The debut season of the Overwatch League will get underway with 12 teams, Blizzard announced today, as three more outfits have been added to the roster: In Dallas, represented by Team Envy; Houston, now home to OpTiC Gaming; and Philadelphia, whose team will be fielded by Philadelphia Flyers owner Comcast Spectacor. The three cities join previously-announced outfits in Boston, New York, Los Angeles (which actually has two teams), Miami-Orlando, San Francisco, London, Shanghai, and Seoul.
“With the first 12 teams in place, we’re now just a few short months away from the inaugural season of the Overwatch League,” Blizzard co-founder and CEO Mike Morhaime said. “This is a huge milestone for the league. We can’t wait for the action to get underway and to see some of the top competitive Overwatch players in the world facing off to become the first-ever Overwatch League champions.”
With Blizzard's goal of 12 teams achieved, it also announced that pre-season play will begin on December 6, while the regular season will get underway on January 10 and run into June, followed by playoffs and finals in July. The league's long-term plan is to establish a home-and-away system like that used by conventional sports teams, the first season of the Overwatch League will take place entirely in the Los Angeles-based Blizzard Arena, a "cutting-edge live-event destination" unveiled earlier this month.
