Overwatch League Adding Eight New Teams For Season 2

Published: September 10, 2018 9:24 AM /

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The Overwatch League will be expanding the number of teams from twelve to twenty for Season 2 according to a news post on the league's official website.

Blizzard Entertainment first debuted the Overwatch League at the end of 2017 with a preseason series of exhibition matches. Twelve teams - the majority of which were headquartered in the United States - battled it out throughout the inaugural season which recently concluded with the London Spitfire taking the crown.  The league planned to expand with future seasons, and we now have confirmation of eight new cities getting representation in Overwatch's premier competitive league.

Atlanta and Guangzhou were previously announced as expansion teams in early August. Here's the full listing of the new cities entering the fray this year:

  • Toronto, Canada
  • Vancouver, Canada
  • Chengdu, China
  • Hangzhou, China
  • Guangzhou, China
  • Paris, France
  • Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
  • Washington, D.C., United States of America
The addition of Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou will give China a total of four teams in the league, putting them second only to the United States of America with its eleven teams. Our Northern neighbors will finally be getting some representation, and Europe finally has more than one team to cheer for aside from the current league champions the London Spitfire.

Although the league is increasing in size, a number of regions still remain underrepresented. South America has yet to enter a team into the competition. South Korea is arguably underrepresented with its solitary team considering that the APEX series had long been considered the gold standard of competition prior to Blizzard's creation of an official league. Europe only has two teams, something that seems at odds with the number of high-caliber players that have come out of the region.

Future seasons are sure to see these gaps in representation corrected alongside a potential move to the players actually being headquartered in their home cities rather than playing out of the Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles County. Names and logos for these eight expansion teams will be announced in the coming weeks and months. The Overwatch League will be kicking off its second season sometime in early 2019.

If you haven't picked up Overwatch and want to give it a shot, it's currently the early unlock for Humble Monthly, meaning it's available for $12 along with a series of yet to be revealed games.

Disclosure: Humble Bundle works with TechRaptor for affiliate partnership, and TechRaptor earns a small commission of purchase made from some links in this article.

What do you think of the new cities joining the Overwatch League? Were you hoping to see a particular region get a little more love? Let us know in the comments below!

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One of my earliest memories is playing Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System. I've had a controller in my hand since I was 4 and I… More about Robert N

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Learn more about Overwatch
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Platforms
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Release Date
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