Atlanta Reign Gets Home Matches

Earlier this month, Blizzard announced that they would be implementing "Homestand" matches for the 2019 Overwatch League season. Only a small, select group of franchises were chosen to participate in this season's upcoming home weekends: Dallas Fuel, LA Valiant, and yes, Atlanta Reign. That's right Roy'alls, only three teams, and ATL gets the nod!

This is huge for a couple of reasons. First, Atlanta is a completely new team and hasn't even played a single game yet! This goes to show that Blizzard recognizes the market potential this team and its fan base hold. The ground truly is ripe. Secondly, outside of the Blizzard Arena, and last year's World Cup Finals, we haven't seen what shape this League will take when it comes to a "home" environment. The Atlanta Reign community has the chance to really set a standard, not only for Overwatch League, but for Esports as a whole. I think we are up to the challenge, don't you?

When the announcement was first made, the only information we had was a vague promise of a "weekend in July," but when Blizzard released the Official 2019 Schedule, we were treated to a bit of a surprise! Not only did we have our official dates for July (The 6th and 7th) in Atlanta, there were also dates for August 24th and 25th when the team travels to LA. Dilly Dilly! So if you happen to be on the West Coast or you're just hardcore enough to make the trip, there's another chance to catch the team in action!

There are still some details we have yet to receive. The venue and price remain a mystery, but we can certainly make some educated guesses. Tickets for OWL games at the Blizzard Arena will run you about $20, so I think that would be the ballpark to expect for Homesteads as well. As for the venue, our friends over at Atlanta Esports Ventures (Reign's owners) have some options. Atlanta already has Eleague, a 10,000 sq/ft Esports Arena owned by Turner. However, with Cox as a partner at AEV, I wouldn't count on that being the landing spot, but I suppose anything is possible. Nevertheless, options abound. Atlanta possesses numerous venues with a variety of size options. I think the real challenge will be predicting the appropriate size for the event. Overwatch League may not be ready for State Farm Arena, but one can certainly dream. As soon as there are details, we will make sure to pass them along to you all.

Just being able to talk about this feels pretty special. The community around this team is already buzzing and full of excitement and personally, I can't wait to see you guys show up and show out for the home team. Get those cosplays going now! We expect nothing short of epic! July can't come soon enough. Until then, stay tuned for updates. Cheers!