Hold on to your Overwatch account as this game is getting bigger and bigger with each passing day. It’s not surprising to find out that the Overwatch Open, hosted by Eleague, is going to be aired on television by TBS. This is because Eleague is a subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting which is just TBS entirely.
What’s surprising about this is that Overwatch really is picking up a lot of momentum in the e-sports scene as it is surpassing the threshold of acceptance in the industry by being taken much more seriously, much more quickly. Considering that TBS also aired the first ever CS:GO tournament on television just recently, that’s saying a lot for Overwatch.
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While it isn’t the first Overwatch tournament to have a $300k prize pool, as that distinction goes to ESL’s Atlantic Showdown with $100k, it is the tourney with the highest stakes. It seems Eleague is going to go for broke with Overwatch and a ton of other organizations are following suit.
With this being aired on television, there’s really no stopping the popularity of Overwatch now and is guaranteed to cement itself a good hold in the e-sports landscape.
As to why TBS is taking this semi-risk with a recently released game like Overwatch, Craig Barry, the executive vice preseident and chief content officer of Turner Sports said:
“This opportunity to feature Blizzard’s popular Overwatch further expands our eSports offerings and aligns Eleague with a game that is widely embraced by the community. We look forward to bringing the same level of production and storytelling capabilities we’ve demonstrated throughout the first season of Eleague to this championship event.”
It is clear that many recognize the capability of Overwatch as a spectator sport with it’s great balance, emphasis on teamplay, and attractive aesthetic. The Overwatch Open qualifiers are still open for all Overwatch account holders to join. Unfortunately, this tournament is PC only and console players will have to wait until the tournament for Blizzcon where the tourney is solely for said players.