Since its announcement during Blizzcon 2016, Overwatch League has been at the center of attention as Blizzard's vision of future in esports. However, there hasn't been much information shared about the league for a long time other than occasional news about a huge buy-in price and city-based teams. However, in July, we saw the first seven teams being announced each based in cities all around the world, and soon, more news came along including player salaries, it looks like Overwatch League is finally shaping up and becoming a reality.

We had a chance to talk to Noah Whinston, the CEO of Immortals, about how he came to represent the city of Los Angeles for the upcoming Overwatch League. 

What was your thought process behind joining Overwatch League?

It was a few different things. First off, We liked the game, knew how quickly it grew, and knew how much power Blizzard has behind the title. So, from the publisher and game perspective, we liked it quite a bit.

Beyond that, what was very important to us is the amount of investments and resources that Blizzard was putting in. And, ultimately, another big part of it was localization element. Being able to declare our own territory, creating a local fanbase and competing against teams that are in other cities around the world feels like it’s something closer to traditional sports model.

At its full force, how many cities do you think will be part of Overwatch League?

I’m not too sure about the details, but I think they’ll add additional teams before Season 1 starts.

Monetization of esports based on merchandises, ticket and advertisement is usually less profitable than traditional sports. How will the teams profit from Overwatch League, and what is Blizzard’s plan to making OW League profitable?

The current form of esports monetization is because of how it’s been built so far.
When we think about Overwatch League and how to monetize from it, transitioning towards traditional sports model means that the monetization model might grow closer to that direction too.

I don’t expect things like Cable TV deals and paying some amount per year to watch Overwatch League. However, having the local agreement to put on a great live show is a good way for people to buy tickets for that event and show up in there. Also, having a local fanbase means that we can have local sponsorships like local car dealerships and restaurants. Having a localized fanbase means that you don’t need to have an “outsized” sponsorship to sustain yourselves.

Actually, the biggest discrepancy between traditional sports and esports is how traditional sports don’t depend on sponsorships like esports. They don’t need sponsorships to survive, while esports really depend on it. I think it’s because esports teams lack the tools to directly monetize the fanbase. Selling things like jerseys won’t cut it because they are one-off, expensive and can be hard to find online. We are very much focused on learning more about our fanbase to learn how to properly earn revenue from them rather than just relying on sponsorships.

Have monetization through selling in-game items (such as selling team logos as emblem) also been considered?

It’s been discussed, but I cannot answer them in detail yet.

In your opinion, what is your idea of ‘success’ for Overwatch League?

My goals are very conservative. In year 1, I expect the regular season matches to be a success if it gets about 30k to 40k viewers. I don’t expect it to be as big as NA LCS from Day 1, and I don’t think it needs that much number to be a success. However, if we can get from 70k to 100k viewers in playoff matches that should be a good base to begin building our fanbase.

You’ll be able to host up to 5 amateur events per year. Do you have a rough idea on how you’ll make use of these events?

We are kicking around a few ideas, but one of the big things that we are focusing on right now is collegiate engagement and working with local collegiate communities. So, potentially using those 5 events and maybe things like partnering with another team that has their own allotment of 5 events to do a college competition series might happen.

How will the players for ‘Team Los Angeles’ be chosen?

Mostly, our players will be the same. We are very fortunate to have an already great roster representing Immortals. We are the champions of Season 0 Contenders, and we look like top 3 of NA. For us, rather than trying to take a big risk on changing our roster and get the biggest name available, we are going to evaluate the existing synergy and probably stick with some core of that. It’s a little hard to know how thing will change going forward though.

Is there a player or even a team that you want to have on your team, and will you be willing to buy out an entire team if needed?

We are planning to have more than 6 core players. It’s very important for us to have substitute players to help develop the main roster. I don’t know if we will have a separate whole sub team, but I can say that we will have more players than the seven that we currently have.

All teams will need to have a home stadium from Season 2. Can you share how you’ll plan on acquiring the venue for home matches?

About a month ago, we announced the investment from Anschutz Entertainment Group. AEG is one of the largest operator of live venues in the world. They own massive stadiums across the world - and most importantly for us - including LA LIVE that includes Staples Center, Microsoft Theater, The Novo Club, and Regal Theaters... There are a lot of LA LIVE campus that are accessible to us depending on how much audience that we want to bring in.

Will Season 1 being hosted in Los Angeles be an advantage to you?

I think so. The first season being hosted in LA lets us get a head start in building the local fanbase since there are already fans that want to attend the event live.

From Season 2, teams will need to travel around the world to play in away matches. How will the player fatigue be taken care of?

It’s up to how schedule is managed. Blizzard understands that it’s a concern and should be making sure that the schedule is friendly for international competitions.

Where do you see you’ll end up in the Overwatch League Season 1?

We don’t know all the teams yet in Season 1. However, in the west, we are already in Top 3, and there’s a clear gap between the Top 3 and the rest. We have a very young roster - as in both the players and the team itself - so I think there’s a good chance that we’ll continue to perform well and improve to become the sole reigning team in the west.

How much Overwatch do you play by yourself?

I’ve been busy over the last few weeks, but I do play decent amount. I’m not very good: currently at SR 2400 and still in Gold. I used main Tracer and Soldier 76 but now I play Winston, Genji and sometimes Tracer.

You’ve had some addition of Korean players to the team. Is there a plan to add further Korean players to the roster?

We've added three Koreans - KariV, Fate and envy - to our roster. We not only recognize their mechanical skills and being driven to win, but also they want to experience competing in overseas. Kariv is friendly and happy; Fate is smart and good at english; and Envy is putting in a ton of work. We’ve been really happy with all of them so far. As for future Korean players, we’ll be evaluating players in future, but not just because they are Koreans. If we see a great player, and if he happens to be a Korean, then great - we’ll be happy to have them on the roster.

What do you think is the strength of Immortals over other teams?

Two main things. All of our players are generally very young - generally under 21. With youth on their side, they are very hungry and driven to win. They’ll be able to maintain motivation hopefully over next few years.

Also, our players are very good at creating a ‘family’ atmosphere. They all really enjoy each other’s company, and that type of environment is good for team communication.

Did the experience from building other esports help?

Helps a lot. I learned how to prioritize team synergy and mood. Prioritizing individual skill too much ends up with a bunch of talent players that don’t play well together. My concern in roster is finding right the personality and mentality that helps us build a great team.

Any other comments?

Fans. Thank you and we appreciate your support, whether you are in LA, Korea or anywhere else.
Competitors. Watch out - We are coming for you.