Melbourne Could Be Next For Overwatch League

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TNL Take: As the first year for Overwatch League comes to its conclusion, it's never too early for the rumor mills to start churning for year two.

Sources have told the Australian Financial Review that Blizzard is targeting Melbourne for one if its expansion slots. Activision's CEO of Esports Leagues Pete Vlasetelica previously mentioned that the league would expand from 12 to 18 with "two from the Americas, two from Asia-Pacific, and two from Europe and the Middle East".  Overwatch League currently has 9 teams in the US, 2 in Asia and 1 in the UK.

The Australian esports scene has emerged over the past few years including sports clubs from the AFL like Adelaide Crows and Essendon Bombers both investing in teams. Gfinity recently launched their Elite Series city-based league including Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.

Further, the Victorian state government promises to make Melbourne the home of esports after announcing the country's biggest event, Melbourne Esports Open the first weekend of September. In partnership with TEG Live and ESL, the event is expected to draw 10,000 fans each day.

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Whoever gets the one of the next 8 slots will need to pony up a pretty penny however. From the inaugural season buy in of $20M, expansion slot fees have now risen to $30-$60M sources tell ESPN

Nate Nanzer, Commissioner of Overwatch League, wouldn't confirm the rumor but added:

"We're open to having a conversation about any city.  If somebody wants to have a conversation with us about Melbourne, we would definitely have the conversation and be very interested. It's a global league, so we want big, globally recognisable cities. Our focus is really on expansion in Europe and throughout Asia Pacific, of which Australia and New Zealand is a part".

Here's The Next Level's previous 2-part series on Australia and esports.