The inaugural season of the Overwatch League eSports competition may have only just concluded, but two new teams have already been confirmed to join next season.
The competition’s grand finals saw more than 20,000 people fill the Barclays Centre in New York to see the London Spitfire beat Philadelphia Fusion in what was hailed as an “amazing” success in bringing competitive gaming to a mainstream audience.
Now two new city-based franchises will join the league for 2019, one based in Atlanta in the US and another from Guangzhou in China.
“After thrilling fans with an amazing grand finals at the Barclays Centre, we’re excited to follow that up by expanding the Overwatch League next season,” Pete Vlastelica, president of eSports leagues for Overwatch maker Activision Blizzard, said.
“We’re pleased to add the Atlanta and Guangzhou teams to the ownership group, and we look forward to bringing the league to even more fans across both regions in 2019.”
The names of the two new teams are still to be confirmed.
The success of the league’s debut season, along with growing interest in other events in competitive gaming, has sparked new debate about professional gaming’s position in the world of sport, with many inside it now suggesting it should be considered on a similar level to so-called traditional sports.
Overwatch League officials revealed ahead of last week’s finals that it was one of several eSports firms to have entered a dialogue with the International Olympic Committee about competitive gaming being introduced as an Olympic event in the future.
