First Seven Cities of the Overwatch League Announced

Today, Overwatch Commissioner Nate Nanzer took to the web to reveal more details on Blizzard’s forthcoming Overwatch League. Seven teams in seven different cities in the U.S. and Asia have been confirmed for the league.

Starting off in the States, Boston’s professional team is backed by Robert Kraft, the CEO of the Kraft Group and the New England Patriots. New York City’s team is headed by Jeff Wilpon, co-founder and partner of Sterling.VC and COO of the New York Mets.

Going south, Orlando and Miami have been scooped up by Ben Spoont, co-founder and CEO of Misfits Gaming. Over on the West Coast, NRG e-sports chairman Andy Miller is heading San Francisco, and Immortals CEO Noah Whinston has laid claim to Los Angeles.

Across the Pacific, NetEase has joined the fray in Shanghai, China, and Kabam co-founder Kevin Chou has backed Seoul, South Korea.

Blizzard has taken a city-based approach to the Overwatch League over a team-based one, mimicking the set-up of traditional sports. Not only does this open the doors to even more representation and an already widely inclusive game, it’s an effort to get Overwatch into the pace of traditional sports. This is the first e-sports league to attempt to take this approach.

All the Overwatch League games will be played in Los Angeles during the first season on every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Tickets, locations and dates will be announced at a later date. But, that doesn’t mean that your love for Overwatch is limited to the city of angels.

Each team will be able to host five tournaments a year in their home cities. These are intended to compliment the current online open division and regional contender tournaments, and to celebrate the enthusiasm of the Overwatch community. And, in time, you’ll be able to help support your favorite teams by buying in-game items, which 50 percent of the proceeds will go into a shared revenue pool for the participating teams.

In the coming months, Blizzard is expected to release more details on other global teams, and the league’s rules and structure.

Watch the announcement video above.