the oncoming slew of season delays faced by other sports leagues. Despite the online nature of esports, the Overwatch League has been making a name for itself emulating traditional sports through the hosting of home and away matches in various arenas worldwide. The Overwatch League had only just begun its third season before being disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Business Insider broke down all 23 investors who are pouring millions into the Overwatch League and the teams they have bought stakes in: Read our full report.In a dominant final showdown the Philadelphia Fusion avoided elimination with a series sweep of the Washington Justice and with it punched their ticket to Seoul to attend the Overwatch League Grand Finals.
The latest new owner, Beasley Broadcast Group, paid $35 million to acquire the Houston Outlaws from Immortals Gaming in November 2019, Forbes reported. While initial team investors paid $20 million, Activision Blizzard added eight new expansion teams prior to the 2019 season with prices ranging between $30 and $60 million each for the franchise rights to join the league, ESPN reported.įranchise investors range from endemic esports organizations with venture-capitalist backing to international media conglomerates and long-standing sports franchises like the New England Patriots. And the league's steadily increasing fan base has helped Activision value its esports franchises at an even higher price tag. Those are just are some of the ways we we've been engaging the local community specifically around Overwatch."īut with thousands fans turning out for live events, online viewership showing growth, and a new multi-year deal with YouTube, the Overwatch League has built a firm foundation for its future. We've been supporting the collegiate circuit as well as the high school circuit. In an interview with Business Insider, Excelsior cofounder Rohit Gupta said, "We've been bringing our team into the market to do meet-and-greets with our fans. While the Overwatch League spent the first two seasons playing most matches in Blizzard's Burbank, California studio, franchise owners used the last two years to prepare their teams and local fans for Overwatch League homestands.
The shift to a traveling schedule completes the vision of an esports league that first enticed team owners back in 2016. The league successfully kicked off the 2020 season with thousands of fans attending sold-out events in New York City and Dallas, and hundreds of thousands more tuning in to watch online. The Overwatch League will continue to host live competitions in North America, Europe, China, and South Korea over the course of a seven-month season. In February, Activision Blizzard launched the third season of the Overwatch League, an esports competition with 20 franchised teams representing cities around the world.