Courtesy of London Spitfire
Stage one of the inaugural season of Overwatch League has come and gone. First off I would like to say congratulations to the London Spitfire on winning the stage one playoffs over the New York Excelsior. A lot transpired during the first stage and there’s plenty more to come but here are three things that stood out during stage one.
Before the season started analysts, broadcasters, journalists, and content creators all put out their projected power rankings for the first stage. Boston Uprising were synonymous with the bottom of the barrel everywhere you looked. But, that was put to bed several weeks into the stage when Boston became the first team to beat an all Korean roster in the London Spitfire. Boston shocked so many people, myself included, and became energized by that win. Boston went on to miss the stage one playoffs after losing a hard fought game 3-2 against the Houston Outlaws but Boston showed that it’s not all about the names on the roster but about the heart and synergy among the players on the team.
During the first stage of the Overwatch League a lot of things transpired. Some players were suspended and/or fined, expectations for teams changed, Overwatch League added more talented personnel to the broadcasting team but, what stood out the most was the sponsors that bought into the league. The season began with big name sponsors such as Intel and HP but given that those two companies are basically synonymous with esports no one batted an eye. After a few weeks though things began to change and new sponsors began jumping on this wagon including T-Mobile, Toyota, and Sour Patch Kids. Nate Nanzer, the commissioner of Overwatch League, said that they already are looking to expand the number of teams and are looking to get more teams from Europe and Asia as well. Overwatch League is doing a lot to help grow this community and I’m sure with the addition of these major companies others will follow their lead and hop on OWL or other esport competitions.
This may be a personal opinion but the Overwatch League makes finding your favorite team and players significantly easier than other leagues. The way they set this all up is helping to not only grow, but legitimize esports to the world. Esports has grown a lot and is still far from being widely accepted but, the Overwatch League is a major step forward towards the ultimate goal. Having the games four nights a week also helps. Knowing when the games are on makes it much more like traditional sports.
You know that Sunday’s are for football. The way they managed to set this up, you know Wednesday through Saturday will be Overwatch League days. Keeping it scheduled well, providing excellent coverage and exposure, the social media accounts of teams are constantly interacting with the fans and each other. Blizzard has done great with the Overwatch League and we’re only a quarter of the way through the season!
How did your team do during the first stage? What are you looking forward to the most during stage two and beyond? Let us know and be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and subscribe to our YouTube channel! Links down below!
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