The Overwatch League expands again with six new teams

Six more teams from around the world have now been signed to the Overwatch League ahead of its second season.

Following additions of Atlanta and Guangzhou in August, the six new teams include Chengdu, Hangzhou, Paris, Toronto, Vancouver and Washington DC.

This takes the Overwatch League roster to a total of 20 teams—nine of them outside of the United States. 

This will likely help the league extend its global reach, especially in China which has largely embraced e-sports.

There has already been a great deal of success during its inaugural season, which included a sell-out crowd at Barclays Centre for the finals, which included global viewership numbers of nearly 11 million.

“The Overwatch League’s inaugural season was a great success,” Activision Blizzard chief executive, Bobby Kotick said.

“This past season alone, fans spent 160 million hours watching the leading Overwatch players in the world compete.

“We are thrilled to add eight new outstanding team owners from Europe, China, and North America to our Overwatch League ownership group,” he said.

“We now have 20 of the very best owners in professional sports.”

President and chief executive of Activision Blizzard Esports Leagues, Pete Vlastelica added: “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 calibre of ownership groups.

“Every one of these expansion franchises cleared that bar and will make our league even better.”