The Overwatch League is almost here. We are slowly getting more information about the league, and the recently announced Overwatch Contenders is the first tangible step towards the Overwatch League. I wanted to take some time and talk about how the Overwatch League is going to be better than the LCS and any esports league that we have at the moment. The OWL will shape the way that esports will be organised forever; It will change the landscape for the better or the worse.
Don’t worry about teams leaving the scene
Photo Credit: https://dotesports.com/overwatch/team-solomid-complexity-overwatch-3764
During the weeks leading up to Overwatch Contenders announcement there were several drop outs from the competitive scene. But, those drop outs weren’t as problematic as people said that they were. Team Dignitas, TSM, Splyce, CompLexity, and LG all released teams. TSM never had an actual roster together, and organizationally they are unlikely to be able to secure an Overwatch League spot. LG still has a team, they just reduced themselves to 1 roster, LG Evil. The real losses are Dignitas, Splyce, and CompLexity.
CompLexity hasn’t said that they won’t return to Overwatch; they just released their extremely underperforming roster and will be “evaluating the competitive landscape”. This is jargon for, we don’t want to take this roster into the OWL. Which is understandable. I wouldn’t want to take their roster into a league as important as the OWL either. They never gave good results and never seemed to have potential. This could be CompLexity wanting to get an entire new roster to take into the OWL. Dignitas is a massive loss to the community. They had a great team that had some great results recently, were in the top 5 of EU every time, occasionally taking the top spot in the region, and beat big names such as Misfits and Ninjas in Pyjamas.
Nevertheless, they decided to disband their roster. In a statement, the organisation said they are still very interested in Overwatch and will watch it closely for another opportunity to get back into the scene. Splyce also dropped their roster which is disappointing. This roster could be due to the fact that they don’t have the money, or bargaining power. Those players will find their ways onto other rosters and will be fine.
They will be back (at least some)
You may have noticed a trend here. Orgs are dropping their teams, but would like to get back into the game at some point. It becomes clear that organisations don’t want to buy into the Overwatch League; or more accurately, they can’t buy into the League. OWL spots are reported as going for millions of dollars. The prime spots are reported as going for 20 million or more. This is not chump change for esports organisations, that is a lot of money.
Photo Credit: http://overwatch.gamersorigin.com/uploads/heberg/10002.png
However, it is chump change for traditional sports organisations. That’s the money that they find in their couch.It’s clear that Blizzard is targeting those traditional organisations, people like the owner of the Boston Bruins (NHL) or Philadelphia 76ers (NBA). They can afford those spots in the OWL and will bring things like TV deals and sites that you can utilize to grow interest in Overwatch and esports in general.
It is up to the esports organizations to convince these people that they need an esports organization to understand the scene and to succeed. It isn’t up to Blizzard to make these owners feel good.
The difference between OWL and LCS
Photo Credit: http://media.wwg.com/2017/01/maxresdefault-199343.jpg
There is a reason that those spots are so expensive. Because they are different than LCS sports, they are franchises. You are buying a spot in the league forever. There is no relegation, there is no chance that you lose your spot. If Cloud9 gets a spot in the Overwatch League then Cloud9 will always be in the Overwatch League. Even if they replace their entire roster, it will still be Cloud9 in whatever city they are in.
That’s part of the reason that they are using cities to geographically tie teams. People get attached to a team. And that is what Blizzard is trying to change. One of the results of the LCS system is the fact that teams change so often that it is hard to get attached to teams because they can get relegated any season. You never know. This constant threat of relegation is bad for fans, and for sponsors. Why would a sponsor sign a contract when the team could get relegated (read: kicked out) out of the league if they have 1 bad season.
Franchising is good
Franchising is what traditional sports do. It is smarter because it allows you to take risks and develop young talent which is tough to do in the LCS. Noah Whinston, owner of Immortals, stated in an interview (in the first 5 minutes it comes up) with Thorin that you can’t take risks in the LCS. The risk is too high. It is hard to justify using new players; they can be a huge liability.
With a franchise you don’t have this issue. Losing a game or two isn’t the end of the world. Even having poor seasons won’t end your hopes as a team. The sponsors will still support you because you can still compete next year. And having sponsors gives you more money. More money means better teams.
It is good for business too
Franchising is also good for Blizzard because it allows them to create better TV deals and sponsorships. Sponsors love consistent viewing numbers. Building a steady fan base is crucial for Blizzard and their sponsors. It is easier to build a dedicated fan base for a team than for a player. Teams are more stable than players.
Blizzard wants to tap into a basic human instinct. The need to belong. If we belong to a team, for example the nV fan base, then we have friends and our own sub reddit. We can complain to others about the same things. We have something in common with these people. Creating common connections. If you have teams that are switching out of the league all the time then you don’t have time to build a connection with a team.
Currently esports fans are creating connections with players. However, Blizzard would rather have people connect to teams, because it is easier to make a deal with a team. And it is easier to control a team.
Spots are so expensive because of franchising. This isn’t a deal to play for a year. If you buy into the league then you are going to be playing Overwatch in the league for the next 5-10 at least. Probably longer, if you maintain good connections. Blizzard is thinking in the future. 10 years in the future. Sure, the game is suffering now; but the horizon looks bright and will likely be around for many many years to come.
