Esports franchise Immortals announced that its Overwatch League franchise "will be called" the L.A. Valiant, according to Mike Stubbs of FORBES. The team will be "one of 12 organizations taking part in the league, which is due to kick off its first ever pre-season in December." The team’s colors are "green and gold, which are not only similar to those of the old Immortals brand, but also very relevant to the franchise location in L.A." Many of the city’s "biggest sports teams feature gold in their branding." Immortals CEO and Valiant Owner Noah Whinston said, "For us it was crucial to pick one that wasn't just a nice sounding name and wasn't just a nice looking logo, but was also something that was able to carry forward the same brand ideals that have been core to what we have done in esports over the last two years." Valiant’s logo is a "gold winged helmet, keeping in line with the organization’s colors and having a distinct and easy to recognize symbol." The Immortals "League of Legends" team "donned a golden version of this logo on their jerseys at the annual World Championship a few weeks back, bringing in further similarities." However, this seems to have been "more of a coincidence than intentional." One advantage that the Valiant have over the other teams in the league is "investment from AEG Worldwide." When the Overwatch League moves to its next stage, where teams play matches in their home cities, the Valiant "will be playing in the L.A. Live complex." Whinston: "We perhaps more than any of the other Overwatch League franchises are very tied into the sports culture and business of our home turf" (FORBES.com, 10/23).
