The Path to Glory

Since it was first announced, The Overwatch League has been on the mind of many. Competitors and spectators alike have been counting down the days till the first season of play begins. After the long wait, it seems the time for competition has finally arrived.

The inaugural season of the Overwatch League is set to kick-off tonight, January 10th, and run until July.

For those who are new to the world of eSports, or maybe just the game of Overwatch, we here at Tailgate Sports love educating, sharing our passion for competition, and extending the fanbase for all things Overwatch.

The format of the league is set to be modeled after traditional American sports, with teams basing out of cities, traveling for away games, and thriving in the crowd of loyal fans at home games. Two divisions will exist, Pacific and Atlantic, each consisting of six teams. All matches will be streaming on Twitch.com.

The season will have linear structure leading up to the playoffs.

• Starting January 10th, matches will begin on Wednesday, and take place through Saturday. This will be the case for every week of the Overwatch League.

• The season will take place over four stages, each stage being five weeks long.

• At the end of each stage, there will be a title match for the top three teams from the league to duke it out in hopes of winning a $125,000 bonus.

• The number one team from each division will automatically receive a spot in the playoffs. The next four best teams in the league, regardless of division, will make it into playoffs, creating a six-team bracket.

• Each team will battle for a piece of the $3.5 million prize pool, with 1st place in the playoffs taking home $1 million.

• All matches for the first season will be played at the Blizzard Arena in Burbank, California.

Tailgate Sports eagerly awaits the first match, which will be played at 4:00 PM (PST). We all are quickly deciding which team will become our personal favorites so we have someone to root for. Being from Los Angeles, I will be cheering on the LA Gladiators. One might ask why I would choose them over the LA Valiant; two easy answers. First, the Gladiators roster holds Lane “Surefour” Roberts, one of my favorite professional Overwatch players. Second, the mascot “Gladiators” brings the movie Gladiator to mind, and the idea of a team having Russell Crowe as their mascot is enough to win me over.

This is an exciting time with exciting matches to look forward to. For the latest coverage on what will be happening in the Overwatch League, Tailgate Sports has you covered. We hope you tune in for the first match, it will be a fantastic way to start the season and 2018.

For more information on the Overwatch League, other details are outlined in this previous Tailgate article here.

Also, if you’re interested in joining the Tailgate Sports eSports team please send an email to: [email protected]

Written by Garrett Fulwider