Nachdem die Verantwortlichen der Overwatch League im Verlauf des vergangenen Jahres bereits öfters erwähnten, dass sie diese Liga in der im Jahr 2019 stattfindenden Saison gerne um einige weitere Teams auf der gesamten Welt erweitern möchten, gab es im Verlauf des heutigen Tagens nun endlich erste Informationen zu diesen neuen Teams. Der Ankündigung von Blizzard Entertainment wird die Overwatch League im Jahr 2019 um insgesamt acht weitere Teams anwachsen, die sich auf die gesamte Welt verteilen und jeweils von erfolgreichen Unternehmen gesponsert werden. Diese acht neuen Teams stammen dabei dann aus Atlanta, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Paris, Toronto, Vancouver und Washington D.C. Was die Aufstellung dieser Teams, ihre Symbole, die Skins und Namen betrifft, so gibt es zu diesen Aspekten im Moment leider noch keine bestätigten Informationen. Diese Angaben sollen folgen, wenn das Jahr 2019 und der Start der dort laufenden Saison ein wenig näher gerückt ist. Dennoch dürfen sich Spieler aus Kanada, China und Europa nun zumindest darüber freuen, dass die Overwatch league in der Zukunft mindestens ein Team aus ihrem Teil der Welt beinhalten wird. Overwatch League to Open 2019 Season with 20 Teams The Overwatch League is expanding again! Last month, franchises representing Atlanta and Guangzhou joined the Overwatch League, and now six more new teams—Chengdu, Hangzhou, Paris, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington, D.C.—will compete for the 2019 Overwatch League championship. With a roster of 20 total teams—nine of them outside of the United States—the Overwatch League will welcome dozens of new players as expansion teams stock up and original teams continue to shuffle their lineups. “We just capped an amazing inaugural Overwatch League season, crowning our first-ever champion in front of a sold-out crowd of dedicated and passionate fans,” said Pete Vlastelica, president and CEO of Activision Blizzard Esports Leagues. “Now, as we look forward to the 2019 season and beyond, we’re adding eight new teams that will help us grow our league in important regions around the globe. We know that the difference between a good league and a great league is its owners, and we set a high bar for our first season with the caliber of ownership groups. Every one of these expansion franchises cleared that bar and will make our league even better.” Here’s a quick look the ownership groups backing the new teams: Aquilini Group—A diversified family business that owns the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks and Rogers Arena and manages a global conglomerate portfolio will operate the team in Vancouver, Canada Bilibili—A leading online entertainment company in China, covering a wide array of genres and media formats—including videos, live broadcasting, and mobile games—will operate the team in Hangzhou, China DM Esports—A global company focused on esports entertainment and investments will operate the team in Paris, France HUYA Inc.—A leading game livestreaming platform in China will operate the team in Chengdu, China OverActive Media—An integrated company delivering esports and video game entertainment to the Canadian market will operate the team in Toronto, Canada Washington Esports Ventures—A sports organization founded by Mark Ein, owner of the Washington Kastles of World Team Tennis, to build and promote esports enterprises will operate the team in Washington, D.C. Official team names, logos, and rosters will be revealed at a later date. (via)
