Mentioned in this article Games: Dota 2, Overwatch

Esports has come a long way since the days of sweaty LAN centers and cramped hotel ballrooms. Today, Dota 2 is played in sold out arenas around the world while Blizzard has created a dedicated facility to produce the Overwatch League . We’ve evolved past our grassroots origins, with game developers taking the reins of the biggest esports leagues.

Community-run passion projects have given way to million-dollar prize pools and venture capital-funded organizations. However, a few passionate gamers in Europe are exploring an alternative strategy. They’ve married the community efforts of the grassroots days with the polish and structure of modern leagues into something unique.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]What sets City League apart from other amateur esports projects is the emphasis on geolocation.[/perfectpullquote]

City League features 12 teams competing in weekly Overwatch matches. Each team has partnered with an esports venue in their city as their dedicated venue for league games. The league began a five-week preseason on March 3, to test the format and production before launching the official season. Despite the well-produced website and emphasis on structure, City League is a true amateur project.

Players won’t be earning salaries, and no prize pools have been announced. Players who signed up for their local team are playing for love of the game and regional pride.

The project is spearheaded by Sjaak Kuil, managing director for Esportswall, a platform for hosting amateur esports tournaments. According to City League’s website, “the team behind City League has countless hours of experience running online tournaments, promoting an esports platform, and managing teams and players.”

In a Reddit thread, a City League representative stated that they chose to start with Overwatch due to the natural parallels of geolocation, but intend to expand into other games in the future. Even the league’s tagline, ”the league exclusively for physical esports venues,” emphasizes City League’s focus on localization.

What sets City League apart from other amateur esports projects is the emphasis on geolocation. As in the Overwatch League, teams use traditional sports naming conventions which include the city in the name (Liverpool Horizon, Athens Ambassadors, Milan Titans, etc). City League has leaned heavily on this localized structure. Each team’s page on the website lists the venue where the team will compete. The esports venues even get their own write-up in region-specific news posts.

While the project’s localization strategy clearly borrows from the Overwatch League, the idea has been discussed in esports communities for years. Newcomers to esports often lament that choosing a team to cheer for is difficult because there’s nothing to inherently distinguish one team from another. In traditional sports, if you live in Chicago you can emotionally invest in the Cubs without knowing anything about baseball or the players on the team.

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City League is actually taking the traditional sports formula and utilizing technology to push it even further. With teams playing in a local venue, every game is a home game. Local fans can attend every game in person rather than having to watch half the matches on TV when the team has to travel to other stadiums. City League has the potential to create a unique, localized fandom unseen in modern esports.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]City League’s potential is exciting, but there will be obstacles along the way—will the Overwatch League attempt to shut down a community-run copy?[/perfectpullquote]

City League’s first big challenge will be earning the approval of Blizzard Entertainment, makers of Overwatch and owners of the Overwatch League. Over the last several years, developers like Blizzard and Riot Games (League of Legends ) have imposed stronger restrictions on community-run events in order to limit competition for their esports initiatives. Blizzard has even added language to their Community Competition License to prohibit the use of the word “league” in the name of any community-run tournament. This new stipulation forced community organizations like the Overwatch University League, now called the Amateur Esports Organization, to rebrand in order to remain in good standing.

Blizzard’s rules have already impacted the preseason. City League was unable to secure a license from Blizzard before the preseason began, and had to rename it to the City Community Prelims. None of City League’s branding has changed, and it is clear that the organization intends to secure the license and receive permission to use the name “City League” before the preseason ends.

In addition to the potential red tape, grassroots esports initiatives can encounter unforeseen issues with partners or players. On March 23, City League’s officials announced that they had removed the Gdansk team from the league due to their inability to field a consistent roster during the preseason. City League is looking for a replacement partner and team, but may be unable to complete the process before the preseason ends on April 8.

The potential for City League is exciting, but there will be many obstacles along the way. Will the city-focused nature of the league draw in fans, or will it water down the talent pool and create an imbalance among the teams? Will the Overwatch League attempt to shut down a community-run copy of its structure? Whatever the end result, City League represents the modern era of grassroots esports—running on passion while emphasizing production value and structure.