The Overwatch League has officially announced the final number of teams for Season 2. There will be twenty teams in total for the second season. Most of the teams were already out due to leaks in the past few weeks.

The Eight new teams joining the Overwatch League for Season 2 are from the following cities:

Hangzhou Chengdu Guangzhou Paris Toronto Washington D.C Atlanta Vancouver

We can’t wait for the #OWL2019 season! Here are the 8 new teams joining the league! pic.twitter.com/zhkrNYDlko — Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) September 7, 2018

The new teams will add three new Chinese cities, one European franchise from Paris and 4 North American cities to the Overwatch League. These new additions definitely expand the geographic spread of the Overwatch League. For a Global League, the OWL had a large concentration in North America for Season 1. The ultimate aim of the Overwatch League is to have a total of 28 teams and a ‘Home & Away’ format quite similar to that of regular sports.

We just capped an amazing inaugural Overwatch League season, crowning our first-ever champion in front of a sold-out crowd of dedicated and passionate fans. Now, as we look forward to the 2019 season and beyond, we’re adding eight new teams that will help us grow our league in important regions around the globe. We know that the difference between a good league and a great league is its owners, and we set a high bar for our first season with the caliber of ownership groups. Every one of these expansion franchises cleared that bar and will make our league even better. Pete Vlastelica, president and CEO of Activision Blizzard Esports Leagues.

The Ownership details of the Expansion teams

Blizzard has also made public the details of the expansion team owners. Blizzard constantly sets a very high bar for owners looking to join the league. The first season of Overwatch League featured a buy-in of $20 million. However, for season 2 the buy-in price was somewhere between $35-$60 million.

The first season of the Overwatch league performed much better than franchise owners expectations. The League also has several partnerships including a $90 million broadcasting deal with Twitch. The Overwatch league was also available to view on ESPN and DisneyXD.

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The Owners of the latest 6 new Expansion teams

Aquilini Group: A diversified family business that owns the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks and Rogers Arena and manages a global conglomerate portfolio will operate the team in Vancouver, Canada.

The Rogers arena was recently hosting the biggest esports spectacle in The International 2018. With a prize pool of $25 million, it had the biggest ever esports prize pool. The group has considerable expertise when it comes to managing a team. They own the Vancouver Canucks, an Ice hockey team.

Bilibili – Hangzhou, China A leading online entertainment company in China, covering a wide array of genres and media formats—including videos, live broadcasting, and mobile games—will operate the team in Hangzhou, China.

Bilibili is a Chinese video sharing website. It has seen rapid growth over the past few years. As of December 2017, it had 31.6 million registered users. Bilibili is not new to esports. It acquired a team called IM in League of Legends and now participates in the League of Legends Worlds Championships. With this venture into overwatch League, Bilibili has only strengthened its esports participation.

DM Esports: A global company focused on esports entertainment and investments will operate the team in Paris, France.

This is only the second franchise in Europe. The other franchise belongs to the Season 1 winners, London Spitfire [ owned by Cloud9]. Being only one out of two European franchises can actually be a big advantage for DM esports and the French OWL team. They will have the support of a majority of European fans. Since the merchandise sales for the Overwatch league teams are expected to grow during this season, this can prove to be very profitable for the team. They will also be able to engage their fans with the possibility of having a strong French roster. The former Rogue Overwatch team was one of the best teams prior to the start of the Overwatch League.

HUYA Inc.: A leading game livestreaming platform in China will operate the team in Chengdu, China.

We’re delighted to establish a deep partnership with the Overwatch League. We’re excited by the growth potential of e-sports, and we’re looking forward to leveraging our gaming expertise and capabilities. As a leader in China’s game live streaming industry, we think we can help grow the popularity of the Overwatch League by providing unique resources and a large viewer base. We believe our team in Chengdu will demonstrate Huya’s focus on the global e-sports industry and will further expand e-sports awareness and participation of Chinese gaming enthusiasts. Mr. Henry Sha, Chief Financial Officer of Huya

OverActive Media: An integrated company delivering esports and video game entertainment to the Canadian market will operate the team in Toronto, Canada.

Esports organisation Splyce will help in the active management and running of the organisation. This partnership definitely provides them with a big advantage when it comes to managing esports players. Splyce is one a common name in esports with teams in multiple titles. The OverActive Media group will be managing the Toronto OWL Franchise. They are very excited to be a part of the Overwatch League. This franchise will also have the services of former Canadian Olympics Committee CEO Chris Overholt.

Washington Esports Ventures: A sports organization founded by Mark Ein, owner of the Washington Kastles of World Team Tennis, to build and promote esports enterprises will operate the team in Washington, D.C.

The Washington esports ventures will be a crucial part of the Overwatch League. With the backing from their mayor who has expressed his interest to add another esports team to the city ( before the present announcement), it does seem like the Washington Franchise is all set with their venue for the OWL.

Cox Enterprises: A leading communications, media, and automotive services company. Atlanta Esports Ventures—a partnership between Cox and Province, Inc.—will operate the team.

The Group has its headquarters in Atlanta and their bid for the Atlanta franchise does make sense. With over $20 billion in revenues, this is a big group in the ownership of Atlanta franchise.

Nenking Group

A financial and entertainment conglomerate, and owner of the Guangzhou Long Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Coming from a sporting background, this team has the necessary experience in managing a professional sports team in China. The group has deep roots in various industries such as Real Estate, Finance, Pharmaceuticals, Trade Purchases amongst others.

What’s next in the Overwatch League?

The Overwatch League has a fixed schedule for the next few weeks. September 9th marks the official end of Season 1 agreements. Any players who have not signed a new contract by this period will be officially free agents. From September 9th till October 7th, only the new expansion teams will have an opportunity to sign new players. This is an exclusive window for the expansion teams in order to get them on an even footing with the existing teams. Post-October 8th will be the signing period for remaining free agents for all the teams.

The Overwatch league is scheduled to start in January 2019. The team names and the rosters for the new franchises will be revealed at a later date. You can follow all the news about the team’s roster changes and new signings on the official Overwatch league website.