The first day of the Overwatch League is officially in the books, and was a major success, setting the tone for a great season ahead.

The Overwatch League is finally upon the esports world, and launch day was not only a seamless experience for those interested, but also a blueprint on how it should be done. Blizzard Entertainment is not only ushering in a new era in esports but is ensuring that the future is bright for esports reaching a global audience that takes it seriously. The esports scene has considerably grown to the point of it being considered mainstream entertainment, and I believe it should be taken as seriously as any other competitive sport. Overwatch League is ready to pioneer a refreshing way to compete, enjoy and watch professional gamers do what they do best from anywhere in the world.

Launch day was a successful one, with it being streamed via Twitch across the globe and directly within the Blizzard App. Everything production-related was seamless, as it was relatively simple to hop right in and enjoy. As for me personally, I’ve been looking forward to watching launch day for months now. As I fired up the Blizzard App, I was impressed that the new Overwatch League tab gave me everything I needed to know and then some. It had the live stream ready to go with embedded pages on all the teams, players, standings, schedule, and even videos of preseason action all in one place. For anyone that is first getting into the Overwatch League, this was a great way to get everyone caught up and prepared for the season ahead in case anyone missed some of the earlier preseason action or wanted to check out some of the more popular players and what their team role is.

As I watched all the matches on launch day, everything from the professional gameplay, production value, and commentating made it exciting as well as informative. Not only did I pick up some tips to use in my own competitive matches, but I also thoroughly enjoyed the breakdowns of strategies, pushes, and why team composition is crucial to winning a plethora of matches with teammates.

Initial thoughts were positive across the gaming and sports industry after the first-day results were in. Both teams from Los Angeles seized the moment and dominated their matches, and this New Yorker is anxious to see what Excelsior can do during launch week.

Overall, this was a great look for a new esports league determined to set the blueprint for worldwide success. Depending on how the rest of the season goes, fans can expect that the genre will continue to grow to unprecedented heights. If it’s anything like the rush of launch day, the Overwatch League will truly be something special year in, year out.