Two former Overwatch League franchises indicate that they wanted to stay
In the aftermath of the official end of the Overwatch League, the Houston Outlaws and former Head Coach of the Atlanta Reign, Blake "Gator" Scott, indicated that both organisations were interested in continuing the league.
In a tell-all stream, Gator described the terms of the proposed updated operating agreement that the Overwatch League franchises voted upon as "dogs#!t."
Houston Outlaws imply interest to remain
Amid a major strategy shift for the Houston Outlaws, refocusing on content creation instead of esports and rebranding to Outlaws, the company received criticism on how it went about the transition.
In response to the reception they received from its fans and the Overwatch League community, the organisation made a statement on the matter.
"The Outlaws— as an organization—was incredibly dedicated to the Overwatch League and to our fans. However, with the dissolution of the League (which was not our decision), we had to decide whether to stay together and forge a new direction as Outlaws, or dissolve along with the OWL," stated the Outlaws.
The message appears to imply a general willingness to participate in a continuation of the Overwatch League. In late October, the Overwatch League had asked its ownership group to vote on a new operating agreement in order to continue with the franchise League.
On November 8th, an Overwatch League spokesperson confirmed the dissolution of the programme and the transition in a "new direction." GGRecon has reached out to the Outlaws to find out how the company voted on the new proposal.
Former Atlanta Reign head coach says org wanted to stay
During the wait period between the news of OWL's dissolution and the announcement of the new plan for Overwatch esports, Gator took the time to host an Ask Me Anything stream, responding to viewer questions.
In response to one chatter's question about Atlanta Reign’s continued willingness to participate in Overwatch League, he said: "Atlanta was more than happy to stay. A lot of these teams are more than willing just to keep throwing money into the fire.
“They're well aware it was just a waste of money. But they're willing to. Just because they liked it." Describing the nature of the new operating agreement which was voted upon, Gator shared candidly: "They just offered dogsh#!t terms."
According to the former player and head coach, the League's pitch put the teams on an ultimatum, placing an expiration on the $6 million USD franchise agreement termination fee the league had offered to teams according to its quarterly financial report in July, which the Toronto Defiant confirmed in its own earnings report on November 8.
“If they had offered the same [termination fee] later on… but they were kind of like ‘take it now or it’s a gone deal.’ They were not letting people take it later,” Gator described the deal.
Previously, the Toronto Defiant stated in its announcement of its exit from the Overwatch League that it was still interested in participating in Overwatch esports going forward, also sharing that they expect “more information on this front soon.”
