The Uprising failed to qualify after their historic Stage 3, going just 4-6 in Stage 4. Stage 4 again had playoff changes, allowing the top seed to choose their first-round opponent for the Stage Playoffs. In the Stage Championship, NYXL beat the Uprising 3-0, claiming their second consecutive title. The Uprising handled the Gladiators 3-0, while NYXL did the same to the Valiant, winning 3-0. The Excelsior, Valiant, and Gladiators claimed the second, third, and fourth spots, respectively, in the Stage 3 Playoffs. The Uprising became the first team in league history to have an undefeated stage, taking the top seed at 10-0. Stage 3 saw slight alterations to the playoff format, as it was expanded to a four-team single elimination tournament. They avenged their Stage 1 Championship loss by defeating the Fusion, who defeated the second-seeded Spitfire in the semifinal, in the Stage 2 Championship 3-2. In Stage 2, the Excelsior again took first with a record of 9-1, losing just 9 maps in the entire stage. The third-ranked Spitfire] defeated the second-ranked Outlaws and the top-ranked Excelsior 3-1 and 3-2, respectively, to win the first Stage Championship and the top prize of USD$100,000. The Stage 1 Playoffs took place on February 10th, with the top three teams from the stage competing for USD$125,000. The Valiant defeated cross-state rivals the San Francisco Shock 4-0 in the opening match. The regular season, which was split into four month-long stages, began with Stage 1 on January 10th, 2018, from Blizzard Arena Los Angeles in Burbank, California. The Fuel, Valiant, and Dynasty finished at the top of the league in a three-way tie for first. The Fusion opted out of the preseason due to 'player logistics issues.'. Season 1 commenced on December 6th, 2017 with a preseason of exhibition matches. Teams would be required to have at least 6 players, and no more than 12 total. The announcement also outlined the Official Player Signing Window for Season 1: from August 1st to October 30th 2017. Teams would also be required to distribute at least 50% of their team performance bonuses to their players directly, and that the total bonuses available for OWL teams in Season 1 will amount to USD$3.5 million, with a minimum of USD$1 million awarded to the Season 1 Champions. All teams will be required to provide health insurance, a retirement savings plan, and provide player housing and practice facilities for their players. It outlined, among other things, that the minimum player salary would be USD$50,000, and that initial contracts would be for a minimum term of 1 year. On July 26th, 2017, Blizzard released details on player salaries and signing procedure and timelines for the inaugural season. Д«lizzard had reportedly been in talks with Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Wes Edens about a Chicago team to be operated by Edens' esports team FlyQuest, but this never came to fruition. The first 12 cities and owners were announced on July 12th, August 10th, and September 20th, 2017. The league was announced to be starting in Q3 of 2017, a date which would later be pushed back to 'late 2017'.

The league was revealed to be using a franchising model for its teams, with each team spot representing a city. A trailer was released, detailing the career of fictional player 'Krusher99'. With leagues being funded by gaming giants like Blizzard and sports networks like ESPN giving the burgeoning Overwatch League more airtime, the future of esports looks bright.Overwatch League was announced at BlizzCon 2016. These events will see up to 20,000 people at a time watching their favourite games played by the pros.Д®sports have some way to go before they reach the popularity of football or basketball, but theyвЂ™re definitely on the rise. While thatвЂ™s quite some way from the 3.5 billion people worldwideВ who watched the FIFA World Cup in 2018, venues such as The O2 in London, the Barclays Center in New York and the Oracle Arena in California are now lining up to host tournaments. Esports is expected to become a billion-dollar business in 2019, and with leagues attracting millions of fans, this new spectator sport is projected to keep growing.Дota 2вЂ™s annual tournament, The International 2018, drew 52.8 million viewersВ - just over half the number of people that watched Super Bowl 2019.

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