Kroenke Sports & Entertainment formally announced the "final brand for Blizzard's Overwatch League" -- the L.A. Gladiators, according to Imad Khan of ESPN.com. The team will "adorn itself with purple and white kits, drawing inspiration from the dress of Roman emperors." The logo will "feature a lion on a shield, and a stylized 'GLAdiators,' with a capital 'L' and 'A' highlighted inside." The Kroenke group has partnered with esports team Phoenix1 to "help manage and lead" the Gladiators, while the L.A. Valiant will be run by esports organization Immortals. Considering that Valiant has partnered with AEG, it will "likely be that the team will be based closer to the Staples Center" in downtown L.A. (ESPN.com, 11/2).
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FINAL ROSTER OF OVERWATCH LEAGUE TEAMS
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Boston Uprising
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London Spitfire |
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Dallas Fuel
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N.Y. Excelsior
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Florida Mayhem
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Philadelphia Fusion
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Houston Outlaws
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Seoul Dynasty
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L.A. Gladiators
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S.F. Shock
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L.A. Valiant
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Shanghai Dragons
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CONNECTING WITH THE MARKET: In Philadelphia, Bob Fernandez noted there are an estimated 300,000-500,000 gamers in the Philadelphia region, and they initially will have to watch the Fusion play games “streamed over Twitch or televised.” In later seasons, it is “expected that Comcast Spectacor will establish a Philadelphia venue for Fusion, perhaps at a Philadelphia-area college, with several thousand seats.”
Comcast Spectacor Senior VP/Strategic Planning Jim Pekala
said that “connecting with the Philadelphia fan base will be challenging for the first year because all the games will be played in Burbank.”
Pekala: “It’s something that keeps us up at night.”
But he also said that the team is “expected to make five Philadelphia appearances and Fusion marketing videos will be shown during Flyers games” (
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 11/2).
