In yesterday’s Watchman Pioneer League OWL2023 finals, Florida Mayhem (Florida Mayhem) took the 2023 season championship, and China’s Hangzhou Lightning took the league 2023 season third place, marking the end of the Watchman Pioneer League another season.
However, in the aftermath of the tournament, Blizzard made an ambiguous announcement that it was “committed to building a revitalized eSports program.”
With the completion of the Overwatch League 2023 season, we will be working to create a rejuvenated eSports program. We are eager to share with you more details of what has been finalized.From this announcement, it seems like big changes are coming to the Watchtower League, with no official positive acknowledgement of ending the event.
It’s no secret that the Overwatch League has been in dire straits. Over the past few years, Blizzard has seen advertisers pull out after revelations of harassment and abuse; Overwatch went offline in mainland China, one of its largest markets, after failing to renegotiate a deal with NetEase; and the Chengdu Hunters Announced its withdrawal from the Overwatch League midway through the 2023 season.
Earlier this year, a Blizzard financial document confirmed that they would vote on whether to continue the Watchtower League under the new terms or agree to end the tournament with a termination fee of $6 million per team (currently around RMB 43.8 million).
When news of the vote broke, Watchtower League Director Sean Miller said that the competitive nature of Watchtower will continue beyond the 2023 season even if team owners no longer wish to participate in the league.
