With the Overwatch League (OWL) nearly doubling in size for its second year, Guangzhou Charge CEO Sonny Xiao knows competing for a championship immediately as an expansion team will be difficult.

From his experience as president of basketball operations for Nenking Group’s Guangzhou Long Lions, Xiao believes the path to success for OWL expansion teams will be from creating the proper organizational structure and culture.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“We want to build an international organization, brand, and fanbase.”[/perfectpullquote]

“We are focused less on competitive goals but more on sustainable long-term success,” he said. “That means getting the right organization, people and culture in place in our first year. If we are successful in doing that, we believe that results will follow.”

This may be Nenking Group’s first esports venture, but Xiao said the company’s years of experience in traditional sports has prepared them to take on the Overwatch League. That said, Xiao understands that his team will still need to learn what works in esports that may not directly translate from his basketball experience.

“We want to learn from what has been done successfully in esports,” Xiao said. “To that end, our first hires were seasoned professionals with extensive experience in games and esports, including familiarity with how to operate in North America. If we take the best of both worlds, from traditional sports and from esports, we are hopeful that we will be able to meet the challenges that are coming our way.”

Related Article: Nenking Group Names Its Overwatch League Franchise Guangzhou Charge

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“We will take best practices from several teams that did this very well in Season 1.”[/perfectpullquote]

One particular challenge for Xiao and his team will be activating a fanbase in their Guangzhou market while playing overseas at Blizzard Arena in Burbank, California. However, unlike teams who played in the league’s inaugural season, the Charge have a year’s worth of team activations from the OWL’s original 12 franchises to reference in preparation for 2019.

“We will take best practices from several teams that did this very well in Season 1, including focusing on creating relevant content that engages our local fanbase,” Xiao said. “We also hope to do some local grassroots activations in Guangzhou even while our team is in L.A.”

Xiao doesn’t want to limit himself to just the Guanzhou market thought. He believes being in California all season has the potential to help his team gain mass appeal.

“We want to build an international organization, brand, and fanbase,” Xiao said. “Being in LA for our first year gives us a chance to engage North American fans, and this will be reflected in our content marketing where we will seek to engage fans back home as well as English speaking fans.”

Credit: Guangzhou Charge

Many OWL team’s are currently working to solidify venues in their home market as the league looks to introduce home games in local markets as soon as 2020. The Los Angeles Valiant , for example, has secured a partnership with Microsoft that will see the team play its home games in the Microsoft Theater. However, with Nenking Group positioned as the owner of a Chinese Basketball Association team, Xiao’s team will be prepared to play home games whenever the league decides to hit the road.

“One of the unique features that we loved about OWL is the potential to host home matches in front of our fans,” he said. “We are fortunate to have access to several large venues from our professional basketball operations. We are in the process of considering what works best for hosting our home games.”

By mimicking the format of traditional sports leagues, OWL has attracted numerous owners with traditional sports background. Xiao said that Blizzard’s attempt at creating a league with a familiar feeling made joining an attractive prospect.