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Former 'Tonight Show' studio becomes new Blizzard Arena esports venue

Blizzard has found a new home for esports in Burbank and will open its doors in October for the Hearthstone Championship Summer Tour Championship.

Ozzie Mejia

September 7, 2017 9:45 AM

Blizzard has been playing in the deep end of the esports pool for several years. Today, the publisher has taken a much greater step forward in its competitive gaming ventures with the announcement of a dedicated esports venue. With the old Tonight Show facility in Burbank, CA no longer in use, Blizzard has picked it up and transformed it into the Blizzard Arena.

"We're at a tipping point for esports and we look forward to helping usher in a new era of competition-based entertainment," said Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime in a press release (via Dot Esports). "As we open the doors of Blizzard Arena Los Angeles and welcome fans from around the world, we're honored to bring the best in Blizzard esports to the same stage that some of the biggest names in entertainment have called home."

The Blizzard Arena will play host to the upcoming Overwatch League, but will also house many of Blizzard's other games, including the Heroes of the Storm Global Championship Finals and the World of Warcraft Arena Championship. One of the first opportunities to check out the revamped facility will come on October 13 when the Blizzard Arena houses the Hearthstone Championship Tour Summer Championship.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?

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