Overwatch League Moves Matches To Live Online Format Due To Coronavirus

The obvious advantage esports has over regular “stick and ball” sports is that everything can be played online and that nobody has to be in a single location for a league to conduct its matches.

In this new era of social distancing and suspended or canceled leagues and events like the NBA, NHL, MLB, Premier League, Champions League, MLS and March Madness, gaming entities like Overwatch League have the advantage of playing without unduly putting many at risk. The 2020 OWL season, its third, was marketed as a game-changing, banner year for esports in that the league’s 20 teams would be playing home and away matches in the individual cities for the very first time. In cities like Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York, fans packed ballrooms and auditoriums to see their favorite gamers in action in what the league calls homestands, in which several teams play either one or two matches in a given location on Saturdays and Sundays.

Obviously Coronavirus changed all that. With four teams based in China and one in Seoul, Overwatch League experienced canceled matches earlier than almost any other worldwide sport. After OWL announced earlier this week that homestands were canceled for March and April, the league said Friday it would make up those matches in a live online format expected to start on March 21, broadcast globally on YouTube, where its matches have been available live all season.

“We’re currently working on a revamped match schedule that will allow all teams around the world to begin competing in March while minimizing latency concerns,” Overwatch League wrote in a press release.

OWL said it would be structuring the March and April matches with teams competing in three groups based on regional geography.

For those who have no other option but to watch esports, welcome! Overwatch League is divided into two 10-team conferences, Atlantic and Pacific, with two five-team divisions in each conference. Because of Coronavirus spreading earlier in China and South Korea than in other Overwatch League cities in the United States, Canada, England and France, the Atlantic Conference has played vastly more matches than the Pacific.

The Eastern Division of the Pacific Conference, made up of teams based in Seoul, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Changdu and Hangzhou, haven’t competed in any matches this season despite Overwatch League going into the season’s seventh week. Teams in the Atlantic Conference like Houston, New York, Philadelphia, Paris and Washington have played either six or seven matches to date.

Overwatch League is trying to decrease that discrepancy by moving All-Star Weekend to after the 2020 season and canceling the midseason tournament. The league is expected to have more information next week regarding the schedule, locations of the matches and whether teams will still be traveling to neutral locations or playing separately.

Regardless of where the teams actually compete, now is a unique opportunity for esports to be at the forefront of the global sporting landscape. With basically no sports going on for the foreseeable future because of this global pandemic, now is time for Overwatch League to assert itself and show curious observers why they should tune in when our world returns to some semblance of normalcy. If they can draw big numbers and bring in some fans, it could go a long way towards growing the sport and eliminating the stigma people may have towards competitive video games.

For Overwatch League, this is the chance to be the only game in town. It’ll be fascinating to see what they do.