On July 16, at the start of one of the wildest weeks of OW and OWL news that the community has ever seen, information was released concerning the OWL 2020 season. This news provided a general update on the plans for the upcoming season but none about the specific plans for each team. Over the course of that day, teams like the Justice were willing to speak with The Game Haus to detail their venues and the number of homestands they were hosting. Some other teams made general announcements as well, however, since then teams have become increasingly tight-lipped about their plans.
Within 48 hours of the initial announcement, The Game Haus had reached out to all of the OWL teams who have not yet announced specific plans. Every team has either declined to comment on the issue entirely or has simply not responded to The Game Haus’s inquiries. With teams like the Fuel and Justice being so upfront on the day of the release, the question becomes, “What changed?”
Photo: Ben Pursell For Blizzard Entertainment
The night of July 16, after all of the teams had made their announcements (outside of Guangzhou) Yiska, a reporter with Upcomer, reported on a leaked conference call between OWL teams and league officials which detailed schedule plans, player feedback and several other bits of key information. While it is not clear that this incident is connected to teams refusal to comment, it would be understandable why teams would be holding their cards a bit closer to their chests after such critical information was leaked.
It’s also worth noting that a few of these teams have not interacted extensively with The Game Haus before this instance. This could, understandably, make them hesitant to share sensitive information with someone they are unfamiliar with. It could also simply boil down to the fact that many of them are still trying to work through their current plans.
In any case, teams are remaining quiet for now but fans can expect news over the next month.
A source within the OWL claimed that they expected OWL teams to continue making their announcements through July and into August. They also confirmed that it is the teams themselves that will continue to drive the news. Outside of these two general statements, there was no additional information given to The Game Haus on this issue.
It seems that OWL teams are in the driver’s seat when it comes to making their teams announcements. As far as why we haven’t heard from certain teams yet, that is entirely up to speculation. Could it be because they have not yet pinned down their venues? Or, could it simply be that they are getting everything prepped with local news entities to ensure they are activating their local fanbase as much as possible? Could yesterday’s big role queue news have anything to do with it?
Image Courtesy of the Overwatch League
While fans wait in anticipation for their team’s news, there is certainly a lot happening in Overwatch. The Summer Games event is in full swing with the return of Copa Lucioball and some exciting new skins coming along with it. Also, role queue has officially rolled out and is currently on the PTR. It comes with a host of patch changes and a potential leaked hero, Sigma, that are sure to keep players hooked until more news regarding the 2020 OWL season comes to light.
Stage 4 returns on July 25 with the new 2-2-2 role lock. Be sure to tune in to see what is sure to be an exciting final stage of the 2019 OWL season.
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