If all goes to plan, McCourt Global will own the Paris spot. McCourt is a Los Angeles-based company that owns the French soccer team Olympique de Marseille and formerly owned the LA Dodgers. After selling the franchise to Guggenheim Baseball Management after a 2011 bankruptcy, McCourt maintained rights over the LA Marathon, among other LA-based holdings.
The Guangzhou spot will go to Zhong Naixiong’s Nenking Group, who collectively own the Chinese Basketball Association’s Guangzhou Long-Lions. The Nenking Group works in many spheres of the Chinese market, including sports, pharmaceuticals, finance and real estate. Zhong himself is estimated to hold a net worth of $1 billion according to Forbes.
2018-04-25 / Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment
Current speculation has listed new Overwatch League spots in the range of $30-60 million. With reports implying that the league has reached profitability far sooner than expected, prices for a spot rose quickly. Other factors like player density and general marketability also decide a spot’s price. With hundreds of millions of dollars in sponsorships and marketing sales, the league has proved to be one of the most successful esports ventures of all time.
The Paris and Guangzhou teams are the first pair of a projected sextet of teams to join the league for Season 2, with two North American teams, one additional European team and one additional Asian team also predicted to join the ranks of the League.
With any luck, more news will surface soon regarding Season 2’s expansion teams. For now, keep an eye on The Game Haus for more breaking OWL news!
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