Before getting into the Overwatch League, the question must be asked; what are esports? Esports are its core, professional as in video games. Now, if you asked the average everyday person if they knew what esports was, they would more than likely say they’ve never heard of it, however, the Overwatch League is going to change that.

The Overwatch League is an esports league featuring the 2016 Game of the Year, Overwatch. The league has just kicked off this year, with the first season starting January 10th, and 12 teams based in cities around the world, from Houston to London. The Overwatch League is taking a big step in esports, as their infrastructure is very similar to that of traditional American sports, with teams based out of cities and competing in a post and regular seasons. The first season will end this July where one team will win the championship and take home a million dollar bonus. The League’s first week was incredibly successful, as viewership peaked and over 430,000 people on opening night. Over the duration of the first week, the Overwatch League accumulated over 10 million unique viewers, an insane start for a brand new league.

Currently, the League has just finished its second stage, and on a great note too. According to EsportsObserver, Stage 2 “Playoffs viewership peaked at 216K on main OWL channel—the highest for any single day since the league’s opening week“. With the League in its trading and signing block between Stage 2 and Stage 3, things are looking very interesting.

Watching the Overwatch League and learning the game is quite simple and can be done right from a cell phone. The league streams games through Twitch.tv, MLG, and through their very own phone app, making it incredibly easy to watch the best Overwatch talent go head to head.

To learn more about the Overwatch League, just visit their website at https://overwatchleague.com/en-us/.