Overwatch

Activision Blizzard Confirms Plans To Host OWL LAN In 2021

Written by

Jack Marsh

Published

14th Apr 2021 11:41

We are back! LANs are officially returning, with Activision Blizzard becoming the second developer to announce live events in 2021.

Activision Blizzard recently worried fans with an announcement that they will be weighing more focus on online events and laid off over 50 of their employees. Causing concern for both the Overwatch League and Call of Duty League, it now appears that they are not throwing live events out of the window, and have actually pounced at the opportunity of bringing the OWL back to the comforts of an arena.

The Eastern Region of the OWL will see live events return in China, where five of the teams will attend three events spanning from June to August.

Hangzhou Spark, Shanghai Dragons, and Guangzhou Charge will all host one event, with the three Korean teams not expected to travel.

The schedule is as follows:

June 4-6: Hangzhou Spark (June Joust)
July 9-11: Shanghai Dragons (Summer Showdown)
August 7-8: Guangzhou Charge (Countdown Cup)

Related - Riot Games Reveal LANs To Return In VALORANT And League Of Legends

With the three Korean teams not expected to be in attendance, matches between teams of both countries will be played on a cloud server with the Chinese side hosted onstage. Fixtures between the attending sides will be played on LAN.

According to Blizzard, fans may also attend. Taking to a blog post, Blizzard said "All live events are currently planning to host fans at reduced venue capacity in order to comply with local safety requirements, which are subject to change."

The format, venues, and ticket information have yet to be revealed, with the developers insisting more details will soon follow and each hosting team will play a pivotal role in providing further information.

All eyes are now shifted to the Call of Duty League too, whose teams were hinting at a return to LAN although Activision has yet to make any official announcement.

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Image via Activision Blizzard | Shanghai Dragons

About the author

Jack Marsh

Jack is an Esports Journalist at GGRecon. Graduating from the University of Chester, with a BA Honours degree in Journalism, Jack is an avid esports enthusiast and specialises in Rocket League, Call of Duty, VALORANT, and trending gaming news.

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