Stan and Josh Kroenke have acquired the startup Overwatch League’s second L.A. franchise, and esports team Cloud9 has agreed to buy the league’s first London franchise. The new deals bring the league’s total confirmed charter membership to nine after announcing the first seven franchises last month. The transactions expand the league to Europe for the first time and brings a second team to the esports hotbed of Southern California. Terms of these deals are not known, but Activision Blizzard has been hoping to get $20M for each spot. “This means we now have representation in Europe, North America and Asia,” said Major League Gaming President & CEO Pete Vlastelica, whose company is the division of Activision Blizzard that operates the league. “For us, the headline is this is the first truly global league in sports history. As well as the intrigue of having two teams in Los Angeles, we’re pretty proud of the announcement." The Kroenkes, who own the Rams, Nuggets, Avalanche and EPL club Arsenal, were considered among the most likely figures in traditional sports to buy into Overwatch since Stan Kroenke met with Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick at last year’s BlizzCon convention. They have created KSE Esports to house the property and will have to build a team from scratch. The other L.A. franchise to date has been secured by esports franchise Immortals.
LONDON CALLING: Cloud9 is in a far different spot than the Kroenkes. Founded in '12, Cloud9 co-Founder & CEO Jack Etienne said the organization is profitable. It also fields teams in Overwatch and nine other games. Cloud9 in March took on outside investment from FunPlus Ventures, an investment arm of the Chinese videogame maker, along with a diverse group of backers including Dodgers co-Owner Todd Boehly, Warriors co-Owner Chamath Palihapitiya and Pro Football HOFer Joe Montana. To pay for the Overwatch franchise fee, Etienne said he expects to raise a new round from his existing backers and to pursue new partners. L.A.-based Cloud9 always wanted the London franchise, Etienne said, and was able to convince Activision Blizzard it has a fan base in the U.K. and experience operating there through European leagues and tournaments. “It was just a fantastic opportunity to give London the team it deserves,” Etienne said. “This is a fan base we’ve got a long history with.” Overwatch League play is scheduled to start by the end of '17. It eventually hopes to sell 28 permanent franchises. ESPN has reported that Team EnVyUs has secured financing from Hersh Family Investments and will acquire the Austin-Dallas franchise, but that has not been independently confirmed.
