Late last month, LuxuryWatch Blue caused a stir by abruptly abandoning APEX to dedicate themselves to some new found Overwatch League commitments. While some questioned how much of a good idea it was for the team to pull themselves out of the most competitive ongoing league in the world, others questioned exactly which OWL team had decided to sign the Korean roster. Those questions were soon answered as sources told ESPN's Jacob Wolf that LW Blue would be competing under the banner of New York City Overwatch League team.
Only a week and a half later, the first Overwatch League contract was revealed. His salary inflated by a bidding war between NRG and Cloud 9, DPS player sinatraa signed with NRG for $150,000, according to ESPN. Both teams had their reasons to have such a strong interest in him, sinatraa helped lead C9 to a victory in the second week of Contenders and NRG coach Sephy used to coach sinatraa during their time with Selfless Gaming.
This past week, several new teams have reportedly secured OWL spots. OpTic, backed by a Texas Rangers co-owner, and Comcast, which also owns the Philadelphia Flyers, bought spots in Houston and Philadelphia respectively, according to an ESPN report. Blizzard and Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Wesley Edens, who also owns League of Legends team FlyQuest, are working on a deal for a Chicago franchise, according to the same ESPN report. The deal, nor the location, is finalized. Counting these three franchises as well as the unconfirmed EnVy franchise in Dallas-Austin would bring the total number of Overwatch League teams to 13.