What’s Overwatch? Why is it on ESPN? An AP esports explainer
NEWYORK » ESPN is set to make a major trade this weekend: LeBron for Lucio. Brady for Bastion. Serena for Soldier: 76.
North America’s biggest sports platform is ready to embrace competitive gaming, and it’s wagering that traditional sports fans are, too
he Overwatch League, an esports circuit with teams in three continents, will broadcast its inaugural championship live in prime time on ESPN this Friday, with the Philadelphia Fusion facing the London Spitfire. It will be the first time Disney’s marquee sports channel carries competitive gaming in that slot, and it’s likely to do more over the course of a two-year deal signed with Overwatch this month.
It’s a major achievement for Overwatch, a first-person shooter from Blizzard Entertainment, and the latest indicator that esports are ready to edge into the American mainstream. The industry has converted a number of notable believers in recent years, including Overwatch franchise investors like New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, New York Mets COO Jeff Wilpon and Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke.
Esports have been a popular pastime elsewhere for decades, most notably in South Korea. But are North American audiences really ready to invest their time and money into watching other people play video games? It’s a billion dollar question, literally — market analyst Newzoo projects the industry will do $1.7 billion in revenue by 2021.
For those who can’t tell a D.Va Bomb from a Whole Hog, here is some of what you should know before video games jump from the PC to prime time. WHAT ARE ESPORTS? Video gamers have been competing for digital supremacy dating to Pong and Pac-Man, but competitive gaming these days is eschewing high scores in favor of multiplayer battles. First-person shooters, strategy games and battle royales have become the industry preference, with esports athletes competing either as individuals or teams to eliminate opponents and achieve objectives — think capture the flag, but usually with a twist. Although many gamers enjoy playing on Xbox or Playstation, most competitive esports are played on PCs. League of Legends, DOTA 2, Counter Strike and Overwatch have been the most popular esport titles in recent years. WHAT IS OVERWATCH? Overwatch is a first-percial potential in esports for son shooter released by a while, but both held off Blizzard in 2016 with eson purchasing franchises ports in mind. It features until springing for Overteams of six players comwatch clubs in 2016. Blizpeting to protect desigzard convinced them to buy nated zones from enemy in by re-imagining the escapture or safely move payports scene, mostly by givloads across intricate maps. ing the Overwatch League a Players can choose from 27 structure familiar to North characters — like Lucio, a American sports fans. roller- blading DJ whose Esports circuits in Asia music can harm opponents and Europe have generand heal allies, or Bastion, ally been club-based, with a robotic tank that can turn teams at risk of relegatitself into a devastating sening into lesser leagues. The try gun. Overwatch League instead
Each game takes roughly is using permanent city10 minutes, and Overbased franchises — just like watch League matches inthe NFL or NBA — but on a clude five games. The first global scale. Currently, the team to win two matches league has 12 teams across in the Grand Finals will be three continents, and it’s crowned champion. planning expansion for Sea
WHY ARE ROBERT son Two.
KRAFT AND JEFF WILThe city-based structure PONINTERESTEDINTHE was attractive to sports OVERWATCH LEAGUE? traditionalists, which is
Traditional sports inwhat led Kraft and Wilpon vestors like Kraft and Wilto own franchises in Bospon have seen huge finan- ton and New York, respec- T . tively. Investors also liked the league’s generous revenue sharing system.
ARE ESPORTS ACTUALLY SPORTS?
It depends who you ask, and frankly, it’s not clear that it matters.
“It’s a good semantics argument,” Philadelphia Fusion president Tucker Roberts said. “Honestly, yes.”
Video games do require physical skill. Even across the Overwatch League, there’s a spectrum of natural abilities, with some players boasting better reactions and coordination. Overwatch is also heavy on teamwork and strategy. People in the industry like to compare esports to darts, billiards or chess.
“There’s a difference between a sport being like, the most athletic sport, sure,” Roberts said. “But I think the bigger question isn’t the semantics of whether they’re a sport. It’s about, what does it mean to be a competition and how high are the stakes of the competition? I think the players on our team, I know, work harder than any athlete I’ve ever met.”
For the industry, the argument only matters insofar as it affects visibility. If traditional sports giants like ESPN are on board, who cares what you call them?
WHYDOES ESPNWANT IN?
For one, ESPN’s definition of sports can get flimsy. The network has showcased events like the Scripps National Spelling Bee, the World Series of Poker and the Drum Corps International championships. ESPN has also aired soccer and football video game competitions in the past, just never live in prime time.
There’s good reason to think people will tune in. While video game viewing might be a novel concept domestically, it’s quite common in some other markets. For instance, South Korea has entire television networks dedicated to esports, and gaming events there routinely draw tens of thousands of attendees. Korean esports stars live lavish, celebrity lifestyles, with top players achieving a status similar to that of LeBron James in America.
ESPN wants to attract more Millennial and GenZ viewers, and competitive gaming seems like an obvious point of connection. Between 100,000-150,000 fans tuned into each second of the Overwatch League’s regular season broadcasts on the streaming service Twitch, and 10 million viewers watched the league’s opening weekend.
ESPN isn’t the only traditional sports staple eyeing a younger audience through video games. The International Olympic Committee is also exploring ways to partner with the esports industry, even hosting a forum this month to bring together gaming executives, players, sponsors and event organizers. Overwatch League Commissioner Nate Nanzer was among the panelists who spoke at the event.
HOW DO YOU BECOME A PRO GAMER?
Just like anything else, it’s largely a matter of talent and hard work.
Most game titles have multiple levels of competition, including lowerlevel leagues, tournaments and invitationals. Getting discovered varies across games. For instance, the Overwatch League has an “open” division, in which amateur teams can enter to compete for regional championships. A step above that is the Overwatch Contenders League, which is sort of like Triple-A. The Contenders League is partly comprised of what used to be the largest international Overwatch circuits, like APEX in Korea and the Premier Series in China.
Being a pro is a grind. Practice schedules vary by team, but most players are practicing six days per week, at least six hours per day, during the sevenmonth season.
WHAT DOES AN OVERWATCH BROADCAST LOOK LIKE?
Chaotic, mostly. And for those who have never played the game, the action can be difficult to follow. It’s fast-moving, jumping from player to player depending on the focal point of the action. Even Wilpon, who has viewed a few matches in-person in Los Angeles, admits to being “usually a half a step behind” the action.