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8 New OverWatch League Teams: Baltimore/Washington DC Home to One!

Dustin Esquivel

The Barclay’s Center in New York City exploded in action last July as heroes took to action in the OWL Grand Finals. The London Spitfire were favorites at 5Dimes online betting outlet and other top shops. Pundits and odds-makers we not wrong. The London Spitfire claimed the first Overwatch League championship by swatting down the Philadelphia Fusion, 3-1 and 3-0.

Instant Expansion Includes Baltimore/DC

Some have their doubts about the success of the OWL inaugural season because of declining viewership in the middle of the season. But it wasn’t built for instant monetary gratification. The Overwatch League was designed for the long-haul, and the 2019 expansion is part of that. And we should not forget that the Barclay’s Center (seating for 19,000) was sold out during the finals. This in itself is a testament to the league’s success.

The League was originally set to install six new franchises at a low, low price ranging between 35 to 60 million dollars each. But investors have jumped at the opportunity, and eight new teams have been signed, bringing the OWL to 20 teams, and lucky for Overwatch fans in the Baltimore area, one of those teams is setting up shop in our region.

New and Old

Expansion Teams (some team names TBD) :

  • Paris, France
  • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  • Toronto Defiant, Ontario, Canada
  • Washington DC/ Baltimore, United States
  • Atlanta Reign, Georgia, United States
  • Chengdu, Sichuan, China
  • Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
  • Guangzhou, Guangdong, Chin

 

Existing Teams:

  • London Spitfire, England
  • Boston Uprising, Massachusetts, United States
  • Houston Outlaws, Texas, United States
  • New York Excelsior, New York, United States
  • Philadelphia Fusion, Pennsylvania, United States
  • Dallas Fuel, Texas United States
  • Los Angeles Gladiators, California, United States
  • Los Angeles Valient, California, United States
  • San Francisco Shock, California, United States
  • Seoul Dynasty, South Korea
  • Shanghai Dragons, Shanghai, China

Paris, was the first expansion team announced. McCourt Global, purchased the team to represent the region and they were also the first teams to announce their 2019 OWL roster.

Nenking Group, who also owns the Guangzhou Lions (Chinese Basketball Association) was one of the first to buy into the Overwatch League expansion. Along with the two other new Chinese teams, China now boasts five franchises in the OWL.

Those of you in the USA may have heard of Cox Communications. Their subsidiary company Atlanta Esports Ventures picked up the Atlanta franchise, the Atlanta Reign. On October 28th they unveiled their 2019 roster, which is a multi-nation team of Overwatch powerhouses from Russia, Germany, Korea, Finland, Denmark, and the United States.

The Toronto Defiant, purchased by OverActive Media and Splyce, have coined the tagline, #risetogether. They recently revealed their all Asian line-up and their new promo video is awesome!

 

Washington/Baltimore Team Name TBD

Mark Ein purchased a franchise for the Washington DC and Baltimore area, and despite a lot of hype surrounding an OWL team coming to Baltimore, the team itself has been pretty quiet. The team name has not been officially released, and the roster is not yet set. But, ‘Team DC’ has made some waves by hiring the first female Overwatch League coach, @avalla_ow.. The decision seems a simple one. Avalla is the former coach Meta Bellum and OpTic Academy, so we can be sure that whoever ends up filling out the Washington/Baltimore OWL team will be well led.