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Blizzard Expands Overwatch League To Houston and Philadelphia

Blizzard signed a deal with Comcast Spectator in Philly and OpTic Gaming in Houston.

Charles Singletary Jr

September 13, 2017 3:05 PM

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Professional esports is growing at a rapid pace and there are legitimate opportunities springing up for great players to establish careers and make a living wrecking opponents in arenas. The Overwatch League is one such opportunity and, now, a couple more teams have scraped up the alleged $20 Million buy-in fee as the league is expanding into Houston and Philadelphia. 

The Overwatch League serves as a home for players that requires that teams they sign with provide a minimum salary, housing, insurance, a retirement plan, and performance bonuses under a one-year contract. The league expansion involving Comcast Spectacor in Philadelphia and OpTic Gaming in Houston was reported by VG247 via ESPN. This brings the league's team count to 13 of 14 for season one after the recent additions in LA and London and the report says there are efforts being made to add a team in Chicago. That effort is being helmed by Wesley Edens, who co-owns the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks, and operated by his esports franchise FlyQuest.

The Overwatch League's first season should go live sometime in 2018 after they secure the final slot for competitors but there's another esports competition that you should be able to check out sooner. Women and Wheels is a ladies-only competition being run by SimBin Studios, the UK developer responsible for the GTR3 racing simulation. Nielsen Esports will have its work cut out for it in the coming months as it rolls out its global gaming analytics.

Charles Singletary Jr

News Editor

Charles Singletary Jr keeps the updates flowing as the News Editor, breaking stories while investigating the biggest topics in gaming and technology. He's pretty active on Twitter, so feel free to reach out to him @The_CSJR. Got a hot tip? Email him at Charles.Singletary@Shacknews.com.