Cloud9, Los Angeles Rams Owners Join Overwatch League

Blizzard Entertainment has reached an agreement with two more Overwatch League team owners: esports organization Cloud9, and Los Angeles Rams and Arsenal owners Stan and Josh Kroenke.

Cloud9 will represent London, while Kroenke Sports and Entertainment will secure a second Los Angeles spot alongside Immortals, the first of a potential few multi-city franchises in the league.

"Building communities around the best competitive experiences in the world is incredibly rewarding, and the Overwatch League offers the chance to create something special," Josh Kroenke, co-founder of KSE Esports, said in a press release. "We're impressed by the vision and strategy for the League, and we're going to build a great team for Los Angeles that inspires fans near and far."

"There's really only a few markets in the world where we would consider having multiple teams, and L.A. is one of them," Overwatch League commissioner Nate Nanzer told Bleacher Report. "It's not something where we're out trying to add multiple teams to any other cities. If there are other markets that are similarly sized in the future, we could, but it's not something we're trying to do."

Blizzard Entertainment

As the first team to represent a European city, Cloud9 co-founder and CEO Jack Etienne saw a decision that made sense for his North American organization to engage their already-established and growing fanbase in the region.

"When you look at our fans, we have a significant fanbase in Europe," Etienne told Bleacher Report. "We've had teams in Europe, several Europeans are part of our roster, and if you listen to the fans chant at recent events like ESL One Cologne, it's mostly Cloud9 fans."

What's more, Etienne also saw an opportunity to expand that Cloud9 brand in an esports market that has historically been in the shadows.

"London is one of the largest metro populations in the world, and I feel like [its esports reputation has] been really underserved," Etienne said. "They haven't had an esports team to really call theirs, so when I saw an opportunity to pick up London, I was extremely excited at the prospect of actually making that happen."

Blizzard Entertainment

With Cloud9 and Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, Overwatch League will have at least nine franchises, four of which are endemic to the esports industry, a crucial point for some esports fans after news of more endemic esports organizations leaving the professional Overwatch scene. 

Cloud9—as one of the biggest players in the North American esports scene—could represent an optimistic change for the future of those endemic brands in the league.

"I know there's been some concern that traditional esports companies weren't included in negotiations," Etienne said. "Hopefully this sends a clear message that this isn't the case."

He continued: "The asks to be a part of Overwatch League are large; there's a big commitment in getting through the door. People are scared of change and intimidated to take the risk to get into something new. While others are scared, I'm going to be moving forward into something I think is an evolution of esports. That's been Cloud9's approach since day one."

With Overwatch League expected to start later this year, expansion is ongoing heading into the inaugural season, with plans to potentially add more spots outside of North America in a mission to expand the global league, according to Nanzer.

"Esports fans love global competition; that's just a fact," Nanzer said.  "Look at viewership statistics on regional events versus global events. The idea that this is regular global competition where London will play against New York or Shanghai or Seoul, fans around the world are going to want to tune in."

Overwatch League's first season will take place in Los Angeles while new team owners develop and create local venues to accommodate the future home-and-away schedule. While no launch date has been revealed, the regular season games will be broadcast on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.