Gaming is treding into exciting new territory and making the first steps into becoming a major league sport. Overwatch is a team-based multiplayer online first-person shooter video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. It has been available for online gaming since May 2016 for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Now Blizzard has created The Overwatch League, the first major global esports league. The league has city-based teams, and is designed to celebrate the best of the best in Overwatch.
There are twelve teams split into two divisions. The Atlantic Division and the Pacific. Los Angeles (with two teams), Boston, New York City, San Francisco, Miami/Orlando, Philadelphia, Dallas, Houston, London, Shanghai, and Seoul.
The preseason began in earl December with a series of livestreamed matches featuring all 12 teams at the Blizzard Arena Los Angeles on December 6–9. Today January 10th marks the first day of the regular season. Matches in the Atlantic and Pacific Divisions will play out live from the Blizzard Arena through Saturday. The season is divided into four stages, wins and losses will count towards teams’ full-season records and all-important seeding for the postseason. On the last Saturday of each stage, the top teams will compete for hefty bonuses and the title of stage winner. According to Blizzard, after the Stage 4 finishes, top finishers in each division will prepare for the championship playoffs, which run from July 11–22. The grand final on July 26–28 will determine which team will be crowned the first Overwatch League champions, claiming the Overwatch League trophy,and a USD $1 million bonus. There will also be an All-Star Weekend in August.
You can watch the matches live on Twitch this week at https://www.twitch.tv/overwatchleague. and keep track of the standings at https://overwatchleague.com/en-us/standings
Team merchandise is also available here.
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